Four local students were surprised with a fire truck ride and pizza party Wednesday as part of a special fire education program.

Officers from Washington Fire-Rescue-EMS met administration at John Small Elementary School to pick up four students, who were named winners of the station’s EDITH (Exit Drills in the Home) Program. The program offered each student a chance to participate in drawing an aerial view of their house, illustrating two routes out of each room, placement of smoke detectors and a special meeting place where family members meet to be accounted for during a fire emergency, said Josh Ingram, an engineer and public education coordinator with Washington Fire-Rescue-EMS.

Each of the four students — fourth-graders Delaney O’Brien and Ryan Ange and fifth-graders Olivia Paszt and Alyric Whitley — were surprised when pulled from class, and in one case, from lunch by personnel from the department. The students were carted out one-by-one in a stretcher and then each boarded the fire truck. They were taken to Station 1 of the department where they enjoyed pizza provided by Domino’s and soda provided by Coca-Cola. The students also had the chance to ride on the ladder of the fire truck.

“We pick them up from school, we give them a ride on the fire truck back [to the station] and after lunch, we’ll give them awards and then we’ll actually give them a ride on the ladder truck if they want and take them on a little ride in the sky — see who’s brave,” Ingram said.

Ingram, who heads public education in the city limits, said the program is one of several the department sponsors through the school system. The EDITH program has been conducted the past 12 years and is only offered to John Small students. The department offers other programs at other schools, ranging from puppet shows to smokehouse demonstrations, Ingram said.

“I was given the task of taking over public education throughout the city — any kind of public education about fire services in the city limits through the churches, daycares, preschools, elementary schools, right on up to the high schools if they want us,” Ingram said. “Other schools, we do everything from puppet shows to smokehouses. With John Small, we do this.”

Fourth-grade teacher Becky Ward said she thinks the program is effective and appropriate for October being Fire Prevention Month. Each year, the department gives the teachers a packet of papers, and it is up to the students whether they participate or not. The children, who chose to participate, handed the papers back in and each homeroom submits the entries to the fire department, Ward said.

“I think it’s great,” Ward said. “All the other children were very envious that they got to see them roll out on the stretcher and taken off on the fire truck, and Delaney [O’Brien] came back and said she actually got to see the ladder. I think it’s very beneficial. I think it does well for the community to see the fire department sponsor this. They’re a little bit too old for the puppet show and stuff, but I think this program really hits home for the kids.”

Ange, one of the winners, said he was happy to participate and couldn’t have done it without the help of his sister.

“I really liked it,” Ange said. “I did a lot of hard work, and I couldn’t have done it without help from my sister. My sister helped draw the house from an aerial view and she put blue stars as smoke alarms. I put black stars as a meeting place, a key of what they meant and I put window exits and door exits. I think it was the smoke detectors and the map key that really brought out where they were so the firefighters would easily know where we are.”

Ingram said treating the winners of the program wouldn’t be possible without the donations from Dominos and Coca-Cola and the officers who volunteered to aid in picking up the students.

“We’ve done this for the last 12 years through the school system,” Ingram said. “Coke and Dominos donated pizza and soda for the party. We just continue to do it — to make it a lifelong experience for them, and we’ll continue to do this as long as we can afford to do it.”