Fire House Field Trip Proves Useful for Lemont Girl Scout

When 7-year-old Abby Beranek realized there was a fire in her Lemont home last month, she knew exactly what to do.

On April 21, Beranek, a first-grader at , visited the with her Daisy Girl Scout troop. During their tour of Station 1, the girls learned fire safety tips from Jeff Hawthorne, the district's director of fire prevention and public education.

Two days later, a fire broke out in the family's laundry room.

"My husband, Jim, smelled something burning, but we didn't know where it was coming from," said Beth Beranek, Abby's mother. "We went to throw something in the garbage and noticed that the dryer was actually on fire."

While Beth ran to gather her youngest three children, Abby remained calm. Using lessons from her field trip two days earlier, she made sure her family got out of the house immediately and and that no one else tried to enter.

"During the fire house visit, Abby learned to 'get out and stay out,' and that's exactly what she did," Beth Beranek said. "We also had discussed where we would meet in the event of a fire, so she knew to go to the neighbors, and was able to help me get my 18-month-old boys and 3-month-old girl over there, too."

In a letter to Lemont Fire Chief Carl Churulo, Jim Beranek thanked Hawthorne and the other firefighters for providing such useful information to his daughter.

"[Hawthorne] provided great tips to the girls and obviously had a big impact on Abby," he wrote. "[She] was extremely calm, focused and definitely knew what to do when the fire started."

The Beraneks' home sustained minimal damage in the fire, although the family was temporarily displaced. Because they knew the correct safety procedure, everyone was able to get out of the house quickly and without panic, Churulo said.

"It was very much a textbook thing," he said. "Thankfully, there wasn't a lot of damage or anything but we're happy the visit was so timely and that the family was able to do exactly what they were supposed to do."

Hawthorne, who leads many fire education presentations throughout the year, said he was happy to hear his tips were put to good use.

"This is so rewarding for me, personally, because here's a case where fire safety really had an impact," he said.

Abby Beranek will be recognized as a "local hero" during the next meeting of the Lemont Fire District Board of Trustees, Hawthorne said.

Beth Beranek again expressed her thanks to Lemont firefighters for hosting the fire safety program for the Daisies.

"I'm so grateful to the Lemont Fire Department for teaching the girls those basic tips," she said. "It was really scary trying to get all of my kids out of the house, but my family really benefited from knowing exactly how to handle the situation."