'Willy Wonka' teaches fire safety

DOVER — Horne Street Elementary School students from kindergarten to fourth grade danced Thursday to songs with messages of fire safety, written and performed by firefighters and staff of Dover Fire & Rescue.

The department hosted its 24th annual Children’s Fire Safety Festival this week, preforming eight "Willy Wonka" themed educational shows in five Dover schools.

Fire department members dressed as characters of the classic movie, and brought up student audience members who they gave a “golden ticket,” engaging them in the story, and asking for their assistance in their Wonka-themed safety adventures.

Eric Anderson, lieutenant at Dover Fire & Rescue, said the familiarity of the movies or stories they choose for the festival is an important factor in engaging children.

“We typically choose to write spoofs on popular stories, either Disney movies or classics like Willy Wonka. This is our way of getting our message across in a unique way that is will engage them in a way that they best retain the information,” said Anderson.

Anderson said the techniques the program uses to engage students about fire safety is deliberate and effective.

“We follow our core educational model. We present our information by speaking it, by displaying it visually, and by song, and we repeat that multiple times throughout the show,” said Anderson.

In the musical, Willy Wonka and his crew explain the core fire-safety methods, including the stop-drop-and roll method, important messages like knowing two ways out of your house, and general emergency preparedness.

Anderson said that every year the department will include an additional portion to the show, choosing a “hot-topic” geared toward a current safety issue at the time. This year it was internet safety, where Willy Wonka explained to his oompa loompa the importance of not talking to strangers over social media.

Jaaylyn Knox, a second grade teacher at Horne Street Elementary, said her students look forward to the festival every year.

“[Dover Fire & Safety] are amazing at teaching the fire-safety lessons, but at the same time add in the fun. The dancing portion of the show is the kids’ all-time favorite,” Knox said.

Lailyn, a second-grader at Horne Street Elementary, said she learned a lot.

“I learned that in a fire the smoke goes higher so you should go on the ground where the smoke isn’t. Also, I learned that you should know two ways out of your house in case of a fire,” said Lailyn.

Joe, another second- grader at Horne Street Elementary, adds, “I learned you got to wear a helmet on a bike and wear a seat belt in the car.”

The show comes with a lot of preparation and work, said Anderson.

“The whole production is made through volunteer hours from our firefighters and staff. It’s hundreds of hours to build the set every year and we also write the songs.”

Anderson said the festival requires around $10,000-$12,000 in funds per year. The majority of those funds go towards burning the fire-safety song CDs and T-shirts they hand out to students in hopes of continued fire-safety engagement. They collect the majority money through a fund drive, where they reach out to Dover businesses and corporations.