Story by: Tiara Ataii (Yr 6)
Website editor: Miriam Fine (Yr 12)
On Tuesday June 17th, Yr 6 participated in the Junior Citizenship Day, organised by the local police.
“Although we are all aware of the dangers of the modern day, when we went to the Harrow Junior Citizenship Day, it was a fun but serious wake up call.
We did many enjoyable activities, spending eight minutes on each. We learnt how to deal with mugging and robberies and how to prevent fires. Everyone knew the main ways fires are caused, though not many people knew that not using candle holders can cause fires and melt possessions such as televisions. Everyone knows that on a train station you should stay away from the tracks, but did you know that staying behind the yellow line is not enough? If someone pushes you, you could easily fall onto the track and one amp of electricity is enough to kill you. You should stay your height and one step back from the edge of the platform.
The highlight of the day was when we saw a demonstration of a kitchen fire. We stayed safely at a distance. At first, a firefighter showed oil heating, then catching alight. Then she put half a cup of water on the fire and it exploded in to a dangerous mass of smoke and flames. This shows you should never try to put out a cooking fire with water. To stop the fire, the fire fighter put a damp cloth over the flames, but as soon as she took it off again, the fire resumed. This proves just how dangerous fires are: you could die just from the smoke, let alone the fire. That is why it is so important to have smoke alarms fitted in your house and check them regularly.”