GETAWAY — Aiden Wood came dressed as a firefighter Thursday when he showed up for his preschool at the Lawrence County Early Childhood Academy.

With his boots and his tot-sized turnout gear, he looked like a real firefighter, which was most appropriate because Thursday, Aiden and the other children got to meet some real live firefighters.

Tyler Hamlin, fire safety educator for the Windsor Fire Department and Ed Webb, chief of the Chesapeake/Union Fire Department, and Jason Corwin, fire safety educator for the State Fire Marshal’s Office, visited the preschool on the Collins Career Center campus to talk to the children about fire safety.

Hamlin explained to the preschoolers that if their house catches fire, tell someone immediately.

“Do you know who to call?” Hamlin asked the kids.

“9-1-1,” Aiden replied.

“And what do you tell them?” Hamlin asked.

“The house is on fire,” Aiden replied.

Corwin showed the child a smoke alarm and held down the test button so they could hear the loud alarm. He explained why homes need smoke detectors.

“When you hear this beep, what do you do?” Corwin queried.

“Run out of the house,” Tucker Ross replied enthusiastically.

Hamlin brought his turnout gear and Webb brought a fire truck. The children got to take turns sitting in the cab of the truck and trying, at least, to pick up Hamlin’s airpack, a 20-plus pound pair of tanks that provide air should he ever need to go into a burning building.

While it may have seemed like lots of fun, the visit is part of local activities for National Fire Prevention Month.

The children may have been mesmerized by the flashing lights and smoke alarms, but the message and the need for it to be taught to even the littlest ones is serious business to Hamlin, Webb and Corwin and their counterparts locally and throughout the state.

“This all came about because of the number of children killed in house fires in Ohio,” Hamlin explained. “If I can teach one kid how to get out of a burning house safely…”