Pudong G1: Fire Station

On February 19, SHSID Pudong's first grade classes had the opportunity to visit a local fire station.

When we got to the station the firemen took different groups on a tour of the facilities. They showed us the classrooms and living quarters, followed by a demonstration of how to fold a blanket perfectly. Fireman work very hard to make sure that they keep their rooms very neat. Their blankets are followed in a special way, and they taught the whole first grade just how to fold one.

Next we saw how firemen slide down poles to get to their trucks quickly.

After that the firemen gave the kids a chance to sit in big red fire trucks. They learned all about how fire trucks are used to spray water and stop fires. They saw the firemen’s lockers and were able to try on some of their gear. There was even an actual fire emergency while we were at the station. The kids got to watch as the fire fighters gathered in two trucks, in under a minute, and sped off down the road.

Finally we got to see the fireman demonstrate how they use their cherry picker, or snorkel, to save people from burning buildings. Our art teacher Mrs. Lu pretended to be trapped in a fire, five stories up in a building, and the firemen saved her! He road the cherry picker up to the window and then brought her safely back to the ground.

We were even able to tie in what we are learning in science class about the weather. The kids saw a real anemometer attached to one of the fire trucks, anemometers measure how fast the wind blows. We then challenged the kids to think about why wind speed may be important to fire fighters.

We had a great trip to the fire station! The kids had an opportunity to write all about their visit to the fire station during English journal writing on Wednesday.

(article: Ashton Morrow, photos: Danni)