By Sarah Light, staff writer

Five firefighters from the Albert Lea Fire Department made a special visit to United Preschool on Tuesday, teaching students the basics of fire prevention and safety and giving the children the opportunity to see a fire truck firsthand.

The visit came as part of Fire Prevention Week, when firefighters and safety advocates across the country have been working to spread the word about the dangers of home fires and to teach residents how to plan and practice escaping from their homes if a fire does occur.

Locally, firefighters are traveling to area schools to teach younger students simple fire tactics of what to do if your clothes are on fire, what to do if you find matches and what to do if there is a fire in your house. Then on Saturday, there will be an open house at the fire station to allow families and other residents the opportunity to see how some of the fire equipment works.

During the presentation to the preschoolers, firefighter Trevor DeRaad explained the process of &8220;stop, drop and roll&8221; for the children and had eager four-year-old Emma Mueller help demonstrate what to do.

Mueller said she had never seen firefighters before Tuesday.

Following the &8220;stop, drop and roll&8221; demonstration, DeRaad and fellow firefighter Ben Davis held up a gray blanket and explained to the students that they need to stay low if there is smoke and crawl on their hands and knees to get out of a room. Then, all of the preschoolers crawled under the blanket, acting like there was smoke in the room.

DeRaad and Davis explained to the children to show an adult if they found matches or lighters instead of picking them up. And then lastly, Davis dressed up in his full firefighter gear to show what a firefighter would look like going into a fire. He then let the students come up to him and feel his jacket and helmet.

After these presentations inside, the group went outside where they saw an Albert Lea Fire Department ladder truck and another truck with a water hose.

The firefighters extended the ladder up as far as it would go &8212; more than 100 feet &8212; and then lastly demonstrated how water comes out of the hose.

Four-year-old Payne Doyle said after the men left that he wanted to be a firefighter when he grows up. He just got a fireman coat from his grandmother, he pointed out.

&8220;I learned everything the firemen said,&8221; he said.

The firefighters encouraged the children to share what they have learned with their friends and family.

According to the latest National Fire Protection Association research, 3,030 people died in home fires during 2005 &8212; equaling to about eight people every day. While being alerted to a fire and knowing what to do to escape from one are important, only 23 percent of households have planned and practiced a home fire escape plan, the association stated.