Fire trucks, a K-9 unit and an ambulance roared into the Tule Reservation Indian Study Center on Thursday morning.
No — no one had been hurt; all 90 kids were safe. It was the Center’s annual fire safety training in expectation of the July 4 holiday weekend.

The attentive listeners ranging from kindergarten-age to high school students rolled out bright yellow fire hoses, hugged Smokey the Bear and listened to the excited yelping of the police dog as he performed obedience exercises.

The event, which is in its second year, was organized by Nancy Porter, administrative assistant at the Study Center.
“The event was much smaller last year, but the kids really enjoyed it,” Porter said.

“This year we added the Porterville Police Department who came with a SWAT team, K-9 unit and crime prevention officer.”

Making appearances for the second year in a row were the Tule River and Porterville Fire departments, as well as an American Medical Response ambulance.

The six-week summer school program makes an effort to break up the classroom learning with academic field trips, Education Director John Focke said.

“If their parents want to take them to Disneyland, they can do that,” he said. “We make sure that these types of events are fun, but also educational.”

With the 4th of July approaching rapidly, the event was timed to inform the students about fire safety before being exposed to potentially hazardous fireworks which many families set off in celebrations of the holiday.

“This weekend there is lots of potential for accidents to happen and we want to make sure the kids will be safe,” Porter said.

Fire Captain Randy Cline and firefighter Jason Clark introduced students to the intricacies of fire engines and fielded questions about how they use equipment such as the fire ladder.

Students clambered into the front seat to ‘practice’ driving the truck.

Study Center student Dezaray Alfaro, preparing to enter the fifth grade, says she will be setting off fireworks with her family this weekend.

“I learned to only light fireworks on cement and to keep them low to the ground,” she said.

Though some fear that fireworks may increase the number of fires during the dry summer months, Cline said that they haven’t experienced a rise in fire calls since fireworks became legal in the area four years ago.

However, they do experience a number of calls related to illegal fireworks, he noted.

Focke hopes that events such as the fire safety training lessons will get students interested and knowledgeable about the area in which they live.

“We try to get them involved in the community as much as possible,” he said.

The Study Center — which has grown from six students to 90 in the eight years since its inception — plans to continue holding the event on an annual basis.

-- Contact  Sarah de Crescenzo at 784-5000 x1045, or sdecrescenzo@portervillerecorder.com.