Lexington Fire Department Supports Scouting
Just this past Sunday, the Lexington Fire Department (LFD) welcomed more than 30 Cubs and their parents from Pack 137 and 160 over for a Ready Cub Day at their headquarter on Bedford Street. Lt. Peter Ricci, the Public Education Officer with the LFD and a longtime Scouter, explained that "we first responders are sought for our leadership, subject expertise, and as such we can serve our community by also being an inspiration to our youths' participation and interest in learning safety and emergency preparedness on a local level". Lt Ricci is a veteran when it comes to hosting schools, Scouts and youth in general, but Ready Cub was a different, reinforcing experience. "When I was first approach by Dr. Ronnie Andersson, the Ready Cub Captain with the Spirit of Adventure Council, I didn't know anything about the program, but having done it I hope other communities will learn more about the program and initiate it in their own communities" said Lt. Ricci.
The Ready Cub program encourages Packs to collaborate with their local first responders and for the Cubs to earn both a Certificate and Patch while having fun, either by Rank specific requirement or by doing any of two FEMA developed programs called "Prepare with Pedro" and Student Tools for Emergency Planning (STEP) explained Ms. Arlene Magoon, a retired FEMA R1 Preparedness Officer, and active member of the Council's Preparedness Committee, who teaches the (STEP) curriculum.
"For me, it was straight forward", said Lt. Ricci, "I reviewed the program and carved out areas where the LFD could help and where the Pack needed to fill in and of course I offered to end the Ready Cub Day with a Touch a Fire Truck event!" All in all, we had 90 minutes long Ready Cub program together with breakout sessions based on age and a lot of fun activities. At the program end Ms. Shannon Tang, Tiger Den Leader with Pack 160, summarized the whole experience with "Thanks for running this! The kids had a lot of fun".
"We are very thankful to Lt. Ricci and Scouts in Lexington are very fortunate to have such a great relationship with their Fire Department and we hope for many other Scout units to continue growing their relationship with their communities' first responders" concluded Dr. Andersson. We are also thankful for the two representatives we had from the West Wind District, MSG Jonathan Ruth, and the Sons of Liberty District, Sheriff Officer Robert Wright, who also advertised about the Scout Safety Day on June 30th at the Aleppo Shriners Auditorium in Wilmington!
For Pack leaders interested in Ready Cub and building first responder collaboration, visit the Scout Preparedness Program page at https://www.scoutspirit.org/fema . The page is a great starting point to learn more and get involved!
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