Ask a Firefighter Program Helps Strengthen Bonds

Nov. 24, 2008 - PRLog -- Firefighters and children from across the United States are invited to participate in the Ask a Firefighter Program. Launched in October 2008, the program is hosted by Firefighter and Public Fire and Life Safety Educator Dayna Hilton. The Ask a Firefighter program helps promote fire safety, shares information about fire departments and firefighters and strives to build relationships within fire departments and communities nationwide.

“This program is a great opportunity for fire departments to reach a broader audience with their fire safety message, thus helping save lives,” says Hilton. “Children spend a great deal of time on the Internet and askafirefighter.net website offers a chance to learn more about firefighters and the fire service.”

How it works

Children submit questions via video or email to the askafirefighter.net website. One fire department (chosen from a list of participating departments) is selected to respond to each child’s question. Fire Departments answer the question within two days by video to the askafirefighter.net website.

Four year old Sam from North Carolina and Chief John Mauro from the Southborough Fire Department (MA) were the first to participate in the Ask a Firefighter program. Sam submitted a video with his question for a Fire Chief and Chief Mauro answered Sam’s question via video. More videos are currently being produced and the response has been favorable, according to Hilton.

To participate in the Ask a Firefighter program or to receive more information, contact Hilton at daynark@gmail.com.

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Host Dayna Hilton joined the fire service in August 2000 and is the owner of Firehouse Dog Publishing, LLC™. Hilton is the author of the children's fire safety book, Sparkles the Fire Safety Dog and host of askafirefighter.net, firesafetyeducator.com and Safety Talk Radio.

Firefighter Hilton serves on the Arkansas Fire Prevention Commission, is a deputy fire marshal for the State of Arkansas and is a member of several national fire service committees. She is an adjunct instructor for the Arkansas Fire Academy and a contract instructor for the National Fire Academy. Hilton is the state educator contact for NFPA for the state of Arkansas, a member of the Home Safety Council's Expert Network and a Firehouse.com Contributing Editor.

Hilton currently appears on PBS KIDS Sprout On Demand sharing fire safety tips with her Dalmatians Sparkles and Spanner and recently appeared on FOX and Friends.