Prevention Starts With Education

ANY TEACHER WILL tell you they can never be sure the lessons they’re imparting are being absorbed by their students, much less stored away and ready for recall when needed. The same holds true outside of the classroom—and sometimes remembering or not remembering the lesson can make the difference between life and death.

Lt. John Young, director of the Ridgewood Fire Department’s Fire Prevention Bureau knows this well. Fortunately, he speaks from positive experience when relaying an anecdote about a young Ridgewoodite who found themselves suddenly faced with a kitchen fire.

The consequences could have been tragic, but when the unforeseen happened, this individual thought back to a memorable day when the Ridgewood Fire Department sent a truck and firefighters in full turnout gear to their elementary school to teach children about fire safety and prevention.

Fast forward to the present—this young person knew just what to do when a fire broke out because of what they learned that day. One: Get everybody out of the house—immediately. Two: Call 911 from the front yard.

EDUCATION IS KEY

Firefighters are rightly heralded for their willingness to run toward the kind of danger most of us flee, but it would be hard to place a value on all the disasters that don’t occur because of everything they do to educate the public, especially the youngest members of our society. That’s actually something Young relishes most about his job.

“I enjoy sharing fire safety strategies with children because their minds are always receptive to learning,” he explains. “We can make a plan in a safe environment on what to do if you are ever confronted by fire.”

Fire safety instructors have even come up with “a few mantras,” as Young calls them, to help drive the point home and make it easy for kids to remember essential lessons that could turn out to be lifesaving. In addition to “stop, drop, and roll,” which is probably familiar to most adults, there’s “get out, stay out”; “never hide, never stay inside”; and “call 611 from outside.”

“Good advice for everyone,” Young observes. Note, however, that every one of those last three mantras describes what that young Ridgewood resident did when their kitchen caught fire.

It’s not just Young’s Fire Prevention Bureau team, which also includes Senior Fire Inspector Vincent Krug and Administrative Assistant Melanie Downing, that’s focused on prevention and education. The whole department, which includes 45 professional firefighters, six volunteers, and two civilians among its ranks, as well as the Ridgewood Firefighters Mutual Benevolent Association Local 47, reaches deep into the community.

That includes Chief John Judge, who says that the department and union are committed to community engagement year-round, supporting events like Super Science Saturday at Ridgewood High School and working with the Junior Police Academy every year.

During the downtown winter holiday celebration, they host S’mores in the Park, personally bring Santa to every elementary school before Christmas, and escort the Easter Bunny through town in the spring.

ACCESSIBLE TO ALL

In order to ensure that fire prevention and education are accessible to all, Judge says, “the department has greatly improved their ability to work with the special needs community,” through their Sensory-Friendly BBQ and Touch-a-Truck event, as well as sensory-friendly tours and educational programs. The department hosts regular fire safety talks with residents of the West Bergen Group Home, answering questions and addressing unique needs in a supportive setting.

They also partner with the Ridgewood Public Library to help educate ESL (English as a second language) families about the customary ways emergencies are handled in Ridgewood and beyond.

Prevention efforts are not only limited to education. RFD inspectors enforce codes and inspect every business in town annually. The two Fire Prevention Bureau inspectors enforce fire subcodes and conduct plan reviews for construction.

Residents can also request a personal home safety inspection to address fire-related concerns or questions. Firefighters offer recommendations to reduce risks and improve safety.

PLANTING SEEDS

As Young knows well, sometimes those visits to scout groups and schools, which start in preschool, bear fruit beyond young people being prepared to act quickly and responsibly in the face of a fire (or, better yet, to prevent fires altogether).

“One of our [current] firefighters remembers the Fire Prevention team visiting Orchard School during Fire Prevention Month,” Young says. “He enjoyed seeing the fire engine and all the cool tools that we used to keep people safe.”

A house saved, and a career inspired thanks to the RFD’s fire safety education and community outreach. Who’s to say what fruit 2025’s Fire Prevention Month—this October—will bear?

BY HARRIS FLEMING