Woodside students get the 411 on 911 and fire safety Woodside students get the 411 on 911 and fire safety (November 03, 2004)

"Where's the fire?" asks the 911 dispatcher over the phone.

"In Wood-thide!" says an excitable third-grader, who is in a mock-living room filled with potential fire hazards.

From the glowing red stove burners to the telephone that's answered by a firefighter in the next room, fire-safety lessons are hands-on and very realistic in the Woodside Fire Protection District's new educational aid, the Scotty Fire Safety House.

The house, in the form of a large, specially equipped trailer, made its inaugural visit to Woodside Elementary School on October 27.

The school's third-graders met with firefighters, watched a safety video narrated by fuzzy-haired puppets, pretended to sleep in a mock bedroom that filled with fake smoke, and escaped through the bedroom window.

Kids in the living room/kitchen side of the trailer pointed out a plethora of hazards, from a plugged-in mixer that had been left in the sink to matches and cigarettes left out on a table, next to a lamp with an extremely frayed cord.

"What about fake cigarettes?" one boy asked earnestly.

Fire Marshal Denise Enea acknowledged that fake cigarettes are not a fire hazard, before steering the small group's attention to other dangers, such as the can of lighter fluid sitting nearby.

Woodside fire officials purchased the Safety House with a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and plan to bring it to all six schools in the fire district, said Selena Brown, the district's public education officer. While the current program is geared toward third-graders, it can be revised for older kids, especially those who are starting to cook, Ms. Brown said.

"Third grader is the prime age. The younger ones can get a little scared by it," she said.

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