MLFD honors grade schoolers who spotted fire
Moses Lake Fire Department Administrative Coordinator Heidi Merritt (left) and Chief Brett Bastian (right) give special helmets to Olive and Joshua Hardy at a regular city council meeting on Tuesday to thank the two children for spotting a house fire in early November and alerting their parents.
CHARLES H. FEATHERSTONE/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
Moses Lake Fire Department Administrative Coordinator Heidi Merritt talks with Joshua Hardy after a city council meeting where the grade schooler and his sister Olive were honored for spotting a house fire and alerting their parents.
MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake Fire Department honored two elementary school students on Tuesday for their quick thinking in recognizing a house fire early and calling for help.
“The Moses Lake Fire Department would like to recognize Johsua and Olive Hardy for quickly recognizing a dangerous situation and letting their parents step in and take action,” said Heidi Merritt, MLFD administrative coordinator, during a regular meeting of the Moses Lake City Council.
On Nov. 2, Merritt said Joshua, 7, and Olive, 9, were out with their parents when they spotted smoke coming from a neighbor’s garage. The parents, Stephanie and Ryan, called 911 and then alerted the neighbors, Merritt said, allowing them to get to safety so the MLFD could effectively deal with the fire.
“The kids implemented what Joshua had learned from our school visit about fire safety,” Merritt said. “They knew to stay in the car where they were safe, to keep an eye on each other and out of the way.”
Merritt presented Joshua and Olive with special fire captain helmets.
“We’re very proud of them,” Stephanie said after the meeting. “They’re good kids.”
Merritt said she was glad some of the fire awareness education she does in Moses Lake elementary schools was remembered and put to good use.
“It really made me feel like what I did really made a big difference. Because sometimes you go and talk to classrooms or people, even adults, and you wonder, did that sink in?” She said. “So when I heard about this, I was like, that was fantastic.”
Charles H. Featherstone can be reached at cfeatherstone@columbiabasinherald.com.
