CHILDREN GET HANDS-ON LOOK AT FIREFIGHTERS.

Byline: Angela Randazzo Daily News Staff Writer

When Jim Waldron added his oxygen mask to his firefighting gear, he looked a bit like Darth Vader.

But the kindergartners from Hollow Hills Elementary School weren't intimidated - they were being taught that firefighters are there to help them.

``The kids are learning what to do in case of a fire and seeing what the firefighters look like dressed up in their gear,'' said Brian Sullivan, a firefighter with the Ventura County Fire Department.

On Monday, twenty pupils in Janet Lipman's kindergarten class took a field trip to fire station No. 45 as part of their classroom activities during Fire Safety Awareness month.

``We've made fire hats, learned about 911, and how to stop, drop and roll if their clothes catch on fire,'' Lipman said.

The field trip let the children see firsthand what they have been reading about in books like ``Fire, Fire,'' ``Firefighters'' and ``I Am Fire.'' The youngsters got a close-up look at a shiny yellow firetruck with its ladders, hoses and other firefighting equipment.

``Firemen and firetrucks are my favorite,'' said Brian Kinch, age 5.

Sullivan took the pupils around the firetruck and opened storage compartments and demonstrated various life-saving equipment. Then, Waldron donned his firefighting gear, complete with boots, hat and oxygen tank.

``A firefighter has to be all suited up and ready to go in one minute,'' Sullivan said. ``We have to get out of the fire station as quickly as possible when the alarm sounds.''

The students also got a tour of the inside of the fire station. In the bedroom area, Sullivan told the students that firefighters work in 24-hour shifts and sleep at the station. To show them what it's like to get called into action in the middle of the night, Sullivan turned off the lights and told the children to pretend they were asleep. In a moment, the alarm sounded and all the room lights came on.

However, the sound of the station's alarm couldn't compare with the sirens on the firetruck. Sullivan let the siren wail to the delight of the pupils. While much of the tour was fun, the message was clear: fire safety.

``It's important that my daughter knows what to do at home in case of a fire,'' said Dianne Tattersall, a mother who accompanied her daughter, Alexa, 5, on the tour. ``The kids were also told that waving at the firetruck distracts the firemen, so they really shouldn't do that.''

Each kid was given a certificate to commemorate their tour and a take-home bag with pencils, a fire-safety sticker and a coloring sheet of a firetruck.

``We want the kids to come away with knowing some helpful hint on fire safety like, stay low and go when the smoke is down, and meeting their parents at a prearranged place,'' Sullivan said.

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3 Photos

PHOTO (1--Color) School pupils knock on the helmet of Firefighter Jim Waldron during a visit to station No. 45 on Monday in Simi Valley.

(2--Color) (Ran in Simi Edition only) At left, Ventura County Firefighter Jim Waldron is decked out in safety gear as Firefighter Brian Sullivan helps explain the equipment during a visit by kids to station No. 45 on Monday in Simi Valley.

(3--Color) (Ran in Simi Edition only) Elementary pupils cover their ears as the firetruck's sirens are tested out.

Gene Blevins/Special to the Daily News