Full Notification

Tuesday 10/9/2012

Fire Department Continues to Educate Children on Fire Danger


Each year, fire causes nearly 4 billion dollars of property loss to residential structures with over 6,000 people killed and 28,000 injured.

Would your children know what to do in the event your home caught on fire? The Maricopa Fire Department and the Maricopa Unified School District are continuing the Fire Pals program that aims to answer that question with a resounding YES.
The Fire Pals program, implemented by the Maricopa Fire Department in 2009, focuses on delivering fire and life safety messages to the elementary school aged children of the City of Maricopa. The program includes a comprehensive curriculum structured around; firefighter familiarization, matches and lighters are tools not toys, dialing 911, stop-drop-and roll, crawl low under smoke, smoke detectors save lives, home escape planning, consequences of fire setting, and bicycle and pedestrian safety. Every other month fire crews are in classrooms spending anywhere from 2-4 hours delivering age specific, interactive presentations. These presentations encourage children to recognize dangerous scenarios and learn how to stay safe when those situations arise. A proactive approach to fire and life safety is vital link in the chain that keeps our children safe.

Maricopa Unified School District Deputy Superintendent Dr. Ember Conley stressed, “Preventative Education is the best type of education we can give our students, during their young, formative years.”

Fire Pals is now a program in transition. After serving as program steward since its inception Engineer McCorry has passed the program to Firefighter Joshua Eads. A five year member of the Maricopa Fire Department “Fire Pal Josh” has been a favorite amongst the students and teachers serving as Butterfield elementary school fire pal for the past 2 years. As the eldest of four children Josh has the uncanny ability to communicate and interact with younger children and deliver a message that is easily understood. The core principle from which Josh derives his passion and enthusiasm for the program is straightforward, “help keep kids safe from preventable injuries and death.”

“The success of the program has been and will continue to be attributed to the men and women of the Maricopa Fire Department for their passion and dedication towards the betterment of our community.” Optimism is reciprocated by MUSD and Dr. Conley, “I only see it growing and continuing to meet our needs for our students, staff, and community. We, at MUSD, are extremely thankful for the partnership that we have with Maricopa Fire!”


The Fire Pals program has been in effect for over 20 years. Initially started by the Phoenix Fire Department as the Urban Survival for Schools program Fire Pals has spread to numerous fire departments across the country, including Maricopa in 2009. Engineer Michael McCorry of the Maricopa Fire Department brought the Fire Pals program to Maricopa with the intent of forming a relationship through a common goal of child safety. Over the past 3 years engineer McCorry has worked diligently with MUSD faculty and staff to attain that goal and provide strong leadership for the students.

The program, “has given our students positive role models. It is not uncommon to go to the grocery store and see our students saying hi to their Fire Pal that teaches the program at their school.” Conley said.

As Principal of Butterfield Elementary School Dr. Conley was part of the first session of the Fire Pals program in 2009.

For futher information please contact maricopa Fire Department Field Public Information Officer Jon Sheaffer @ [email protected]