Kids stop, drop, & roll into Biloxi Fire Department for kid’s academy

BILOXI, Miss. (WLOX) – Kids might be out of school, but that doesn’t mean learning has to stop.

For the 14th consecutive year, the Biloxi Fire Department is opening its doors to the next generation of firefighters through the Fire Academy for Kids.

40 kids proved their life-saving skills on day one of the week-long academy. The drills and activities re-enacted what situations may occur on the job and how to handle each one.

“Here is one of those things that we can do, we can do it for free, and it’s something that sticks,” Biloxi Fire Chief Nick Geiser says. “We are able to do hands-on training way more in our environment than they are in, like a schoolyard environment.”

As soon as each kid set the smoke detector off, they ran the course to get to safety.

Using the fire hose was a fan favorite drill, but each aspect of the training can be memorable in its own way, like a trailer nearby that’s equipped with simulators showing smoke coming from different areas in a household.

If prevention methods fail, the simulations show how to stop the fire from spreading- whether it’s a fire from the inside of an oven, microwave, toaster, or smoke pouring out of an electrical outlet.

“It shows, like, real-life circumstances that you need to know. It helps me. My dad’s a fireman and he already taught me all of this stuff, but seeing it in person is, like, way different and it teaches me way more,” fire academy volunteer Mac Coffell explains.

Another lesson showed what kids can do if they see smoke coming into the bedroom or air vents.

“It’s really just about making sure they’re okay because I know a lot of times kids tend to freak out, so they need to know what to do,” another volunteer added.

Several agencies are recruited to enhance the messages of safety throughout the week. This includes DMR, EMS, Mississippi Power, and gas companies.

“We focus on fire here, but a lot of it is just safety in general, especially summer safety,” Chief Geiser says.

The academy will continue throughout this week, bringing in another 40 kids next week.

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