Logan Lake Fire Chief Sees Value Of Education Come Full Circle

Dan Leighton has seen the value of safety education during his 35 years in the fire service. Chief of the Logan Lake District Fire and Rescue Department — a 24-member volunteer firefighter organization that serves a community of 2,000 on Canada’s west coast — Leighton has been involved with a number of fire prevention initiatives like ‘Learn Not to Burn,’ Ronald McDonald Fire Safety, and others.

And for more than two decades, he’s been a proponent of the award-winning educational resource ‘Fire Safety: Smart choices for LIFE’, through his partnership with Community Safety Net (CSN).

“I think the materials that CSN supplies are great. They came along at the right time and had the right resources for the kids,” he said.

Chief Leighton delivers the CSN materials to approximately 300 children who are in kindergarten through eighth grade in three different local jurisdictions. Sometimes the information is provided right in the classroom or sent home to read; other times it’s in conjunction with specific courses like the Home Alone Program that teaches kids to be safe and responsible when they’re left on their own.

Leighton praises the family-friendly resource for its ease of use, which is particularly helpful when conveying valuable safety information to younger kids with limited experience and short attention spans. He enjoys being able to flip through the book and show them pictures when teaching them about smoke alarms, fire extinguishers, and kitchen hazards.

“The kids like it as the books are easy to read and reference. The parents like it because it’s friendly for them,” he said.

Leighton is confident the valuable information is being absorbed. He sees teachers encouraging the kids to consume the materials, and he also asks them questions to demonstrate they’ve got the lessons down pat. Sometimes he challenges the kids with a report or questionnaire to get their feedback and show they’ve read and understood key concepts.

But it’s especially meaningful for Chief Leighton to see the fruits of his labor come full circle over time.

“I’ve been doing fire safety for over 20 years. After all this time, the reward is that they remember what they learned and are passing it on their own kids.”

Leighton credits the people and businesses of Logan Lake for contributing to the initiative’s success, noting that there have been times enough funding was raised for a two-year supply of CSN fire safety resources.

“Our community is very supportive — it has been really good over the years,” he said. “I’m only a facilitator of the material. It looks good on the community.”