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A spirit that is not afraid

Students compete in obstacle course to promote fire safety

An Auburn student firefighter dons the fire suit in preparation for a call. Students in the Student Firefighter Program are reimbursed for tuition while they work with the fire department. (Alex Sager / PHOTO EDITOR)
An Auburn student firefighter dons the fire suit in preparation for a call. Students in the Student Firefighter Program are reimbursed for tuition while they work with the fire department. (Alex Sager / PHOTO EDITOR)

With Aubie bouncing around in a firefighter’s hat and students dodging between cones in firefighter’s uniforms, the Green Space was an active demonstration of fire safety, Wednesday at 1 p.m. 

The Department of Risk Management and Safety’s AU FireFighter Challenge allowed students to put on a fire-suit and helmet and compete in a maze. Participants dragged dummies to safety, pounded a wood plank with a mallet and even used an official fire hose.

Aubie made his appearance, donning a uniform and giant hat, competing and challenging students. 

The City of Auburn Fire Department co-hosted the event and were there to cheer on students and helped them finish the course. 

Giovanna Valle-Ramos, a student in attendance completed the course. 

“Just interacting with the community’s firemen is definitely fun because they encourage you to keep going,” Valle-Ramos said. “Even pulling the fire hose, how many times do you get to do that in your life?”

Jon Haney, safety and health specialist with risk management and safety, said that most students have not had fire safety since elementary school. The department hopes to prevent future fires. 

Campus Fire Safety month is aimed to keep students better aware of the dangers and risks of fire. The month of September was chosen because most apartment, campus or dorm fires happen in August or September. This is because students are living in new places or potentially living away from home for the first time. 

“Our hopes are just that students will become more aware of fire safety especially in their living spaces, whether that be a residence hall, a trailer, an apartment, a home,” Haney said. “No matter where you live, you’ll become more aware of your surroundings and more aware of fire hazards. There are things that we can promote through these events that will teach people safety advice.” 

Jason Rawls, a City of Auburn fire department firefighter, assisted on the course and had some advice to prevent future fires. 

“Use a lot of common sense, I would say,” Rawls said. “If it looks dangerous, don’t do it.” 

Cooking popcorn is one of the most frequent false alarms on campus, Haney said. Many students are unaware of this fact and so the department will be hosting Popcorn and Prevention on the concourse Sept. 11. 

There will be two other events after this: Fire Extinguisher Training on Sept. 20 and ‘After the Fire’ Movie night on Sept. 28. 


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