Members of the Wa Wa Shriners of Yorkton visited the Preeceville School and Sturgis Composite School on October 25 to promote fire safety and to present their stop burn injuries program.
Shriners who were in attendance at each presentation included Leroy Charbonneau of Theodore; Jerry Bulitz of Yortkon; Barry Dilts of Melville, and Wayne Stephens of Yorkton.
In Sturgis, Fire Chief Brad Secundiak was invited to talk to students about fire safety practices around the home.
"It is important to understand what can hurt you in your house and surroundings," said Secundiak.
The second topic featured how to make, practice and use a fire escape plan.
In Preeceville, Nathan Draper of the Preeceville Fire Department, was in attendance and he echoed the same messages that Shriners gave about fire safety and what to do in case of a fire.
From its founding in 1872, the Shriners organization supported various charities. In 1920, the Shriners founded its own charity, Shriners Hospital for Children.
"We are here today to talk about safe fire practices in and around your home and the things that can be done to avoid severe burns," said Barry Dilts.
Dilts explained to the students the importance of seeing obstacles and how to avoid getting burned. He went on to have students participate in a stop, drop and roll exercise in different scenarios.
Each year, thousands of children suffer burn-related accidents from one of the greatest hazards of childhood, said information from the Shriners. In 1960, the Shrine of North America opened three Shriners Hospitals with the purpose of treating severely burned children.
Shriners Hospitals remain pioneers in burn treatment and provide excellent medical care to severely burned children, the information said. Hospitals are located in Boston, Cincinnati, Texas and Sacramento. The Shrine reinforces its commitment to research and improvements in burn treatment through affiliations with medical schools at Harvard, Cincinnati, Texas and Sacremento.
The Shriners Hospitals provide this service regardless if the patient and family can pay or not, it said. Hospitals are funded by contributions, bequests, income from the Shriners Hospitals endowment fund and by each Shrine group’s annual hospital assessment and designated charitable fundraising events.
There is never a charge to the patient or the patient's family for any service or medical treatment provided by the Shriners Hospital, it said.
