Where Emergency Is Elementary

Staying calm in an emergency can be a challenge, especially when you’re not yet 10 years old.

But in a simulated rescue effort Friday, more than 550 students at Willmore Elementary School in Westminster were willing to give it a try.

Undaunted by the importance that comes with saving a life, third-grader Lorena Chavarria proved she could place an emergency call to dispatchers during Friday’s drill.

Within seconds of Lorena’s cellphone call to 911, Orange County fire trucks and Westminster police cars -- sirens blaring -- had come to the aid of a collapsed victim.

“It’s important to call 911 because if not, no one will come,” said 9-year-old Lorena after the fake rescue at the school field. “It’s important to stay calm, too, because you don’t want to fall and get unconscious.”

All week during their daily classes, police and fire officials have been reiterating to students the significance of what they say are three basic emergency rules: Remain calm. Find an adult. Call 911.

After the drill, Westminster Councilman Kermit Marsh swore the kids as the newest junior paramedics. The students were the first graduating class in Orange County.

Cheering the kids on was their instructor, Joseph Matthews, the junior paramedic coordinator with American Medical Response. His group, which is run with the help of local police and fire agencies, provides the funds for the program.

“It’s really important that these kids remain calm during any emergency situation. That is what we try to teach them through repetition and role playing,” said Matthews, a former elementary school teacher.

Some students said the most exciting moment of the hands-on program was riding in an ambulance.

But most parents said the best part was learning something themselves. Their kids came home with special instructions, such as make sure that smoke detectors work and that they have fresh batteries; and make sure that there are cards with emergency contact phone numbers readily available.

Principal Jan Sneathen said many of the Willmore Elementary parents don’t speak fluent English, so the safety information their children receive at school is important.

Parent Irene Vargas concurred. “It’s so good that they are being taught all of this,” said Vargas, a native of Mexico. “I don’t speak English,” she said in Spanish, “so it’s helpful because they really do know what they are doing.”