THE National Fire Authority has praised preschoolers who marked Pre-School Week last week by visiting their stations around Fiji.
NFA chief executive officer John O'Connor was overwhelmed with the number of preschool students who attended the Smokehouse program at its fire stations in the Central/Eastern, Western and Northern divisions last week.
"The Smokehouse program is a practical program that is used to effectively relate fire safety messages to young children," Mr O'Connor said.
"Therefore it is very important that we start creating fire safety awareness for these children so they know what to do in case of fire.
"The Smokehouse simulates a real life scenario of a house fire and children are taught how to crawl out of a smoke-filled house."
The students learnt fire safety tips and were given a live fire drill demonstration by the firefighters.
"Out of the 59 structural fires so far this year, five children have lost their lives in house fires," Mr O'Connor said.
"These house fires were caused by lit candles, children playing with matches and unattended cooking.
"The Smokehouse program is one of the effective mediums to create awareness of fire safety and we hope that the children will share the message of fire safety with their parents."