With the help of the Clarksburg Volunteer Fire Department,... (Gillian Jones/North Adams Transcript)Transcript Correspondent
By Susan Bush
Posted: 06/21/2011 02:28:33 AM EDT
CLARKSBURG -- A thick, smoky cloud engulfed Lyza Licht, 9, and the sounds of crackling flames and a shrill smoke alarm echoed as she crouched beneath a desk. The girl described her feelings as she waited for help: "I was like, ‘I want to be rescued,’ " Lyza said.
Lyza was one of 14 Clarksburg junior and brownie Girl Scouts who participated in Saturday’s realistic fire/rescue drill held at Robert and Sheri Goodell’s home at 822 Middle Rd. Robert Goodell is a town volunteer firefighter and Sheri Goodell is a Girl Scout volunteer. The drill was led by the Clarksburg Volunteer Fire Department. Sheri Goodell volunteers with a total of 17 scouts, she said.
The two-hour exercise focused on escape-route planning. Town Fire Chief Carlyle "Chip" Chesbro led a discussion about escape-route planning and additional safety factors. During the presentation, girls in the third, fifth and sixth grade studied floor plans and plotted three escape routes from a bedroom. Establishing multiple routes is important, Chesbro said, because flames may block hallways, doorways or other areas. If only one escape is planned and practiced, confusion may erupt if that route is blocked during an actual fire, he explained. Two planned routes utilized hallways and doors, while the third route involved climbing from a first-floor window.
During the practical sessions, each girl tackled each escape route.
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Even with the aid of firefighters and a chain ladder, many participants learned the challenges of trying to escape through a window. As part of the program, firefighters entered the fog-filled home wearing full gear including breathing equipment and oxygen masks, so that the youngsters could see what a firefighter looks like coming through a dark, dense atmosphere and familiarize themselves with the sounds of the air packs.
"You couldn’t see anything," Readsboro Vt., resident Elyssa Fink, 10, said of the experience. "You didn’t know what was going to happen next." She is the only scout not from Clarksburg.
Chesbro instructed the scouts that once they have exited a burning building, they should go immediately to a pre-arranged meeting place and remain there.
"Once you are out, you stay out," he said. "Most people who are hurt in fires are would-be rescuers, people who went back in."
At the sound of an activated smoke alarm, folks should roll out of bed, crawl on the floor to the door and use the back of a hand to check for heat. If the door is cool, slowly open it while holding onto it as a way to maintain a sense of location, Chesbro said. If it is safe, proceed to your planned and practiced escape route, he said.
"Call out for mom and dad, but keep going even if they do not answer," he said.
Some homes are equipped with safety ladders to help with an escape from upper-level windows. But what if there is no ladder or the person is too frightened to attempt an escape?
"Do not hide," Chesbro said. "Open a window and make noise, yell, scream, throw toys, anything to alert someone to your whereabouts."
Molly Wojnicki, 9, and Emily McClain, 10, said they were glad they’d participated.
"If you don’t know how to escape a fire, you could die," Molly said.
"It was a little scary, especially trying to get out the window, but if there was a real fire, I could do it," Emily said.
Sheri Goodell said that the event will help the Brownies earn a "Try-It" award and help the junior-level scouts earn a "Safety First" badge. The exercise honed a scouting motto of "courage, confidence and character," she added.
Two North Adams Ambulance Service members assisted with the drill. A machine generated the vapor-based fog and a sound effect created the burning noises.
