Capt. Todd Gray, of the Fulton Fire Department, crawled around a McIntire Elementary classroom on Thursday, and he encouraged everyone to try it if they ever found themselves in a smoky situation.
He also asked children not to jump out of windows if their houses catch fire.
"Wait for us," he said. "We'll come get you. We have ladders on our trucks and we practice for this. We train to be quick."
It's not every day people come face to face with real life heroes, but this was the week for it as Gray, along with firefighter Shawn Wallendorff and Capt. Carl Stassel, visited local elementary schools.
"They were at Bartley and Bush (elementary schools) earlier this week, and here today," Fulton School District spokesperson Karen Snethen said. "They'll be going to Fulton Early Childhood, too."
Gray instructed students to feel for heat on their doors before opening them if they are ever caught in fires.
"Feel the door with the back of your hand," he said. "If it's hot, what does it mean? There's a fire behind."
He said if someone feels safe about opening a door but then finds heavy smoke, close the door and go open a window.
"Take your blanket and hang it out the window to let people know something's wrong," he said.
Gray also said he makes sure his own children clean up their rooms every night before bed. That way, if there is an emergency, firefighters - and anyone else - won't have to trip over toys and other obstacles. He added he knows many of the students' parents and said he would be checking with them to see if the students did as he asked.
"Pick up your room every night before you go to bed," he said. "You must pick up your room. It's very important you do that."
Gray was accompanied by Stassel and Wallendorff, who was dressed in his gear. Gray gave the children a "tour" of Wallendorff's protective clothing, which weighs about 80 pounds.
"When we go into fires, it might be 900, 1,000 degrees in there," he said.
He stomped on Wallendorff's foot.
"He's got special metal in the toes of his boots," Gray said, adding it's there for protection along with steel shanks protecting the bottom of firefighters' feet from sharp objects.
Gray pointed out the gray suede knee pads on the firefighter's pants, whih help him crawl on hot floors without getting burned.
The air tank is filled with filtered air, and the firefighter's helmet has a long brim on the back to keep debris and hot water from spilling down his neck. The jacket has three layers: One is fire resistant, another is water resistant, and the third reflects heat.
"We have to wear this stuff to keep us safe," Gray added.
He also assigned a task to the students: Go home and check for smoke detectors. (It's a good idea to change the batteries as well.)
"If you don't have one, call the fire department," Gray said. "We'll make sure you get one."