California Kids `Riveted` by Safety Fair

A team of paramedics kept its huddled audience of wide-eyed 4-year-olds captivated just by raising a gurney Wednesday morning during a safety demonstration at Strawberry Preschool.

"To these kids, these people are superheroes," said parent and school volunteer Betty Gaye Potter.

The demonstration was part of the Tiburon school's three-day "Safety Village" program this week.

Members of the Southern Marin Fire Protection District, paramedic units and the Tiburon Police Department brought their equipment and vehicles for show-and-tell discussions on home safety, street signs and traffic signals, fire protection and emergency procedures. As paramedics transfixed youngsters in the parking lot Wednesday, State Farm Insurance Co. representatives used a "tele-trainer" to involve children in simulated 911 emergency phone calls.

"It's really a worthwhile program," Potter said. "The kids are riveted by this. They wouldn't take it in the same way if it came from parents."

The first-year program was spearheaded by Tiburon parent Shannan Bishop, 36, based on her family's 25-year-old safety awareness foundation in her Illinois hometown.

Bishop said she was 11 years old when she saw her 7-year-old sister die after being hit by a school bus. The incident spurred her parents and others in Hinsdale, Ill., to build a village attached to the town's elementary school with real roads, curbs and traffic lights called "Safety Village." The site is home to regular two-week safety classes for children.

"My daughter, Ellie, is now the age where she would be going and, since she's not there, we're making it happen here," Bishop said.

"This provides a real awareness for them and their families," said Teri Moss, director of the 48-student preschool. "I think it's going to make everybody safer."

"If they get a chance to see us and our equipment before something happens to them, they're more accepting if something were to actually happen," said Dean Raffini, a member of the Southern Marin Fire Protection District's paramedic unit. "This gives them a comfort zone."

The message seemed to be hitting home.

"I'm learning all about safety," said 4-year-old Zachary Ginsburg, before rattling off what to do during a 911 call.

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