MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. — A new hip-hop group just dropped its debut single, and it is straight fire. 

Tasked with creating an instructional video to show in schools for Fire Prevention Week, Milledgeville Fire Rescue went off the beaten path and recorded an original song along with a music video to educate kids about fire safety. 

“Don’t Wait (Pre-Plan Your Escape)” went live on YouTube Monday and fits right in with the National Fire Protection Association’s message for 2022 Fire Prevention Week, “Fire Won’t Wait. Plan Your Escape.” The slogan encourages parents to create an exit plan in case a fire happens in their homes and share that plan with their children so they know what to do. The local firefighters took that message and turned it into a catchy hook along with a few verses.

“When you’re 5, 6, 7 years old, you don’t want to sit around and listen to a lecture,” Milledgeville Fire Rescue Sgt. Frank Manson said. “Kids like to be active — up, jumping around. We felt like we could spread the message better via music versus sitting around watching some boring instructional video about stopping, dropping, and rolling or crawling under smoke.”

Not to worry. All those familiar fire safety tips are included in the verses. 

“If you see some smoke / then you should get low,” goes one line from Lt. Jalyn Lawrence followed not long after by, “If fire gets on your clothes / you should drop and roll.” 

“I was a little skeptical at first because it was my first time doing a song for kids, but I figured I would try it out,” Lawrence said. “It was kind of difficult throwing the facts in there. We had to make it rhyme but really be factual.”

Milledgeville Fire Rescue’s track came together in just a couple of days and was done entirely by local firefighters, from the beats to the lyrics and the performance. Both Lawrence and Sgt. Nekelo Knight have music backgrounds and the equipment needed to make the song sound no different than had it been mixed professionally. The collaboration took place across multiple shifts as some came in on their off days to see the project through.

“We’ve got some amazing firefighters with a lot of talent,” said Battalion Chief David Ussery.

The video was shot at fire rescue headquarters on Thomas Street, again using firefighters’ personal equipment. In between emergency calls, the firefighters/performers sat atop fire engines or danced around inside the “house” that simulates fire incidents to get the visuals needed. There’s some common sense injected too, as Lawrence shows how to snuff out a stovetop fire by simply placing a lid over a pot. Sergeant Knight tells families to, “Clean your stairs / keep trash out the way” in order to make escapes less hazardous. And of course, there’s the hook, which is sung by firefighter and former Baldwin High School girls basketball standout Courtney Butts. “Don’t wait / Pre-plan your escape,” is sure to get stuck in the heads of school-aged children after they watch the video. 

Perhaps the best part of the song is its availability. Thanks to the internet, “Don’t Wait (Pre Plan Your Escape)” is on YouTube for anyone to see. 

“There’s no telling who all it can reach,” Fire Rescue Capt. Eddie Braswell said. “It can go anywhere beyond Milledgeville. It could save lives up North or out West.”

“Our goal is to teach [kids] that yes, fire is scary, but if you have a plan, you can face that fear because you know where you’re going and you have a place outside to meet,” added Battalion Chief Ussery. 

National Fire Prevention Week is Oct. 9-15, but Milledgeville Fire Rescue usually spreads it out over the full month of October. That strategy works especially well since the public school system is on fall break this week.

Watch Milledgeville Fire Rescue’s music video at this link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ul7BUJ7WHX4 or by searching “Don’t Wait (Pre Plan Your Escape) on YouTube.