CAIRO — The Cairo Fire Department hosted a fire safety clown show in the Zebulon theater Monday night to teach young children about fire prevention. With the goal of reaching a young age group, clowns J-Key, Hal-Again, and Higbee joined officer Brad Cosby on the Zebulon stage in front of a room full of attentive children to share how they can prevent fires.

“We do this clown show to reach a different age group. We’ve got a lot of fire prevention that we go to the schools and do and this clown show is one that reaches a target age from four to seven year olds,” said Cosby. “It’s just a really good way to connect on their level. So, we enjoy doing it.”

While the fire department usually hosts these types of shows in schools, this is the first time they have offered this kind of experience to the public and Cosby said that they are looking forward to growing this event.

During the show Officer Cosby and the clowns helped teach kids about 911, stop drop and roll, and not to play with matches with a skit involving an oversized match. They also went over the acronym EDITH, which mean Exit Drills In The Home, and demonstrated what an exit drill looks like with a few volunteers. They also went over general safety, teaching kids about the importance of wearing a seatbelt.

Later, Sparky the dog joined the show and danced with the kids as they reviewed what they learned.

The kids laughed and cheered as they were entertained and educated by the clowns and Cosby. After the show, the kids got a chance to meet and take pictures with the clowns and Sparky.