Mehlville Firefighters Help Schools Perfect Fire Drills

In conjunction with Fire Prevention Week, Mehlville firefighters are assisting 10 schools in the Mehlville School District with their fire drills. 

Monday morning, two fire trucks and an ambulance were at for a fire drill. Afterward, firefighters spoke to eighth graders about the importance of fire safety.

The school does periodic fire drills, but Principal Phil Milligan said the fire trucks' presence helped with the authenticity of the drill.

"The teachers knew it was coming," he said. "But none of the students did."

The firefighters timed the kids coming out of the building. Everyone made it out in 2 minutes and 44 seconds.

Deputy Chief Kevin Reis said that was a good time to start with and improve upon.

"They got everyone out and started double-checking to make sure they had all of the kids. They've done it so often, but every time you do a drill, you perfect things," he said.  

Capt. Nick Fahs spoke with eighth graders after the drill and expanded on the basic fire safety lessons they learned in elementary school. 

Babysitting, he said, was especially important in fire prevention because of the additional responsibility of another life. 

"What do you do when you have a fire on the stove?" he asked. "You cover it with another pan or with baking soda. If you're at someone else's house, you might not know where the baking soda is."

Students need to ask parents before they leave the house and think about situations that may happen. 

"People that think tend to do the best when something happens," Fahs said.