As they have done every October for the past five decades, volunteers with the Western Salisbury Fire Department went into schools and day care facilities to present Fire Prevention Week programs in the township to emphasize principles of fire safety for youngsters in their impressionable years.

Statistics show such school programs reap dividends for township residents as the township is among the most fire-safe municipalities in the state. The youngsters take the message home to share with their families and awareness is leveraged more widely.

WSFD Fire Chief Joshua Wells emphasized the importance of having a working smoke detector in every room of a home, especially in every bedroom. Wells gave the children "homework" during every school program.

"I want you to go home tonight and check to make sure you have a smoke alarm in your bedroom. If you don't," Wells said, "you come back to school and tell your teachers and they will let us know so we can provide one for you."

Wells also said it is important to test the smoke detectors every month and to change the batteries twice a year when clocks are changed in the spring and fall.

Wells also talked about the importance of family home fire drills and for families to designate a spot as a gathering place to make sure everyone is accounted for in a fire situation.

"If you have a fire, or smoke, in your home," Wells said, "I want you to get out and stay out. Don't go back for something you may have left. Tell a fireman when they arrive, and, if we can do it safely, we will retrieve it for you."

Wells also talked about the 911 telephone connection to the county communications center.

"That's not a toy to play with. Only use it if there is a real emergency and help will be sent to your home. If you call just to see if someone is there, maybe someone who really needs help won't be able to get through and we don't want that to happen," Wells said.

When Wells asked what a youngster should do if their clothes caught fire, a loud chorus of "stop, drop and roll" was the response in every school.

"We know some of these principles are passed from older brothers and sisters to their younger siblings," Wells said. "They know the responses even in their first-year exposure to the fire prevention programs."

The students know lighters and matches are dangerous and need to be taken to an adult, Wells said.

"And, we emphasize that it is not bad to 'tell' on someone that is playing with them. It could be a life-saving gesture,"

The school programs have another benefit reflecting positively on the community, Wells said.

"We have more than a dozen firefighters in Western Salisbury Fire Department, and in our sister station in Eastern Salisbury, that sat in these fire prevention programs as elementary students years ago. That introduction to firefighters has stayed with the students throughout their educational careers, and we see many of our volunteers showing up as junior firefighter volunteers when they turn 16 years of age."