Playing with fire safety

Twenty-four school girls from the UAE learn about the ABC of fires and how to handle them.

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2 MIN READ

Twenty-four girls learn about the ABC of fires and how to handle them

Passing by Al Falah Fire Station recently, the curious may have observed a group of small girls determinedly manhandling heavy hoses as they learned about firefighting.

Although their yellow T-shirts matched the yellow fire engines, these were not very young recruits to Abu Dhabi's fire service, but members of the Third Abu Dhabi Brownies gaining practical experience for their Fire Safety badge.

They were doing the badge, said their Guider-in-Charge ("Brown Owl") Louise Al Rumaithi, "because we felt that the girls did not really know which emergency numbers they should call in the UAE. It's good for them to know these things in case there are accidents in their flats or villas, then they will know who to call and how to deal with an emergency situation in the home".

Fun learning

For several weeks during their meetings, the 24 girls — aged seven to 10 years old — have been learning about "good" and "bad" fires, safety and first aid under the guidance of Daniel, a firefighter from Germany who is attached to the Abu Dhabi fire service.

The girls were taught basic first aid, such as treating burns, simple bandaging, how to protect a wound and apply elastoplasts hygienically.

As well as learning basic "ABC" first aid (ensuring a casualty has a clear Airway, Breathing and Circulation) and placing a casualty in the recovery position, they learned how to call for adult help.

"The girls were very positive and concentrated hard and demonstrated what they had learned," said helper Elaine Bell.

This knowledge was reinforced by games and activities.
earlier activity

In May, the girls visited Al Faleh fire station where they had a presentation explaining the fire station's role and "Brown Owl" gamely modelled a firefighter's uniform — boots, jacket, helmet, dungarees, flashlights — while the use of each was explained.

Outside, the girls learned how the water hose worked and practised turning the nozzle and directing water to feel the different pressures of water jets used to fight fires.

The Third Abu Dhabi Brownies belong to British Guides in Foreign Countries (BGIFC), part of the worldwide Scouting and Guiding movement.

Meeting once a week in school term time, the Brownies have varied activities and loads of fun, such as last year when Brownies worldwide celebrated the movement's 90th birthday.

The Abu Dhabi Brownies joined in with a "Brownies Through the Ages" disco when the girls dressed in Brownie uniforms from the 1920s to the present day.

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