On Monday, May 19, John Whitaker and John Whiteside brought Support Unit 2 to a Community Service/Fire Safety Presentation for the Second Graders at Sakamoto Elementary School. The school is located at 6280 Shadelands Drive. John Whitaker arranged for the program with Engineer Rob Cone and Capt. J.P. Santos of San Jose Station 12. Station 12 is the first-due company for Sakamoto School.John's wife, Liz Whitaker, had taught at Sakamoto for 34 years when she retired in June, 2006 (Liz's first day of teaching was the same day Sakamoto opened it's doors for the very first time). Now, a close family friend is retiring from teaching 2nd Grade at Sakamoto after 25 years of service. As a gesture of appreciation, John arranged for Engine 12 and Patrol 12 to come to the school playground and make a special presentation to all four Second Grade classes. Second Graders learn about the fire department and fire safety as part of their Social Studies curriculum.
Capt. Santos and his crew gave two, 25-minute presentations on fire safety that were well-received by the students. At the end of the program, all the children got to climb through the Engine, try on a fire turnout coat and were given a cup of lemonade by the Fire Associates Support Unit. While John Whiteside dispensed the drinks, John Whitaker talked about the importance of the service provided by Fire Associates. After sitting in the hot sun for 25 minutes, the children got to see first hand how refreshing a cup of lemonade can be to the firefighters.
Photos of the event can be seen at: Sakamoto School Photos.
