One of our favorite Fire Prevention Week activities is the annual Central Coast Burn Relay. The Relay consists of two routes. The North route kicked off at the San Miguel Fire Station at 7:40 am stopped at six elementary schools north of Cuesta Grade. The South route kicked off at CAL Fire San Luis County Fire Department Station 70 at 8:00 am and stopped at seven local elementary schools. Each stop included a check presentation to recognize the contributions made by each Fire Department and school as well as a prevention education presentation with their corresponding fire department and AARBF representative. The event ended with a grand finale at the SLO Farmer’s Market for Fire Prevention Night, where participating fire departments, local burn survivors, and AARBF staff gave a short presentation.
This year’s participating Fire Departments in the relay procession included San Miguel, Paso Robles, Templeton, Atascadero, Santa Margarita, CAL Fire SLO County, and Five Cities Fire Department. The North route enjoyed lunch with Santa Margarita Elementary, and the South route enjoyed lunch with St. Patrick School. During these lunch breaks, firefighters were able to spend quality time with the students, engage in outdoor games and answer students’ questions.
This relay is unique because it reaches thirteen elementary schools, totaling close to 4,500 students. The firefighters make prevention education fun and relatable to the students.