After hosting video presentations last year the Washington Fire Department is excited to get hands on with local kids again for Fire Prevention Week.

The fire department will be visiting the Stewart and Lincoln elementaries and St. James Catholic School this week, teaching them about fire exit drills and showing them equipment and firefighter uniforms to help prepare them in case they are faced with a structure fire. Volunteer firefighter Andy Miller says students are then tested on what they learned Wednesday evening during Operation EDITH, which stands for Exit Drills In The Home, “We ask the kids to flip on their light, stand outside and wave to us and we drive up and down every single roadway with our lights on. What we do is we end up counting all of the yard lights that are on and with that it tells us that each kid, that family has an exit drill. And then we tally that up and we just kind of see how we’re getting through to the kids, if they’re listening, if those numbers are different than last year, and if we need to do something different to reach some other kids.”

The department is also educating the public on this year’s Fire Prevention Week theme, “Learn the Sounds of Fire Safety,” about recognizing the different sounds smoke and carbon monoxide detectors make. For more information on those sounds visit here.