Students from The Village School in Gaffney drop to the floor to escape the smoke from a simulated fire inside the Cherokee County Fire Chiefs Association's fire safety trailer, a mobile classroom that will be making appearances at all elementary schools in the county. As smoke began pouring into their classroom Friday, students from the Village School calmly dropped to the ground and crawled close to the floor until they made their escape from a nearby window.

Most of the students smiled from ear to ear afterwards.

That's because the smoke was non-toxic and the volunteers who turned out on a rainy Friday morning weren't there to scare the children but to teach a friendly lesson that hopefully will last a lifetime.

Graduates of this class was awarded with a bracelet and a sticker.

The Cherokee County Fire Chiefs Association set up its mobile classroom, a fire safety trailer acquired earlier this year with major help from the Timken Foundation, outside the Village School in Gaffney. Every student in the school participated in a fire safety class which ended in an orderly escape from a simulated fire.

Children across Cherokee County will be participating in similar training classes throughout October, which is Fire Safety Month, since the Fire Chiefs Association has plans to visit every elementary school.

"I love doing this," said Chief Reggie Petty of the Cherokee Creek Volunteer Fire Company, who also serves as a dispatch captain at Cherokee County 911.

A part of the educational program involved 911 emergency communications, how children can call the emergency line and what they can expect to hear at the other end.

The fire safety trailer is set up so that children can make a practice phone call to 911. Petty, who was out of the children's sight in another section of the trailer, answered the practice calls with a calming and reassuring voice.

The students also received a crash course in stove and cooktop safety, and the program included an educational video about the importance of smoke detectors and the steps to follow in case of an emergency.

"You'd be surprised how much that video will impart, even to someone as young as a 2-year-old child," said Gaffney Firefighter Michael Scruggs. "My boy, who is four, saw that video when he was two. He could tell you, 'Don't hide, go outside in case of emergency.'"

Scruggs believes the value of fire safety education is too often underestimated today. While referring to major tragedies that might have been averted, he thought fire safety programs or refresher courses could be valuable for teens and adults, too.

Teachers at the Village School appreciated the Fire Chiefs Associations' efforts and said the children enjoyed the experience.

Association members such as Nick Scates, chief of the Corinth Volunteer Fire Department, said they enjoyed themselves, too.

"I have a ball doing this because the kids get to learn," Scates said between the presentations.

The ultimate goal, all agreed, is to save lives.

"Maybe one day they (the children) will use (the lessons) to save their life, or their brother's or sister's lives," Scates said.

In addition to Cherokee County Schools, Petty said the Fire Chiefs Association will make the safety program available to church and community groups. You can call him at 902-1115 if you're interested.