Story by Toni Milbourne
MARTINSBURG — As the Berkeley County Fire Department continued visiting schools in the county to provide fire prevention information to kindergarten and first-grade students, Dawn Newland, with State Farm, joined forces with the department to help provide reference materials for the students.
According to Chief Martin Roberts, his department has been joined by the Martinsburg Fire Department, 167th Air National Guard Fire Department, VA Medical Center Fire Department and the Berkeley County Office of Homeland Security to visit all of the public schools in Berkeley County, as well as the private schools this year.
On Tuesday, Roberts and his crew visited Winchester Avenue Elementary School, showing the kindergarteners and first graders there a video on fire prevention, before taking them into the House on Wheels, where students learned what to look for at their own homes should a fire break out.
Once the students left the house and gathered at their designated “gathering space,” they asked questions of the firefighters. Teachers then gathered the educational materials that included a coloring book, stickers and a fire hat.
In addition to those items traditionally offered by the fire department, Newland arrived with additional stickers, a coloring book focused on this year’s fire prevention theme of kitchen cooking fires, as well as a magnet and safety information for the students’ parents.
“As an agent for 26 years in Berkeley County, I try to do something every year for Fire Prevention Month,” Newland said.
The materials she was able to provide this year came from her partnership at State Farm with the National Fire Prevention Association.
“I asked for enough items for 200 bags, and I received enough for 800,” Newland said, adding that she also received banners and posters for the schools to post to promote Fire Safety Month.
“What Dawn has contributed today will help ensure that we don’t run out of materials,” Roberts said, as he explained that by adding private schools this year, his department has increased the number of children who receive the materials by approximately 1,000.
He also shared that he has hopes to include second-grade students in the presentations and trainings moving forward, because, he said, he believes they have a bit stronger grasp on the lessons being taught.
The departments have visited nearly all of the public schools, sometimes going to two in one day, depending upon the number of students.
Newland said that she will continue to partner with the departments to provide this important information to Berkeley County students.