Fire Department Visits Matthew Paterson
For National Fire Prevention Week, the Patterson Fire Department No. 1 visited Matthew Paterson Elementary School to teach kids about fire safety and help familiarize them with emergency equipment so they could be less anxious in case of an actual emergency.
EMT Foreman Susan McLaughlin, who came to Matthew Paterson in an ambulance, asked students in Jessica Curran’s first grade class when it might be appropriate to call 911.
“If someone is bleeding or hurt,” one student said.
“If there is a car accident or a fire,’ another added.
Then McLaughlin pulled the stretcher out of the ambulance, asked first grader Abigail to climb aboard and called upon classmate Hunter to act as the doctor.
“Ok, Dr. Hunter, you need to check your patient’s heart rate,” McLaughlin said, as she put the stethoscope on Abigail’s forehead.
The class all laughed and yelled “No, that’s not where it goes.” McLaughlin scratched her head and put the stethoscope on Abigail’s foot to an even louder outcry from the first graders. Finally, she handed it over to Dr. Hunter, who placed the stethoscope on Abigail’s heart.