The science of fire

For any kid interested in how buildings burn, Jason Rude’s Midmester Academy class, “Disaster Zone,” was the place to be on Tuesday, April 10. As a bonus, they even got to watch him blow up a bucket of powdered coffee creamer.Students first toured the inside of the New Hampton Fire Station as firefighter Joel Knutson taught them about the equipment packed into the fire truck. The truck features a spacer that can pry apart a crumpled vehicle, saws that can cut through “almost anything,” and a 24-inch officer’s tool with a pronged end, the maximum size allowed by the New York Fire Department union.— For more on this story, see the April 13 New Hampton Tribune. For more on the Midmester, students chronicle their activities in Chickasaw Chat inside this issue.