Waterford - As part of Fire Prevention Week last Tuesday, fire officials visited Great Neck School to share this year's message: making sure there are two ways out of every room in the home.

Goshen Fire Department Deputy Chief Neil Wiseman visited with second-graders from Lauren McKenna's classroom to talk about fire safety and the importance of getting out of a building as fast as possible when an alarm goes off.

Every student at Great Neck received a brochure to take home encouraging students to be "rabbit ready."

Rabbits have two ways out of their burrows so that they'll always be able to escape if they sense danger, Wiseman said, reminding the students that when they arrived home from school that afternoon to talk to their parents about escape routes.

"We have a plan to get you out from the classroom, from the lunchroom, the library and lots of other places," Principal Patricia Fedor told the group of second graders. "So you should have a plan at your home too."

By the end of this school year, students at Great Neck will have become accustomed to promptly exiting their school when the fire alarm goes off. They have seven fire drills and three lock down drills a year.

Fedor said that while the first drills may be a bit scary her students have done exceedingly well so far.

"We've got our evacuation of the building down to 48 seconds," Fedor said.

Wiseman also asked if students knew about a second type of detector they may have in their homes.

Student Vincent Antonelli knew exactly what Wiseman was talking about. His hand shot into the air.

"The C.O. alarm, I think we have one, it has a green blinking light on it and I think it goes right to the fire department," Vincent, 7, said.

Wiseman added, "If you hear that alarm going off, it's the same thing, get out and stay out. It's just like a smoke detector but you can't see this kind of gas. As people start to turn their heat on this time of year those alarms start going off a lot more."

Informational posters about fire safety will also be hung in the school so that the students can see them every day.

For more information about fire safety, visit www.nfpa.org.

J.HANCKEL@THEDAY.COM

UBox: Be Rabbit Ready

1. Have a plan of escape. Draw a map of your home showing all doors and windows.

2. Practice the escape plan twice a year with your whole family. Have a fire drill during the day and at night and practice getting low and going under smoke.

3. Remember, when a smoke alarm sounds, get out and stay out.