MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. — The Milledgeville Fire department is blazing a new kind of trail by saving lives and making music at the same time. They've created a music video to teach people about fire prevention in a new and creative way.
That's what Milledgeville's Fire Marshall Captain Eddie Braswell says is the theme for this year's Fire Prevention Week.
"We do everything we can to teach what to do to prevent a fire from happening,” he said.
Braswell says it's part of their job to educate the public and give safety tips like the best way to escape from a fire, or to make sure fire preventative appliances in the house are up to date.
He says as kids and social media evolve, so will they.
"We have a creative bunch of folks in there,” Braswell said. “So, I kind of placed it in their hands. I said, 'Guys, this is what the theme is. We need something that'll reach the people.'”
Sgt. Nekelo Knight is one of the five members of the rap team.
“We came up with the idea. You know what, let's make a song,” he said.
Knight says they regularly make music together on their downtime, and music is a perfect way to get kids excited.
"They can actually remember, instead of just hearing a speech or informational speech about things. They can actually remember and vibe to it,” he said.
Knight says in three short days, the beat was made, lyrics chock full of safety tips were written, and the music video was shot.
“We could actually create a visual representation of what we're talking about, and not just stop drop and roll, but putting them in that visual situation where they could see that if it looks like this in my house, this is what I need to do.”
The YouTube video now has 3,800 views at the time of making this story. Firefighter Courtney Butts says the public has reacted positively and it means a lot to them.
"It kind of touched our hearts in a way that we actually see our community loving what we're doing for the kids, and I just feel good about it,” she said. “Ever since we dropped it, all you do is see smiles on our faces, like, we did it!”
The Milledgeville Fire Department says they'll continue to make music. The one they're working on is called '9-1-1', so keep your eyes peeled for that.
If you'd like to hear the full song, you can look up their YouTube channel– MFR Safety Music and see the video here.
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