Heroic kindergartners - Catholic students spot smoke, report fire

MILWAUKEE, Wis. (Catholic Herald) - After many days of rain, Mrs. Dudzik's K-4 class at Blessed Sacrament was excited to finally be allowed outside for recess. Shortly after the kids came outside on Sept. 13, three 4-year-olds rushed to their teacher to report black smoke billowing out of a house across the street from their playground.

The three boys, Matthew Baker, Dominic Gonzales and Harrison Reich, told their own story of what they saw on the playground. "I knew there wasn't supposed to be smoke coming out of the house," said Baker. The boys said they alerted their teacher right away, "because you always tell the teachers," said Gonzales. Cathy Dudzik, the K-4 teacher, was proud of all 16 of her students that day. "They really did listen well," she said. "The whistle blew and they went right against the building." The children watched from the safety of their classroom window as the fire trucks zoomed down the street. Principal Kathleen Kannenberg and Ron Wachowlak, the school's maintenance man, rushed to the house to knock on the door and see if anyone was inside. No one was home at the time of the fire. The owner's cats and a dog were inside at the time. Kannenberg felt the students needed to be praised for their quick thinking and assistance. "We lift our students up when they do something correct," she said. "When they do that, I'm extremely proud. I did give them an ice cream treat and a certificate saying they were heroes. The certificate awarded to each child said: "Let it be known that grade K-4 is a hero to many animals today, September 13, 2006, reporting a smoking house to an adult to alert the Emergency Response Team of Milwaukee." "We were able to talk about fire safety at school and at home, so we were able to use it as a teachable moment for them," said Kannenberg. The next day at recess, the kids gazed across the street to the house with the windows now boarded, and remarked about the smoke they saw coming out of the roof and windows. As another show of thanks, firefighters from engine company 23 visited the school Sept. 15 to acknowledge the students' work. "It was an opportunity to show our appreciation of what they did and the service they provided," said Milwaukee Fire Department Engine 23's Lt. Tom Kizewski. "Otherwise it would've been harder for us to fight the fire and it could've spread to neighboring dwellings." While at Blessed Sacrament, the firefighters allowed the children to come into the fire truck and see the equipment and where the firefighters ride on the truck. The firefighters also unrolled a hose and allowed the children to take turns holding the hose. "They were very thrilled and excited about everything," said Lt. Kizewski. "You could tell by the expressions on their faces."

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This story was made available to Catholic Online by permission of the Catholic Herald (www.chnonline.org),official newspaper of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, Wis.