Fall is firmly upon us. The days are crisp, the trees have begin their slow march to slumber, shedding colorful leaves and we just set our clocks back an hour leading to early nightfall.
It is during fall, or more specifically, on that Sunday when some get that extra hour of sleep—those without young kids, that is—that we are supposed to change the battery in our smoke alarms. This is a fact that may not be widely known, but there are two local young people that are helping to spread the word about that fact and many others regarding fire safety and prevention.
Katelynn Cherry, a 10th grader at St. Michaels Middle High School, and seven-year-old, Isabel Ochse from Saints Peter and Paul Elementary School are this year’s winners of Miss Fire Prevention Delmarva and Little Miss Fire Prevention Delmarva respectively. And their hope is to let everyone know the importance of not only fire safety, but the importance of supporting our all-volunteer fire departments.
“My main issue is that people need to support the volunteer fire departments,” says Katelynn. “There is a lack of volunteers and the number fire emergencies are growing.”
Isabel wants to bring awareness to what the firemen do for us: “Firemen are very brave,” she says. “It takes a very special person to put others first.” She goes on to say that they run to the danger where others would run away.
Both Katelynn and Isabel will be participating in local parades and appearing at events around the eastern shore hoping to garner attention and support for area firehouses.
Katelynn will be at an event at the Waterman’s Association where they will be handing out free smoke detectors. Isabel will be in Easton’s Christmas parade and she recently made appearances at the Veteran’s Day Parade in Laurel, DE and she handed out flyers during Waterfowl about fire prevention.
When Katelynn isn’t focused on fire prevention and safety she is studying classical music at Peabody Preparatory through John’s Hopkins University, she is in 4H and she is a Girl Scout. Isabel likes to act in plays at Chesapeake Children’s Theater, play with her friends, draw and color. “My biggest pet peeve is having to clean my room,” she explains.
Both Katelynn and Isabel are bringing attention to an issue that deserves more discussion—the need to support our volunteer fire force. Katelynn put it rather succinctly: “What would you do if no one showed up to put out your fire?”
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