The children at Creative Kidz Academy were treated to a surprise on July 31, as they received a visit from the SCP Fire Search and Rescue Team. The team gave a fire safety talk and live demonstrations of all the steps taught to the young ones.

According to SCP’s security manager, Juan van der Westhuizen, the children were full of curiosity, asking great questions, and enjoying the moment.
“They even got to climb inside the fire engine and press some of the buttons, which was a highlight,” Juan exclaimed.

Juan also explained that it is important for children to learn about fire safety at a young age because it could save their lives and their parents’ lives in cases of emergency.

“Fires happen when least expected, and knowing what to do by simply teaching them to stay low to the floor or crawl to their parents’ room if possible to wake them up and inform them of what’s happening is important.”

The team also reaches out to schools that are in their coverage area to conduct visits where they spend an hour or two teaching children about important safety points during an emergency, such as stop, drop, and roll, what emergency numbers to dial and how to stay calm.

“We make it fun and teachable for them so they understand the seriousness of a fire, and it stays with them,” he said.

Juan added that he believes these lessons are making a difference in the children’s lives.

“I even had one parent phone me telling me their son, till this day, still shows all of his friends how to stop, drop, and roll, how to stay low on the ground and out of the smoke when your house is on fire.

“We get so many funny questions from the children, and we enjoy that as it is our mission to ensure all children understand and know what to do in case of a fire at their home,” concluded Juan.