Fire Chief Wants New Way to Teach Safety

Cabe, who is also president of the Orange County Chief's Council, said he hopes a mobile fire safety trailer will be a new and more interesting way to teach children about fire safety.

Cabe came to the Orange County Board of Education meeting Monday night to ask for support in trying to get the trailer. He said he knew money was tight for the board, so he said he basically came asking for their backing.

"We mainly want the moral support of Orange County Schools," Cabe said.

He told the board that the trailer will be able to simulate what it is like to be in a real fire, from heating up a door so children know to check for fire on the other side to simulating smoke by pumping in mist so they know to crawl low on the floor to get out and avoid the toxic fumes, he said.

The board said it would support Cabe's work based on the need to educate children about the dangers of fire.

"I appreciate your work on this," said board member Susan Halkiotis. "It's a very worthwhile thing you're doing."

Cabe said he felt this trailer would be a better way to educate children on fire safety because it would keep their attention focused on fire safety and not on the big, red fire trucks.

Cabe said the trailer would visit each elementary school in Hillsborough and would be there for a few days so all the students could go through it and learn what to do in the event of a fire.

The Chief's Council, which is trying to get the trailer, began raising money for it after a child nearly died in a fire.

"It's traumatic to pull kids out of burning buildings because kids don't know to get out until they're taught," Cabe said. "That's why we started this."

But the trailer is estimated to cost $35,000 total, Cabe said. The Chief's Council has already raised $7,000 and is looking toward donations from businesses and individuals to help finance the rest.

Cabe said it is hard to get funding from the state because Orange County is considered a rich county and the Fire Department competes with departments in poorer counties that also need money.

Board member Delores Simpson said that the trailer was worth having if it could save even one child's life. "If it can reach one child, that means a lot," she said.

Cabe said he wants to have the trailer ready in time to unveil it for Fire Prevention Week in October. He said the fire safety lessons in the trailer would be targeted at third- and fourth-graders, but every child would be able to benefit from it.

"I guarantee every kid in Hillsborough will see this thing. As long as I'm chief, they'll see this."

The City Editor can be reached at citydesk@unc.edu.