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Steamboat Springs — Steamboat Springs Police Officer Josh Carrell slapped his handcuffs on 10-year-old Oscar Gilbert on Thursday morning.

No, Oscar wasn't under arrest. He was merely the lucky volunteer chosen from the group of Soda Creek Elementary School fourth-graders for the first presentation of Emergency Services Week.

Oscar's classmates raised hands and shouts of "me, me, me," weren't enough to garner them the privilege of experiencing what it's like to be cuffed. Instead they sat and watched with expressions of jealous awe on their faces.

As Carrell explained how the cuffs worked, he decided to have a little fun with Oscar before releasing him.

"What if I told you I forgot the key?" he asked.

"I wouldn't be very happy," Oscar said.

Carrell, ordinarily the school resource officer at Steamboat Springs High School, was joined by representatives from Steamboat Springs Fire Rescue, the U.S. Forest Service and dispatchers from Routt County, to give safety presentations to second-, fourth- and fifth-grade students as part of Emergency Services Week.

Brande O'Hare, counselor at Soda Creek Elementary, said the presentations occur annually in preparation for summer activities the students may encounter in the county. She said the presentations addressed fire, forest, bicycle, camping and home alone safety, while making sure the students knew how to call 911.

"It's kind of a culmination of everything we've talked about all year," she said.

O'Hare added that the fire department has a different program for kindergartners, first- and third-graders during Fire Prevention Week in October.

Debbi Funston, the public education coordinator for the fire department, said the presentations also familiarize the students with the uniformed personnel in town.

"The kids see them as people," she said.

Second-grader Reilly Mewborn said she learned what to do if her house caught on fire, not to call 911 if it's not an emergency, and how to safely ride a bike.

But there was a different reason the 8-year-old was excited about the presentations from the fire and police departments.

"I really wanted to see how they dressed," she said.

Reilly's classmate Mac Moody, 8, said his favorite presentation was from the Forest Service because he heard the story about a New Mexico forest fire and a black bear cub who was trapped in the blaze but eventually rescued and taken in by the firefighters who saved him.

"They named him Smokey," he said. "Soon it's his 65th birthday. He tells people not to mess with matches and not to start forest fires. And not to play with lighters."

Fifth-graders Camden Berka and Libby Stanford said that after six years in school, most of what they learned during the presentations for Emergency Services Week was a refresher. But Camden, 11, said he liked seeing the people who work at the different places in town who might help him one day.

"It's just fun to learn the equipment and techniques they use," he added.

- To reach Jack Weinstein, call 871-4203, or e-mail jweinstein@steamboatpilot.com.