Students get a lesson in fire

Marisa O’Neil

Fifth-graders at Newport Coast Elementary donned fire gear, rolled on

the ground and got safety tips when two Newport Beach firefighters

visited their school Thursday.

The lesson was part of a national E.D.I.T.H. Program, which stands

for Exit Drills in the Home. The program teaches children about fire

safety -- how to avoid fire and how to get out alive if it happens.

“Your chances of being in a fire are slim,” Engineer Jim Pasternak

told students. “But it can happen even to people who don’t expect

it.”

Pasternak illustrated his point with a newspaper article about a

fire in Chino Hills that killed two small children two days ago. He

said that such tragedies can be avoided if people arm themselves with

the proper knowledge.

Even simple things, such as closing the bedroom door and checking

smoke detectors regularly can buy time in a fire, he said. Portable

ladders in upstairs bedrooms can provide alternate escape routes.

“I know you’re thinking ‘Couldn’t you just hold your breath or put

a wet cloth over your mouth and run through it, like in the movies?’”

Pasternak said. “That’s Hollywood. That’s not what it’s really like

in a fire.”

To demonstrate the lengths firefighters go to keep themselves from

harm, firefighter Matt Ambrose put on his protective pants, boots,

jacket, hood, hat and breathing tank.

Adam Elliott, 10, got to try on the 6-foot-plus Ambrose’s gear.

The jacket’s sleeves nearly reached the ground and the weight of the

uniform made him topple over awkwardly, but Adam wore a satisfied

smile.

Pasternak also volunteered 10-year-old Carter Gaskill to

demonstrate his best stop, drop and roll technique for the class.

The Newport Beach Fire Department visits fifth-grade students

throughout the city to teach fire safety each year. Pasternak and

Ambrose promised to come back to the school with certificates and

special badges and urged all of them to come to the Oct. 5 Fire

Safety Day.

This was the department’s first stop at Newport Coast Elementary.

Newport Beach annexed the area last year, making it eligible to

receive city services.