GENESEO —The Geneseo Nursery School toured the local Fire Station with Fire Chief Andrew Chanler leading the tour.
Andrew Chanler has been a volunteer firefighter for the Geneseo Fire Department for 26 years. The Geneseo Fire Department has hosted the tour around the fire station for 25 years.
“It has been a tradition to go to the fire station for as long as I can remember,” said Shannon Videtti, Teacher’s Assistant at Geneseo Nursery School.
The tour includes a tour of the fire station, a showing of the ambulances as well as the fire trucks.
“When we have the nursery school come here and see what the fire station is all about, that means the parents come too, and I think the parents take more away than the children,” said Chanler.
The preschool children sit in the fire station and listen to the Chief talk about smoke and carbon monoxide detectors and participating in at home fire drills.
“I believe that the biggest takeaway for the kids is when they learn how smoke detectors work because they can recognize them in their own homes,” said Char Everett, Geneseo Nursery School Teacher.
“My favorite part really is teaching the kids about fire prevention, it is such an issue that no one thinks about,” said Chanler.
After the tour, the children were each allowed to spray the fire hose with the help of the Chief and then proceeded back into the fire station where they shared a snack and asked questions about fire prevention.
“It is such a good experience for the kids, when we return to the classroom I have so many kids coming up to me telling me that they want to be firefighters when they grow up,” said Everett.