Lancaster firefighter earns accolades for fire safety

A special honor was given to a Lancaster firefighter who helped create a fire safety program to help save lives.

Billy Schroeder is now the Fire Safety Educator of the Year.
The state Firemen’s Association gave him the award Sunday.
Schroeder’s lessons has taught fire safety to thousands of kids – from preschool to high school.
He started the program in 1994 with basically nothing. Today, Lancaster has a fire safety trailer. The firefighters use puppets, magic tricks and robots to really get the kids excited about learning.
“I’ve often wondered how many fires didn’t happen because of what we’re doing. How many firefighters are alive today because of that? How many civilians? So I think what we’re doing is working. And it’s probably the most fun and rewarding part,” Schroeder said.

Schroeder says his goal has always been to get the information out to people of all ages, so they know exactly what to do in case there’s a fire.