Fire department gains new-look mobile education trailer

The trailer now depicts several messages in bright colors, including development of an exit plan in the case of a fire, cooling a burn, and the importance of testing smoke detectors, Fire Marshal Jerry Lojka said.

“The trailer is far superior to what we had, and it will last longer than what we had,” he said.

The trailer is used primarily to educate children who are in kindergarten through third grade.

“Students learn fire prevention basics like ‘stop, drop and roll,’ what strobes look like, and what smoke detectors sound like,” Lojka said. “They learn to crawl under smoke; we teach them to find an exit by crawling. They learn kitchen safety and we teach them if there’s a fire in your house, get out and stay out.”

Four rows of bleachers inside the trailer provide seating for the students.

“We can handle about 20 kids at a time inside the trailer,” Lojka said.

The fire education trailer is also used for community events and is shared with surrounding communities such as Nicoma Park and Spencer.

Last October, the trailer was used as an educational tool during fire prevention month for Mid-Del students.