Incoming kindergartners in the red group picked a car to drive around Safetytown at the Belpre Elementary School to practice basic driving safety techniques. (Photo by Amber Phipps)

BELPRE — Incoming kindergartners from around Washington County visited the Belpre Volunteer Fire Department on Day 7 of Safetytown on Wednesday morning.

Safetytown has been teaching kids the importance of safety and alertness for 41 years.

Since 1984, Safetytown has provided kids with a fun and engaging way to learn about practicing safe public habits.

“We usually have around 80 to 120 kids sign up for Safetytown each year,” said Belpre High School band director and Safetytown coordinator William “Bill” Van Pelt. “We have incoming kindergartners from all over the county attend, and the goal is to teach them about safety but also get them used to the classroom setting since some of them didn’t go to preschool.”

Before COVID, Van Pelt said that they had an average of 120 kids in attendance but the numbers decreased after the pandemic. Over the past few years he said they’ve started seeing an increase in kids attending.

Volunteer high school students from Belpre helped the kids navigate Safetytown and learn the proper way to obey traffic laws. (Photo by Amber Phipps)

“I’ve been part of Safetytown for 25 years now and a lot of these kids end up volunteering later when they’re older,” said Van Pelt.

Belpre High School senior Mackenzie Boyd has been volunteering at Safetytown since 2023. She said that she participated in Safetytown when she was an incoming kindergartner.

“I went there when I was younger and at the time, I was sad to be apart from my mom and the volunteers helped me through the emotions,” said Boyd. “And I want to be that for someone and do the same thing for those children.”

Safetytown 2025 started on May 27 from 9 to 11:30 a.m. and will conclude with graduation at 9:15 a.m. on June 6.

The 80 incoming kindergartners were separated into five groups: red, blue, green, yellow, and orange. Each day focuses on a different aspect of public safety like outdoor safety, ambulances, sun safety, stranger danger, and the fire department. The schedule is the same for each group and consists of classroom time, special guest speakers, visiting local public safety departments, and playing at Safetytown on the basketball courts.

On day seven of Belpre’s Safetytown, the incoming kindergartners in the red group worked on coloring pictures before they visited the Belpre Volunteer Fire Department on Wednesday. (Photo by Amber Phipps)

Belpre Elementary reading specialist and coordinator of Safetytown Mary Miller has been the longest attending volunteer of Safetytown for 40 years.

“They’re energetic and they’re eager to learn and this is a good age because developmentally they’re getting ready to learn these rules,” said Miller. “That’s why we have the age limit which is that they have to be 5 by August 1.”

Miller has seen Safetytown since the very beginning and she said she has always been the green group. She said that it all started because a teen at Parkersburg South High School was killed by a car and it was decided that kids needed to be taught street safety.

“We don’t expect them to remember everything,” said Miller. “We can plant those seeds of safety and then hopefully they’ll be able to maintain some of it.”

On Day 7, each group went through a rotation of events from arts and crafts to visiting the Belpre Volunteer Fire Department mid-morning.

All five Safetytown groups attended the driving course located on the basketball courts behind Belpre Elementary. The red group practiced driving before they got on a bus to head over to the Belpre Volunteer Fire Department. (Photo by Amber Phipps)

The kids were able to explore the inside of the fire trucks and learn some facts about the job from volunteer fireman Kevin Pierson.

One of the volunteers attached the firetruck hose to the fire hydrant and sprayed the kids with water in a nearby field.

“This is the first time they’ve ever done this,” said Miller.

Some of the kids were allowed to stand with the fireman and help hold the hose to spray the other kids.

Van Pelt also wanted to thank Ray Blackburn and the Wendy’s of Belpre for sponsoring this year’s Safetytown t-shirts.

The incoming kindergartners in the red group practiced driving while a few of the volunteers and teachers helped guide them through the course. The kids were encouraged to learn from their mistakes by acknowledging what they did incorrectly. (Photo by Amber Phipps)

The event is entirely free to the kids thanks to sponsors: Belpre City Schools, the City of Belpre, Belpre Lions Club, Belpre Rotary Club, Belpre Woman’s Club, Wendy’s of Belpre, United Way Alliance of the Mid-Ohio Valley, and the Belpre Area Community Development Foundation.

Amber Phipps can be reached at aphipps@newsandsentinel.com

All five Safetytown groups took turns visiting the Belpre Volunteer Fire Department on Wednesday morning. The yellow group lined up to climb into the fire truck and explore what it’s like to be in the driver seat of an emergency vehicle. (Photo by Amber Phipps)

The kids in the green group played in the field next to the Belpre Volunteer Fire Department while one of the firemen attached the hose to the fire hydrant and sprayed them with water. (Photo by Amber Phipps)

For the first time in Safetytown history, the Belpre Volunteer Fire Department brought out the hose for the kids to see. One of the firemen hooked the hose to the fire hydrant and sprayed the kids with water in the nearby field. (Photo by Amber Phipps)

The fireman attached the hose to the fire hydrant and let the kids each help hold the hose and spray the water. Belpre Elementary school teacher and leader of the green group, Mary Miller, said that they’ve never done this before so it was really exciting. (Photo by Amber Phipps)

Among many things the kids did on Day 7 of Safetytown was listen to Belpre volunteer firefighter Kevin Pierson talk about how the fire department answers emergency calls. The kids were allowed to ask questions about what the fire department does and how they handle emergencies. (Photo by Amber Phipps)