This week, American Red Cross New Jersey Region volunteers, together with firefighters from Dover Fire Department, taught 380 young children in three Dover elementary schools how to prepare for, as well as cope during and after, home fires.

The team presented the engaging Red Cross program, Prepare with Pedro in both English and Spanish language. Pedro himself was also on hand to greet and high five the first- and second-grade students while they learned about fire safety.

The Red Cross created Prepare with Pedro to help children learn how to stay safe before, during, and after an emergency. The program is designed to teach preparedness to students in kindergarten through second grade.

“Prepare with Pedro teaches children how to act during emergencies like home fires. It helps students understand what is happening around them and provides coping skills to deal with a stressful situation,” explained Robb Elko, interim executive director, American Red Cross of Northern New Jersey. He added,

_{“It was a pleasure to partner with the Dover Fire Department and Dover Public Schools to help children be better prepared for home fires.”}

The volunteers read about Pedro’s adventures in preparing while the fun-loving penguin engaged with the students. The program took children through training exercises to learn basic preparedness concepts including what a smoke alarm sounds like, what is important to remember in case of a home fire, practicing deep breathing to remain calm during an emergency, and how to talk with adults about their feelings after a stressful experience.

After the Red Cross presentations, Dover Fire Chief Jon Sperry and another firefighter demonstrated their fire-fighting gear and presented a quick tour of one of their fire trucks to the delight of the children.

At home, students and their families can continue learning about preparedness for hurricanes, wildfires, tornadoes and other emergencies through the Prepare with Pedro storybooks, videos and other free resources available for digital download in English and Spanish. There is also a Pedro Fire Safety Challenge for Google Assistant and Alexa-enabled Devices.

To learn more ways that the entire household can prepare for and prevent home fires, visit redcross.org/PrepareNJ.