Members of the Iola Fire Department are putting on a different hat going from firefighters to fire-preventers as part of National Fire Prevention Month.
The Fire Department has visited with more than 950 students this month, from preschool through fourth grade in Iola. Each child received a safety bag filled with materials on fire safety.
The youngsters also were treated to tours of the fire station, and given a chance to see what firefighters do on a daily basis, tour the inside of department ambulances and fire trucks, check out the equipment firefighters use on fire and medical calls, and some were allowed to do a fire drill in the IFD smoke house. The smoke house uses a fog machine to fill the inside of the small building, to teach children how to crawl and safely exit a burning structure.