By Linda White
There was clearly something big happening at the Lane School on Friday morning, February 17.
The parking lots were chock-full of cars, and it was difficult to miss the Bedford fire truck, a Bedford rescue vehicle, a Bedford police car, the State Fire Marshall’s vehicle, and trucks from local media including Channels 4, 5, 7, and 10.
Once inside the school, the main hallway was just as busy as the parking lot. A steady stream of students and teachers were making their way to the gymnasium for a special assembly to honor third-grade student Jacoby Garber.
Bedford Fire Chief David Grunes welcomed everyone and recounted the events leading up to today’s assembly. Listening to the tape recording of Jacoby’s 911 call on the evening of December 23, the audience could easily hear Jacoby giving the dispatcher all the required information about the fire in the garage at his home in a concise, calm, clear, and complete manner.
As Jacoby modestly recalled, “I was just doing what I learned to do from the training I received from Firefighter Anderson at school.”
Chief Grunes summarized, “Upon arrival at the [Garber] home, our firefighters found an involved fire in the attached garage which they were able to quickly extinguish. Heat damage was contained to the garage and the remainder of the home sustained some smoke damage. No injuries were reported.
“We’re extremely proud that Jacoby was able to use what he learned in school through the S.A.F.E. Program to save his family in a real-life emergency,” added Grunes. “His quick, calm, and correct response prevented people from getting hurt and minimized the damage to his home.”
State Fire Marshall Peter Ostroskey presented Jacoby with a certificate and t-shirt emblazoned Student Awareness of Fire Education (S.A.F.E) “Young Hero,” recognizing the third grader’s utilization of the training and knowledge he received.
About the SAFE program in the Bedford Schools
Since the program launched in 1995, more than 340 children have been recognized for putting into practice the fire safety and life-saving lessons they learned in the classroom in order to save themselves or others during a real-life emergency.
Bedford students begin receiving fire safety instruction in kindergarten and the program continues through Grade 12. Two months ago, Principal Rob Ackerman welcomed Firefighter Nick Anderson to Lane School for an instructional program presented to Jacoby and Grade 3 classmates
In Conclusion
Speaking about the evening of the fire, Lynn Garber, Jacoby’s mother remembered, “Jacoby came up from the garage where he and my husband discovered the fire and firmly told me he was going to call 911 because this was the real thing and that we needed to evacuate immediately.
“I thought to myself, is this my nine-year-old son speaking to me with such command and authority?” Mrs. Garber continued. “My family and I feel so lucky and proud to be members of the Bedford community where our schools teach fire safety at the earliest of ages, and that we have such great first responders. The response from the entire Bedford community has been overwhelming. Thank you!”
At the end of the program, Chief Grunes reminded the audience of the importance of dialing 911 and remarked, “The work of a firefighter is the best job in the world.”
In case you were wondering about Jacoby’s name, according to his dad yes he was named for the former Red Sox player Jacoby Ellsbury!
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