It has been said many times that the most effective method of fighting fire is to prevent it from starting. For this reason, Fire Prevention is an important part of the Tappan Fire Department's involvement with our community. Although we hold Fire Prevention programs year round, every October kicks off the National Fire Prevention Week campaign. During Fire Prevention Week, we conduct Fire Safety programs at the local schools, senior centers and at community events

This past Friday October 12th, several Tappan members along with other mutual aid Departments in our area visited William O Schafer and Cottage Lane Elementary schools. There we focused on fire prevention showing the children what not to do that might cause a fire. But we also showed them what to do if they or their home were to get involved in a hazardous condition that involved a fire. We went over basic fire safety, who to call in an emergency and How to “STOP DROP & ROLL”.

We showcased our new pumper the 21-1502, going over a lot of the basic tools we use on a daily basis. We showed them what they each do, and an example of when and how we would use them. All the kids enjoyed seeing us cut apart a can with our hurst tools (jaws of life), and explained how vital it can be to cut through or open up pretty much any car involved in an accident. They were able to see what we would look like with our full PPE (personel protective equipment) and SCBA ( self-contained breathing apparatus) on. The children were very entertained by how we sounded breathing through our mask. We gave them this experience so that in the event that we were to meet them in a less fortunate event they would not fear us and further escalate an already bad situation.