BELHAVEN — Students at Pungo Christian Academy in Belhaven learned the importance of fire safety and what to do in the event of a fire, as part of the school’s annual Fire Safety Day on Oct. 20.

The event, which was completely volunteer-based, was a mixture of hands-on and observation activities, according to teacher Joy Jarvis, and included demonstrations of how to use a fire extinguisher, lessons about how a fire truck operates and tours of a mobile, kid-friendly fire safety house.

Pungo Christian Academy partnered with the Belhaven and Pantego fire departments for the event, as well as Beaufort County Emergency Services.

“Fire Safety (Day) is something that is held annually here at Pungo Christian Academy to make the children more aware of fire safety,” Jarvis said. “I thoroughly enjoyed it.”

The main goal of the event was to educate and prepare students if they are ever in a situation with a fire. Each grade was given a different handout or activity to complete, such as coloring books or a foldable fire truck replica, to make the event age-appropriate for everyone, Jarvis said.

She said even the teachers learned something new — for example, how to put out a grease fire in the kitchen as opposed to an outside fire.

“The teachers … said it was a positive impact for them and the students both,” Jarvis said. “The more times that they hear it, the more they will learn it and be able to understand it and apply it to real-life situations.”

She said this is her first year at the school, so she was new to organizing the event. But she said she is thankful for the volunteers who made it possible, and it was a pleasure to work with the firefighters who participated.

“(The students) loved it,” Jarvis said. “We look forward to doing it again next year.”