a) Introduction.
* Our class went together with Red Bean class. We reached Taman Rakyat Fire Station about 9.30 a.m. We were greeted by the Chief, Mr. Subramaniam and 2 strong firefighters. We were all so excited. We greeted our heroes happily!
* They introduced us to their Fire Truck. Mr. Subra said that the emergency number 994 was no longer in used when he saw our kids’ craft hat having that number 994. I hah triple confirmed the number from the internet, Telekom and also a firefighter who said 994 or 999 is okay. Thus, I highlighted to the kids that we should remember 999 for emergency.
b) Apparatus.
The firefighters opened the side doors of its Fire Truck or Fire Engine. He introduced a few:
* The saws. The smaller ones are for sawing wood while the chain saws are to saw metals. These are important especially when victims caught trapped within vehicles.
* The jack is used to raise victims from the vehicles or anything heavy.
* Meanwhile, the airbag is the stronger version of a jack. It can raise a lorry of 3,000 tonne.
* Then, he showed us the normal ladder behind the Fire Truck and a machine operated ladder at the top which could rise until 3 storey.
* Then, he showed us a mask which is attached to a B.A. cylinder. It contains normal gas and a firefighter wears it into a building that has smoke caused by bigger fire.
Teacher: Why can’t we inhale the smoke.
Mr. Subra: It would cause difficulty of breathing and most people die because of smoke and not fire. Thus, we should get low and crawl. Why? Because the black smoke is hot and lighter; thus it rises.
* Hmmm….that was what we had learnt before….I hope the kids could understand better.
* Then, he showed us the hoses in the truck. There are so many. The truck has some water within it. They got the water from SYABAS company. It could be from the river or any other sources. If there was a fire, the firefighters would first use the tank water. Meanwhile, they would search for hydrants or water from other sources.
* As they were explaining, there was a sudden announcement of “FIRE” at a nearby place. Everyone was shocked and 4 firefighters hopped quickly into that fire truck from the office inside. Mr. Subra said that it was a small fire. As the fire truck left to rescue the fire, we did a demonstration to put out fire. There are 2 types of fire extinguisher. The red consists of CO2 gas while the blue one consists of chemical powder. The blue one is more powerful as it can put out fire of any degree (wood, liquid and gas). They needed to be refill after using.
* They set up a fire from fuel and Teacher Yap, Teacher Kai Li and myself were taught how to extinguish the fire. Wow……it must be very challenging in a real fire.
c) Water demonstration
* After a while, the Fire Truck came back and Mr. Subra showed us how to spray the hose towards the fire. There are 2 types of hose nozzles. The flexible one enables us to control the distance of the water spray. Foo Soon and Yun Wen were so lucky to be chosen to wear the firefighter’s uniform while spraying the water. There is a pump engine in the truck which can pump the water very far.
d) Fire Truck Ride
* Next, the kids were divided into 5 groups to ride in the Fire Truck. We heard the 2 different sirens which were to get peoples’ attention. Of course, the kids enjoyed so much!
e) Questions, questions, questions!
* Along the trip, the kids and I have asked a few questions.
Teacher: Does Malaysian Fire Brigade have rescue dogs?
Mr. Subra: Yes, we do but only in Old Klang Road centre. They are called K-9 dogs and are from London. They are only used to sniff for victims in collapsed buildings. They are also used to detect the reasons of a fire such as was it caused by explosion or electrical equipments.
Teacher: How do you make sure all your equipments are in good condition?
Mr. Subra: We check them every day.
Devin: Do firefighters need to be fit?
Mr. Subra: Of course! We do our exercise routine every morning. We have people working around the clock.
Teacher: So, what shall we dial when there’s a fire?
Mr. Subra: Call 999. Do not play for fun.
Teacher: Are the sirens for every emergency vehicle the same?
Mr. Subra: No, they are different.
Teacher: What is that tall building?
Mr. Subra: The firefighters do regular training by climbing up the tall tower and coming down again….like Spiderman.
Firefighter: Our school is in Terengganu. We do lots of training there for about 6 months.
Mr. Subra: A qualified firefighter must have good eyesight.
* We felt so lucky to be at the Fire Station. We thanked them and went back to school. J
f) Charity Sale.
* In the afternoon, the kids handed over their cookies and hand-made Tiger Puppet to the 6-year old class. At 5 pm, the kids went down to buy the items that they like.
* We were seling the cookies for RM1.00 a packet (of 3 pieces) and a Tiger Puppet of RM10.00.
* Surprise! We sold 75% of the cookies. We also sold all the 5 puppets….Hooray! It was a really thrilling day!
No comments:
Post a Comment