Students passionate about fire safety gather with the united purpose of raising awareness about the dangers of fire and prevention methods. They convene to plan new lessons for elementary schoolers every Monday during recess. 

Inspired by the devastation of the Los Angeles fires last year, sophomore Minji Kim founded Students Advocating for Fire Safety (SAFE) in season one to raise awareness about the dangers of indoor fire and wildfires. 

As the horrible scenes of burning embers in the LA sky flashed on her screen, Kim remembered an incident from her childhood – when the fire alarm went off in her building. That flashbulb memory led her to realize the importance of fire safety. Kim said, “I once experienced a fire evacuation at my house, and at that time I was alone because my parents were away for a trip and my sister wasn’t around either. So I felt super scared and didn’t know what to do.”

After she felt empathy for people affected by the catastrophic events of the LA fires, and pondered on her childhood flashback, Kim wanted to help educate people about the dangers of wild infernos and what to do when one finds themselves threatened by them. Kim said, “I was amazed how people can lose their homes, their entire lives and purpose over fires.” 

Despite her passion, she struggled to recruit members at first. “It was difficult to get kids to join, because everyone had lunch clubs on Monday and I had to ask each individual who had an interest in the environment as well. And no one wanted to join a new lunch club,” Kim said.

Regardless of these initial struggles, the club organized itself and worked to create an impact within the community. In “My Fire Safety Event,” a bi-monthly activity organized by the club, SAFE members visit elementary classrooms with a curated presentation and “fire safety promise” worksheets for their pupils. Throughout the school year, the lessons occurred three times in total—November 10th, January 12th, and January 26th.

The lunch club members educated their audience on specific dangerous situations young children could encounter. Second grader Damian Kim said, “They taught us what not to do, like playing with matches or [aerosol] cans. I liked learning about it, and I will remember it. ” 

After the lesson, the elementary schoolers filled out a worksheet with their own “fire safety promise”, a promise they swear to keep related to fire safety. Second grader Leah Hwang said, “We did a worksheet where we had to write a thing we wouldn’t do and draw it. It was fun to write and draw what we learned.”

Students appreciated the experience and felt a sense of comfort from the information they gained. “I enjoyed learning about fire safety because sometimes my mom cooks and I’m kind of worried about fire,” said third grader Ayla Cho. “Now I’m not worried about fire because now I know how to stop and not start a fire.” 

The completed work now decorates a portion of the third floor hallway, with the hopes that others will find themselves inspired to learn more about fire safety and embrace SAFE’s mission. Minji Kim said, “We put the worksheets on the wall so that people can see what our club does. I hope everyone will join SAFE next year, and hopefully there will be lots of members.” 

The five students of SAFE continue to teach their younger peers about what to do in the case of combustious emergencies. Member Jason McAteer said, “As we advocate for fire education, awareness becomes stronger and people become more relieved because they are prepared to fight against it.”