Local fast-food eatery Del Taco recently donated 300 free kids meal coupons and achievement certificates to the Lake Havasu City Fire Department. The free meal tickets are currently being used as achievement awards within the department’s fire safety training program.

The department’s Public Educational Specialist Kathy Black had practiced mock emergency telephone calls with a telephone training tool she sets up in local kindergarten, first-grade and second-grade classrooms.

Since December 2009, Black has worked with about 184 kindergarten students at three elementary schools in Havasu. The students learn how to call 911 during an emergency.

Of the 184 kindergarteners, only 24 were able to recite their first and last name, telephone number and street address, Black said Monday.

By second-grade, most of the children are able to recite the important information, according to Black.

“Teach your child their street address and phone number with area code … not just for emergency calls but even in case they become lost. It is good information to learn and to practice continually,” Black said.

The kindergarten students who were able to achieve the recitation each received a free kids meal certificate, she said.

The kids-meal coupons will be awarded to students who complete certain age-appropriate tasks within the elementary school fire safety training programs, Black said.

This is the first time Del Taco has donated to the program. The coupons are good for 60 days from the date the award was earned, Black said.

You may contact the reporter by jhanson@havasunews.com.