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Au Pairs committed to fire, injury prevention

Contributed by: Einar Jensen on 1/22/2008

For many families in Evergreen and throughout the nation, the demands of parenting are too much for traditional moms and dads. Many of these parents are turning to au pairs -- live-in childcare providers -- to help with tasks such as cooking, transporting the kids to events and tutoring.

Au pairs also bring cultural diversity to host families, much like foreign exchange students. Unlike domestic nanny services, au pairs are monitored actively by the Department of State and must provide personal references and proof of previous child care experience; they also undergo a criminal background check, according to Kate Kuzma of Cultural Care Au Pair (CCAP).

CCAP, a Massachusetts-based company represented locally by Diane Purdy of Evergreen, is one of the leading au pair programs in the US. It has 16 au pairs currently working in this area.

Each of those young men and women attended a seminar on fire and injury prevention at Evergreen Fire/Rescue Station 2 presented by Community Educator Einar Jensen on January 16.

Prevention and survival were the key themes of the evening course. They learned why it's important to practice home fire escape drills after practicing themselves -- crawling through a darkened classroom around furniture to exit doors. They also practiced their Stop, Drop & Roll skills and discussed smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms, vowing to bring those messages back to their host families in Evergreen, Golden and Lakewood.

Jensen also discussed burn prevention, emphasizing the dangers of scalds, which are the leading cause of burn injuries among children aged four and younger. Scalds are caused by hot gases and liquids contacting skin, such as when a child grabs for a coffee maker's cord dangling from a countertop, and accidentally pulls the maker, pot and its boiling contents onto her body.

Scalds also occur commonly in the bathtub, either when the water is too hot or when a caregiver leaves the child in the tub to answer the telephone and the child turns on the hot water on his own.

The au pairs demonstrated their new knowledge by correcting pre-arranged hazards in the kitchen at the training center. For example, Sandra Tourtchaninoff of Sweden spotted the misplaced pan handles while Sasa Daudbegovic of Bosnia moved the knives out of the reach of children.

After passing the kitchen test and the home escape drill, they followed Jensen to Station 2 for a tour of the apparatus and a visit to the communications center where EFR dispatchers, such as Shane Palmer and Mike Mendelsohn who were on duty, would answer their calls for help.

Other au pairs in the group were Mariana Castro (Brazil), Virginia Thomazi (Brazil), Friederike Lukas (Germany), Karen Espejo (Bolivia), Angeline Rios (Panama), Jennifer Dannhorn (Germany), Irina Jaufman (Germany), Thomas Huettner (Germany), Diana Fajardo (Colombia), Carina Dittrich (Germany), Sandra Schutz (Germany), Lena Abresch (Germany), Andrea Franco (Bolivia), Maira Barros (Brazil) and Olga Trusova (Russia).

"We had a great time," Jensen said of the safety seminar. "They understand the responsibilities of caring for children and their role in emergency prevention and response. I appreciate their willingness to learn these life-saving skills."

Speaking of life-saving skills, Jensen and Purdy are planning another safety seminar in which the au pairs can learn CPR, basic first aid and how to use fire extinguishers.

For information on presentations offered by Evergreen Fire Rescue, contact Jensen at ejensen@evergreenfirerescue.com, or visit www.evergreenfirerescue.com. For information on Cultural Care Au Pair, visit www.culturalcare.com.


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CONTRIBUTOR INFORMATION

Einar Jensen

Evergreen , CO

Einar Jensen has posted 162 stories and 6 comments since joining on 9/21/2005. Einar Jensen 's average story rating is 4.99.
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