Excerpts from ChicagoTribune.com:
A simple smell of smoke and the sudden sound of a smoke alarm were enough to send nine children into panic mode during a fire drill at the Chicago Fire Department’s training academy on the Near West Side.
The Saturday exercise, which began with harmless smoke filling a dark, simulated bedroom, wasn’t just a routine practice for the African-American kids involved—it was a vital lesson in fire safety, as emphasized by a national organization of Black firefighters.
According to the U.S. Fire Administration, the death rate of Black children in house fires is more than double that of white children, even though African-American children represent a smaller portion of the population. Fire officials stress that most of these tragedies are preventable.
“It’s mostly a lack of education that leads to these deaths,†said Gregory Boggs, a Chicago Fire Department lieutenant and president of the African-American Firefighters & Paramedics League. “They don’t know how to escape or how to properly open a door.â€
Before the drill started, veteran firefighter Preston Roberson reminded the kids that in a real fire, quick action could mean the difference between life and death. A few of the children were caught off guard when his loud voice snapped them back to reality.
Following Roberson’s instructions, the young students sprang into action, using the back of their hands to check doors for heat and crawling out of the room as they had been taught.
This drill was part of a full morning of activities for around 70 children and their parents at the fifth annual “Firefighter for a Day†event organized by the league.
Experienced firefighters and paramedics, many of whom are African-American, aimed to teach essential skills that could save lives during a house fire. Instructors like Roberson demonstrated how to create an escape plan and what to say when calling 911.
The event included children dressing up as firefighters, learning about firefighting equipment, and going through simulations at the DeKoven Street fire academy. It also introduced kids of color to the possibility of becoming firefighters themselves.
Boggs’ group has been working hard to boost recruitment efforts, hoping to increase the number of African-Americans in the Chicago Fire Department. According to Boggs, only about 842 of the city's 5,000 firefighters—just over 16%—are African-American. “That’s not good enough,†he said. “We’re trying to change that and bring more Black firefighters onto the job.â€
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