DECATUR - Three-year-old Todd Kelly's eyes sparkled Friday morning, and he couldn't repress a grin as the Mount Pulaski lad waited in line at Decatur Firehouse No. 1 to slide down the fire pole along with other children from Calvary Lutheran Church Preschool.

A firefighter on a platform showed each child how to grab the pole and gently assisted as the descent began, while a second firefighter stationed below acted as a brake to cushion the impact.

The result was nothing but smiles and laughter from their young charges.

But the message firefighters were trying to convey to their visitors during Fire Prevention Month was much more important: Know the cool rules of fire safety.

A group of homeschooled youngsters joined those from the Lutheran preschool and Decatur Day Care on Friday morning to get a crash course in fire safety disguised as fun and games.

Fire department Capt. Lyle Meador, a ventriloquist, used Cornelius Parrot to teach the No. 1 rule, "You always have to have a working smoke detector in your nest."

Wearing a broad brim bush hat and feigning a broad Australian accent, Meador and Cornelius made sure the youngsters knew that in case of a house fire, they should drop to the floor and crawl out of the house to avoid smoke and heat.

"Once you're out, don't ever go back into a burning house," Meador said, "not for your dog or your cat or a favorite toy or mom or dad. Get out and stay out and go to your family's meeting place."

An amateur magician who pretends to have no confidence that his tricks will work, Meador tells the children they must use the magic words, "use candles with care," to make his magic wand work.

His series of tricks culminates by turning a rabbit puppet into a live rabbit the children can pet as they depart the firehouse.

The visitors also got their picture taken with Sparky the Fire Dog and were able to help a firefighter hold a hose as it sprayed a target suspended on a rope.

Logan County paramedic Rob Kelly watched his son, Todd, slide down the fire pole.

"This is all he's talked about for three weeks, ever since he found out he'd be coming here," Kelly said. "He wants to be a firefighter. He's enthralled by the firetrucks when he sees them coming down the street with sirens and lights on."

The preschool children talked in class Thursday about the "stop, drop and roll" technique to use if their clothes catch fire and about the need for smoke detectors in their homes, Kelly said. Friday's program reinforced those things, he said.

Andrea Siemons, prekindergarten teacher at Decatur Day Care, said her weekly lesson plans also call for emphasizing fire prevention and safety during Fire Prevention Week, which is this week.

"We talk about what firemen do and then come here to see the real thing," she said.

Ron Ingram can be reached at ringram@;herald-review.com or 421-7973.