Taconic Hills Students Practiced Rescue Techniques During Safety Day

Copake, N.Y. — October 2 — The Copake Fire Company No.1 participated in the Taconic Hills Fire Prevention Association's annual Fire Prevention Day at Taconic Hills Elementary School.The event offered hands-on safety education to students from prekindergarten through fifth grade.

Firefighters from Ancram, Craryville, Hillsdale, Mellenville, Philmont, Taghkanic, and Claverack joined Copake firefighters for the program. The session covered various topics including fire safety, emergency call procedures, and specialized rescue operations.

Copake firefighters taught students about open-water rescue and technical rope rescue through interactive demonstrations.

Students practiced throwing rope bags to classmates on Rescue Boat 1480, learning how ropes can be used to rescue people in water.Other activities showed how rope teams and mechanical advantage systems can assist in moving an injured hiker using a Stokes basket.

Firefighters also helped operate an educational smoke trailer that created a realistic smoke environment inside a building.

Students had the chance to spray a fire hose at a simulated structure fire and learned fundamental emergency procedures, such as calling 911, avoiding matches and lighters, and not hiding from firefighters during an emergency.

This annual event connected students with local emergency responders and introduced them to the work involved in fire prevention and rescue. Taconic Hills Elementary School serves students from prekindergarten through sixth grade, making the program an effective way to teach safety awareness to young learners.

The participating departments used the event to reinforce important safety lessons and to build stronger relationships between emergency services and the school community.