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Not a single child has died in a fire in Farmers Branch in 28 years.
Members of the Branch Brigade work hard to keep that streak strong.
Beginning in 1996, the Farmers Branch Fire Department’s (FBFD) very own gaggle of clowns has performed during fire prevention week to ensure children understand fire safety. Now FBFD can say that the city has not had any children between kindergarten through fifth grade die in a fire or start one.
For the Branch Brigade, show time is during October and November, so the clowns perform a skit for local elementary schools based on the National Fire Protection Agency’s (NFPA) annual fire prevention theme.
For 2024, the theme is, “Smoke alarms: make them work for you!” according to the NFPA.
“It’s such an important initiative in the fire community that it’s hard to imagine any department not participating,” said Wendi Kimpton, the fire inspector and fire training coordinator for FBFD. “At Farmers Branch, we extend fire prevention week into fire prevention month, and it often stretches into November.”
These months are routinely packed with Branch Brigade performances at “every elementary school in the boundaries of Farmers Branch,” said Kimpton.
A performance averages about 30-45 minutes, and is all about “teaching memorable lessons,” said Kimpton, “we’ve always looked for fun, engaging ways to educate children about fire safety.”
The idea of fire clowns is familiar to many fire departments, but few have truly dedicated clowns. Fortunately for FBFD, there is Captain Jason Shelby, who attended clown school back when he joined the Branch Brigade 24 years ago.
“I went to clown school,” said Shelby. “Two days were dedicated to makeup, and back then, the makeup was full coverage … They were very strict about that.”
As the years have progressed the expectations for a clown have eased up. “We basically do makeup that highlights movements in our face,” said Shelby. “I fully embrace that persona.”
The FBFD’s Branch Brigade, consists of six clowns:
“I am Fog-Nozzle,” said Shelby. “I've got my costume that I made.”
When Shelby, the most tenured cast member, gets into character he switches personas. For practice he interacts with the others around the station as Foggy. “I’m joking with them as Fog-Nozzle, instead of as Captain,” he said.
“We’ve always looked for fun, engaging ways to educate children about fire safety,” Kimpton said.
Through trial and error, the firefighters found that simply telling the children about fire safety was not enough to create retention with the kids.
“All they wanted to do was go out and see the fire truck,” said Shelby. “It didn’t matter how good of a presenter your firefighter is when [the kids] see the fire truck.”
As a solution, the FBFD began the Branch Brigade.
“Our fire prevention department really stepped up,” said Shelby. “They decided to follow this nationwide concept of educational characterization.”
Retention rates increased when they returned annually to see the same kids.
“They were basically watching a TV show for 30 minutes, and they retained all of that information,” said Shelby.
The Branch Brigade has educated nearly three decades of children, enough time for kids to grow into adults.
“We had one young lady, a couple of years ago, she was sitting at the table with us as we were having a conversation about what her responsibilities would be,” said Shelby, “[but] she was looking at me really weird.” It turned out that she recognized the face and voice of Captain Shelby and connected it to his clown persona, Foggy.
“She kept looking at me and she said, ‘are you a clown?,” said Shelby. Unfortunately, the identity of a clown is sacred, so Shelby had to deny any connection to a clown. “I was like, ‘no, I'm a station officer,’” he said.
The woman had been a student at Janie Stark Elementary School when Shelby had begun performing the clown skits.
“It was kind of cool because it stuck with her for all that time,” said Shelby.
Creating impactful messages is part of what the FBFD goals for its Branch Brigade.
“We never fail to get the kids involved and hyped up about what we’re talking about,” said Administrative Captain Scot Vickers. “I am the one at the end that’s kind of wrapping it up and bringing it all together.”
Each clown plays an integral part to the fire safety message. The Branch Brigade plans “sometimes months in advance, sometimes just a few days in advance,” said Kimpton. “They are busy guys, and our firefighters are constantly training, so some years they have less time to prepare.”
The NFPA’s theme this year is all about what smoke detectors do.
“I pictured somebody in a ginormous smoke detector costume, kind of like the Dot race at a Rangers game,” said Shelby, “but that was a little beyond our budget.”
Instead, Shelby and the rest of the Branch Brigade used modeling foam to create a large smoke detector necklace.
“Our show is going to open with two clowns in the fire station trying to figure a way out of doing chores,” said Shelby, “then they drape a smoke detector over their neck as a necklace, and now the smoke detectors are working for them.”
For children, this is a walk in the park for their imagination.
The performance will “lead into a message on the smoke detector doing what they’re supposed to do,” said Shelby.
The firefighters involved with the Branch Brigade “are natural educators and have been drawn to programs like the Branch Brigade,” said Kimpton. Some years have had some easier themes though.
“My favorites were, ‘Not every hero wears a cape: plan and practice your escape,’ focusing on kids being the superhero in their home,” said Kimpton, “and ‘Serve up fire safety in the kitchen,’ focusing on the number one cause of home fires.”
Regardless of the NFPA theme, the Branch Brigade focuses on fire safety in every way.
Alongside performing at elementary schools, the Branch Brigade has a scheduled performance at the Bloomin’ Bluegrass Festival on Oct. 19.
“At the festival we will tailor our show to that adult crowd,” said Shelby. “We may even go as far as fall prevention for senior citizens.”
Shelby is confident in his experience as a clown to put on a good show for Bloomin’ Bluegrass.
“Captain Vickers and I have been working together long enough in the clown program,” said Shelby. “We’ll have two shows ready to go if we see majority kids in the crowd.”
