By Ray Lenarcic
Since its inception in 1999, the Herkimer County Hunger Coalition has included as one of its objectives working with area elementary schools during the month of October to help educate pupils about fire safety. The issue was personal to me.
As a native of the city, I was deeply affected by the deaths of the six McCleod children on December 22nd, 1991, as a result of a house fire. Additionally, my daughter Jennifer knew the older children, serving as a lifeguard at Monroe Street pool. She sang Amazing Grace at their funeral at St. Mary’s.
Throughout the years, our efforts ranged from disseminating fire safety information to area schools to, perhaps most popularly, purchasing Sparky the Fire Robot-used by area fire departments in their annual visits to the schools. Recently, we distributed to 4th graders copies of Pumpkin Man, a Halloween story I wrote, illustrated by the iconic Benton Hall Academy principal Joe Long. Included with the story were two pages of fire safety information, complementing the efforts of the local fire department.
In honor of the memory of the McCleod children, the Coalition is encouraging all readers to check their smoke and carbon monoxide detectors on the 22nd of each month and to create an exit plan and practice it at the same time as well. As a former educator,
I’m well aware of how important repetition is in the learning process. Repeating these critical fire safety measures will help ensure that a tragedy like the McCleod’s will never happen again.
Here is a link to Pumpkin Man for readers who might be interested in sharing it with their children or grandchildren.
To all-Happy Halloween.
