For the youngsters taking part in Vacation Bible School at Christ Free Evangelical Church, Mahoning Township, it was a time to meet and learn more about local firefighters and the equipment they use.

Paula Schoener, Melanie Dillman and Sue Hunsicker, organizers of the week long session, brought the program to life with real firefighters and fire equipment and ambulance, plus a visit from a Penn Star medical helicopter.Schoener said that firefighters stopped by during the first night to prepare the kids for a weeklong mix of firefighting and Bible stories, which were tied together under the theme, "Firefighter: Snatch Them From the Fire.""We had visits from Mahoning Fire Department and Mahoning Ambulance," said Hunsicker. Also Smokey Bear and the Bureau of Forestry program stopped by the final night. During the brief indoor program on Friday night, the youngsters sang songs about fire safety, Then Smokey Bear led the entire audience outdoors where they enjoyed refreshments and visited the firetrucks and met with firefighters.One of the songs they sang during the program used the theme, "Stop - Drop - and Roll" which led the Rev. Greg Lieble, pastor of the church to use that theme to inspire the audience to "Stop sinning," "Drop to your knees to repent," and "Roll on through the rest of your life with Him as the King."During the weeklong session, the youngsters also made tie dye T-shirts and collected pennies for missions. Altogether the children collected 240.5 pounds of pennies. The funds will be sent to help provide shoes for children in Africa. They also collected soup labels that will be used to fund a program for troubled teens.Jay Michalik, assistant chief, said that being involved in Vacation Bible School was an awesome opportunity for the Mahoning Valley Fire Department to meet with the local community."We really enjoyed meeting with the community," said Michalik. "This is a great event for us. We appreciated the opportunity to be part of this year's VBS program."