Full Notification

How often do you notice fire engines going down the street? If you live in El Cajon, the answer is probably fairly often; but have you ever thought of what the firefighters see as they are looking out those big windows. They see preventable incidents, such as; people not wearing seatbelts, people talking on cell phones while driving, and too often, they see children riding bikes, skates and scooters “without helmets.” It is a common sight at virtually every intersection, crosswalk, school area, residential neighborhood and park.

El Cajon Firefighter Rob Laatsch came to the realization that something needed to be done. He had been on too many calls where a child was hit by a car or had fallen off their bike and the only injury was to their head. These are preventable injuries had they only been wearing a helmet.

The El Cajon Firefighter’s Association is working to reduce this problem in El Cajon. In conjunction with Trauma Research and Education Foundation and Safe Kids San Diego, 100 helmets were donated and are being distributed by the firefighters when they come across a child riding a bike, scooter, roller blades or skateboards without a helmet. While firefighters can’t stop these incidents from happening, thanks to these donations, they can help prevent some of these serious injuries from occurring. The main goal of the project is to provide helmets to children who don’t have them. They are also having the children sign a pledge promising to always wear their new helmet.

These efforts have been a small step in getting helmets on every child in El Cajon. Firefighters are also asking for the public’s help to ensure kids are wearing a properly fitted and buckled helmet every time they ride a bike, scooter, skateboard, or roller skates. And remember to praise them for doing this - it just might save their life!

Note: Parents should wear safety helmets as well when riding with their children. Parents are the number one role models for their children when it comes to safety.