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Community Corner

Fire Safety & Prevention Day Held in Memory of Eva Ryan Block

Woodbridge Volunteer Fire Department to host March 31 event

The Woodbridge Volunteer Fire Department is hosting a free Fire Safety and Prevention Day Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. This event will be more than a lesson on smoke dectectors and escape plans (though those topics will be covered), it's a chance for firefighters to show exactly what happens in a structure fire or even a car accident. 

The event is being held in memory of , an Amity High School graduate who died less than three months ago in a house fire. Eva died of smoke inhalation in January after a fire broke out in the 99-year-old home she and other college students were renting near Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York.

Avi Laub, spokesperson for the fire department, says, "We have a full day of events planned for adults and children."

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Firefighters will be giving away smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors and explaining about correct placement of them in houses.

"We'll have two fire safety trailers, one called a smoke trailer that simulates a fire with smoke," he explains. "Children can crawl through and understand that they have to stay low to the ground because smoke rises." The other fire simulator trailor will teach how fire extinguishers should be used in a simulated kitchen fire and bedroom fire.

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"We'll also be doing rescue demonstration with our rescue tools," Laub says. "We'll have two cars that we'll cut apart to show people how we'll rescue them in an emergency."

Children will have an opportunity to try on firefighter gear and will have a chance to see what a fireman looks like in full gear. so they won't be scared if the event ever arises that they're faced with a fireman in their home.

If there's one thing Laub hopes people walk away from this event with, it will be a general understanding of fire prevention and safety.

"We want to educate people on how they can be safe in their own home," he says. "Especially with what happened with Eva. It's important to understand how to protect yourself in your own house."

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