By BOB SHRALUKA
WZBD.com
A new fire-safety video used by the Decatur Fire Department has been taken and is now in the process of being readied.
Chief Jeff Sheets told Decatur City Council at a recent meeting that the video is now in the hands of the media arts department at Huntington University, which had expressed a keen interest in producing it.
The video, 12 to 15 minutes in length, will be used in fire-safety classes the department teaches each fall at the Survive Alive House in Decatur. The program gives youngsters fire-safety tips that they can incorporate in their homes.
It may also be employed in other ways, the chief pointed out.
The video, which replaces one in use by the department since the 1970s, is expected to be ready by the end of this month.
The department received a major assist in making the video from Champion Homes in Decatur.
Champion constructed a pair 10-foot by 10-foot boxes on its S. 13th St. lot.
One served as a mock-up of a kitchen; it had a grease fire and the video shows multiple ways to extinguish the fire, such as using a lid, baking soda, a fire extinguisher, etc.
The other mock-up was of a family room and the video demonstrates how fast a fire can spread.
TEACHING SAFETY: The three-week fire safety program at the Survive Alive House is held each November, with students from all three public school systems attending, along with parochial students, home-schoolers and some from Amish schools.
Special-needs students also have attended, Chief Sheets said at one time.
As many as 450-500 students take part each year and thousands of youngsters have participated in the program over the years.
Survive Alive classes began in Decatur in 2000 and in 2020 a milestone of 10,000 students and chaperons was reached.
The program employed by local firefighters “teaches E.D.I.T.H, (Exit Drill In The Home), which means working smoke detectors, two ways out of the home, a safe meeting place, and the proper way to use 911,” according to Sheets.
