Good Sam Hospital Teaches Fire Safety

For National Fire Prevention Week, Good Samaritan Hospital teamed up with the San Jose Fire Department and the AMR ambulance company to bring fire safety and personal safety lessons Friday morning to students at Action Day Primary Plus in San Jose. 

Good Samaritan nurse Brenda Dutkiewicz, interim manager of the Pediatrics Department at the hospital, San Jose Fire Capt. Rick Hopp and AMR’s Manny Petersen taught 4-year-olds basic fire safety and the essential skill of dialing 9-1-1.

News accounts document children as young as 3 years of age saving lives by calling 9-1-1, according to hospital spokeswoman Leslie Kelsay.

The class received red fire helmets to mark their status as "honorary fire chiefs" for the day. After classroom work, younger children joined in exploration of an ambulance rig and a fire truck.

San Jose Fire Engineer Jon Friesell and firefighters Jacob Coner and Elena Muskalik assisted children in their explorations.