Official launch of FESA's Freddy Fire Engine Website for children [Audio]

25/10/99
Children all over the world will now be able to learn fire safety from Western Australia's own fire safety mascot - Freddy Fire Engine.
As part of its Fire Prevention Week celebrations, the Fire and Emergency Services Authority of WA (FESA) today went online with Freddy's own website.
Emergency Services Minister Kevin Prince officially launched the site with the help of 30 students from Joondalup Primary School.
Mr Prince said the new Freddy Fire Engine Website was possibly the first website in WA to be specially tailored to such a young age group - four to ten-year-olds.
"The site is expected to quickly become a hit among the huge numbers of children who have become followers of the Freddy Fire Engine fire safety mascot over the past eight years," he said.
"A Fire Safety Club, based on newsletters from Freddy, has more than 19,000 children on its mailing list.
"All of these children will now be able to receive information from the club online.
"In addition, as almost every primary school in WA has access to the Internet, we now have the capability through the website to potentially reach 175,000 children in this State with fire safety messages."
The site, which aims to teach children the basic rules of fire safety, uses games such as Hoses 'n' Ladders and The Maze (where Freddy is helped to escape from a burning building) to develop a highly interactive and entertaining message.
It was developed following a successful trial a year ago, which indicated that regional children in particular would support a web-based fire safety club.
Through all the bouncy music, bright graphics and catchy songs the message is far from child's play. Between 20 and 25 children lose their lives though fire in Australia every year and 1800 end up in hospital with burns.
The Director of Community Safety for Fire Services in WA, Naomi Brown, said that the growing number of computers in homes, as well as in schools, presented a great opportunity to reach young children with fire safety messages.
"Children as young as three are now able to mouse-click their way through carefully designed interactive websites and they are cheaper and easier to access than CD Roms," Ms Brown said.
"We can keep reinforcing the fire safety message by sending them Freddy Fire Engine Club Updates and newsletters via email until they turn 10 years of age."
The website will also enable FESA's fire education officers to reach more children in regional WA and provide them with a cost-effective way to distribute information and materials to club members in rural communities.
Members of the community can log on and 'Stop, Drop, Cover and Roll' with Freddy at http://www.fesa.wa.gov.au/freddy
Media contacts: Kirsten Stoney 9220 5000
Kristine Smith (FESA) 9323 9329

"You've got to look after yourself, the emergency services will be there, but if you don't take the prevention messages you make it almost impossible for the fire services to control a fire." (194K/9secs)

"They learn those safety messages: drop, cover your face, roll, crawl out under the smoke." (394K/18secs)