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Car Seat Safety
Project Safe Seat
The History
For Lexington
parents concerned about their child's car seat, Project Safe
Seat is a dream come true. Just a few years ago, Lexington's
Fire Chief William Holleran began making the dream a reality. He
attended a conference in Maryland and returned with a mission:
to implement a program within his organization that would make
children safe while riding in their car seats. That was a lofty
goal in itself, but there was more. Chief Holleran wanted all of
his firefighters to be certified to install car seats. Where
would he find someone to head up such a program?
The Man For the Job
Major Clayton
Richards was just the man Chief Holleran needed. Major Richards
already had another job -- he was in charge of training the new
recruits. But Major Richards was an organizer and he knew how to
get things done. In July of 1999 Major Richards took on the
additional task of launching Project Safe Seat.
The Organizer
Major Richards
jumped right in there. He called all over the country looking
for similar programs, wanting to know the good and the bad
aspects of each program. From that he took all the data he
collected to form Project Safe Seat. Next he had to get some
technicians certified. Major Richards then had the firefighters
certified to install car seats. Now each recruiting class of the
fire department is trained to install the seats. The goal is to
eventually have all Lexington firefighters certified.
 The
Program
Project Safe Seat
gives parents, grandparents and caregivers the opportunity to
have their car seats checked to make sure they are installed
correctly and have not been recalled. All parents need to do is
call (859) 455 - SEAT and make an appointment to go to one of
the local fire stations and have their seat checked. The hours
are Monday through Friday 8 AM to 4 PM and Saturdays 12 to 4 PM.
If you can't make it during those times, they will work with you
to schedule a time for you to come by. "We want everyone to have
the opportunity get their seats checked. Sometimes people have
to work and they can't make it in -- we'll make special
arrangements," says Richards.
The program also gives car seats to those who cannot afford
them. "We want everybody to be able to have a seat," says Major
Richards. To be eligible for a seat, Major Richards needs to
have a letter saying the parents cannot afford a car seat. The
letter can be from their doctor, clergy, state social worker or
food stamp agent.
Project Safe Seat also has teamed up with Central Baptist
hospital for a fantastic project. Now all expectant parents are
required to have their car seat checked at some point during the
pregnancy. Parents are not discharged from the hospital without
having their car seat checked.
One of the most important things
that Project Safe Seat does is teach parents and caregivers to
install the seats themselves. This is crucial information for
caregivers.
Why Firefighters?
There is another
reason why firefighters are working so hard to make sure your
children are buckled up properly -- if you're vehicle is in a
crash, it's a lot better to have firefighters, police, or
paramedics pull your child safely from their car seat than it is
to have to locate your child and treat severe injuries because
your child was in a seat that was installed improperly. Or even
worse, EMS would have to tell you that your child died due to
injuries they sustained because they weren't buckled up safely.
These men and women are passionate
about what they do. They want your children to be safe. If you
haven't taken the time to get your seat checked, give them a
call. It only takes about forty-five minutes.
To see our visit to a car seat check with Project Safe Seat,
click here.
Project Safe Seat is currently funded through the Fraternal
Order of Firefighters. For more information call (859) 455 -
7328.
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