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Risk Watch:
Lives Saved
Just before Christmas last year, Lindsay Foster and Jenna Bishop, both
students at Hewitt-Trussville Junior High School, were traveling on Camp
Coleman Road in Trussville. Blinded by the lights of an oncoming car, they
lost control of their car, hit a power pole and rolled their vehicle. When
the Trussville Fire and Rescue members arrived at the scene, they found a
vehicle that
had been totaled, and two teenagers who were shaken up, but without
injuries. Both girls were wearing their seatbelts. When asked by the
firemen at the scene, Lindsay said, "If it had not been for you coming to
our school and teaching us about motor vehicle safety, we would not have
been wearing our seatbelts."
Trussville Fire and
Rescue members responding to the wreck were Michael
Brayman, Chris Schmohl, Cindy Jones,
Nate Hopper, Shawn Watkins and Billy Jackson.
Both girls admitted that before participating in the Risk Watch™ Program,
they did NOT wear their seatbelts.
Trussville Fire
Department has been using the Risk Watch™ program since 1999. Through a
grant from the Alabama Fire College, the City of Trussville, under the
direction of Trussville Fire and Rescue Prevention Officer Michael
Brayman, has implemented the Risk Watch™
program in the local elementary, middle and junior high schools.
Hewitt-Trussville Junior High School Principal Ken Walker speaks highly of
the efforts of the local fire department, and the members of the
Trussville Risk Watch Coalition.
This unintentional injury
prevention program reaches students in kindergarten through grade eight,
and covers the eight greatest risk areas to children. The program in
Trussville is taught through the Physical Education program in the school,
with community support from various local agencies, including police and
fire departments. Jayme Davis and Carolyn
Mayfield are the Physical Education teachers at Hewitt-Trussville Junior
High School.
Alabama Fire College
Executive Director William L. Langston said, "We are proud to help
communities like Trussville implement Risk Watch™ in their schools. We
know this program works, and Lindsay Foster and Jenna Bishop are living
examples of that fact."
The Alabama Fire College
awards up to10 communities each year with a grant to implement the Risk
Watch™ Program.
Along with the Risk
Watch™ curriculum, these communities receive extensive training, as well
as continuous technical support from the public education staff at the
Fire College. Trussville Fire Chief Russell Ledbetter said of the Program,
"Risk Watch™ is an excellent tool for the prevention of unintentional
injuries. We are thankful that we were able to teach Risk Watch™ in our
schools, and we are very grateful to the Alabama Fire College for making
it possible for us to do the program."
For more information
about the Risk Watch Champion Program contact
Jerri
Ayers.
This life save is
featured in NFPA’s Champion Newsletter, The
Apple Corps. You can find The Apple Corps at
www.riskwatch.org. |
