The 8th "Let's talk with the mayor!"

※ Duplicate parts and phrases are organized to the extent that the sentence is not impaired.

Thank you very much for your active involvement in local disaster prevention activities on a daily basis.
I have heard that disaster prevention activities for elementary and junior high school students in the Negishi district, including the boy firefighting club, are also a place to foster children so that they can act voluntarily as leaders of the community support in an emergency.
As we are very interested in activities that local people take the initiative, we are very interested as Motoichi, so we will let you know roughly the thoughts and issues that are felt while being active on a daily basis. I hope you can give it an opportunity. Thank you very much.

I think that the fact that the Negishi area is focusing on disaster prevention comes from its topography. The Negishi district is divided into other areas of Isogo Ward by the Horiwari River. Tenjinbashi, Negishibashi, Sakashita Bridge, Isogo Bridge, and Yahatabashi are passed from Kawakami, but in the event of a disaster, it has always been thought that rescue teams will not be able to come to the Negishi area.
Because of that, when I joined Isogo fire brigade in 1976, there was one branch in nine places in the ward, but while holding about two or three fire-fighting pumps, I had seven branches to protect the Negishi district.

Currently, 46 members, including four female fire brigade members, are active in the Negishi district branch. However, during the daytime on weekdays, more than 80% of them are out of the ward, and I am most worried that everyone can not gather until at night.
In addition, the age of the members is increasing, so I feel the need to recruit young members.

As I mentioned earlier, the Negishi area is surrounded by mountains, seas and rivers, and in the case of great disaster, we are engaged in fire brigade activities in the form of trying to protect the area while assuming that we cannot come from a permanent fire department.
I myself have always been a resident of Negishi, but many people have lived for a long time. fire brigade also has a very strong regionality, and some are aiming for fire brigade. I wonder if people who know the area well can protect the area if they become fire brigade members, so I wanted them to be interested in firefighting and disaster prevention from childhood, so I started a boy firefighting club.

In 1984, the Shonen Fire Club was also located in the Negishi district, which has a strong awareness of disaster prevention, with the aim of "enlighten boys and girls the idea of fire prevention and dissemination of knowledge of disaster prevention closely related to daily life." A firefighting club has been created.
In the Negishi district, the Negishi Shonen Fire Club has continued its own activities at parks in the Union Neighborhood Associations area, and has been active for 40 years.
The children are taught mainly by active fire brigade and OBs, and they enjoy learning about the burning of fire, handling of fire extinguisher, tying ropes, and experiencing water discharge.

Currently, there are 25 members. There are 12 students in the first and second grades, 8 in the third and fourth grades, and 5 in the fifth and sixth grades. Although it has been very small compared to the past, many OBs and others have also participated as instructors, and I am very grateful because they have studied on their own.

At the Shonen Fire Club, I have many experiences that I can't usually do.
In the water discharge experience, I actually hold a long hose and hit the water, but it was heavier than I expected, and it was difficult to hold it alone. I was also taught how to use fire extinguisher and learned that it was surprisingly difficult.
I actually went into the smoke, but I was very scared because I couldn't see the front at all. I knew how hard it was to extinguish a fire in the event of a fire, and it was a very good study.

It is important to teach children when teaching rope tying, but I teach them to parents around them and teach them to their children. It is a technology that can be used in various places such as camping, so I helped while thinking that I would like you to remember it.

When I was a boy firefighting club, I remember when I was a child, "I'm cool." After that, the instructors were representatives of scary fathers, but even if they were scared, they could rely on them when they were scared, and there were cool adults. Now I enter fire brigade myself and teach elementary school students, "How do you look?" I'm also working with a little awareness of "Is it a reliable face?"

There are two evacuation shelters in the Negishi district. Negishi Junior High School mainly has many residents of apartment around the station, and Negishi Elementary School is a base where many residents have lived for a long time. evacuation shelter training is conducted twice a year jointly by two sites. The training on "Disaster Prevention Day" uses the facilities of Negishi Junior High School to conduct practical training, and the training on "Disaster Prevention and Volunteer Day" holds lectures on disaster prevention at the gymnasium of Negishi Elementary School to deepen knowledge about disaster prevention. . This year, I heard a report from a Isogo Ward government official who went to the disaster site of the Noto Peninsula Earthquake.

Looking at it, there are still many adults and elderly people participating, so I would like to expand the number of elementary and junior high school students from now on.

In this year's comprehensive training, workshops were held in three groups: cooperation with the Red Cross Service Corps, assembly of cardboard beds, and handling of AEDs. .

At Negishi Junior High School, only those who wished to participate in the training at evacuation shelter, but over the course, junior high school students became aware of playing an important role in the event of a disaster, and the number of participants continued to increase gradually, and in recent years I began to participate in disaster drill as a class with the understanding of the principals from generation to generation.
disaster drill will be held on Sunday, but it's in class. We also actively participate in practical training, and also conduct DIG (*) for disaster map training, simple stretcher transport training, and simultaneous water discharge training.
Negishi Junior High School is so focused on chorals as much as the chorus contest was held in Kanagawa Pref. Concert Hall, but when he guided refugee to the rooftop of the school building during tsunami evacuation drill, I was impressed thatrefugee would be cheered up even if a disaster occurred.

In the disaster prevention learning at Negishi Junior High School, we can have fun learning with our classmates, but I think the desire to support affected areas outside the Negishi area, such as raising funds to the affected areas area of the Noto Peninsula Earthquake, is very strong.
We, junior high school students, want to continue thinking about what they can do about local disaster prevention.

Negishi Junior High School has been working on disaster prevention learning that has been integrated with the community for a long time. All the students were able to participate in the joint disaster drill of nine prefectures and cities held at Negishi Junior High School, and also participated in the creation of disaster prevention videos in Isogo Ward.
The power of junior high school students is very important in refuge. In addition to carrying luggage, junior high school students call out to listen to what adults in refuge say. Negishi Junior High School also conducts handover training conducted at elementary schools to raise awareness of parent generations, and also conducts junior high school students.
"We don't know when a disaster will occur, so we will protect the area." I want you to always have that kind of feeling. The best disaster prevention is usually connected to the community, and if there is no trust, it is difficult to rescue in confusion. It is important to create an environment where daily greetings and conversations can be held, so I always hope to foster junior high school students who can contribute to the community in self support and community support.

Is the appearance of the children participating in the boy firefighting club different from now and in the past?

Instructors are also working, so the activities themselves are mainly Sunday. In that case, the number of children who learn other things is increasing, so the number of children who come is quite small. Even if you call out, there are many children in lower grades, so the fact is that it cannot be difficult as before.

I'd like to ask you that your child is participating in a boy firefighting club. Do you feel something like a change when you participate?

I'm in fire brigade, and when I started participating in a boy firefighting club, I felt that I was interested in fire brigade's activities.

Did you have more conversations about disaster prevention at home?

That's right. There are more stories about where to evacuate in the event of a disaster, so I really feel that activities are important.

I was invited to the activity, and my daughter also invited my neighbors to participate together, saying, "I want to go," but I am very happy to participate. You may not know at all what his father is doing as a fire brigade member, but when he actually tried handling fire and discharging water, his father changed clothes and said, "I'm going to go." The lower child also becomes an elementary school student from April, but when asked, "What is your future dream?", He says, "I will be a fire engine."

You are now active as a member of the fire brigade, but how do you use your experience at the Shonen Fire Club?

When I was working in a boy firefighting club, I did some training that I couldn't do now. It is dangerous if children use the tools used by adults to teach them well, but I wonder if there are things that can be connected next time.

When I was a child, I had a strong connection between parents, and I remember being thrown into these activities and participating. I also have a 4-year-old child, but I myself feel the need for connections between parents and work hard.

How do you feel junior high school students' awareness of disasters while interacting with elementary and junior high school students?

Unlike our times, you have a good physique. Also, since there is a lot of information in my head, I do it as a matter of course, but I wonder if I have to teach that it is really useless or that such usage is dangerous I am.

As chairman of the evacuation shelter, how do you expect children to be active in the event of a disaster?

We have no experience since we were children, so we don't have any idea what will happen in the event of a disaster, but I think it will be panic. In the event of a disaster, I would like to create a system that allows junior high school students to actually help in situations where children's power is also needed. . I feel that it is still a bit impossible for elementary school students to be active in the same way as junior high school students, so I would like you to help me with the details and have the consciousness that "I am actually helping." I think it would be nice.

In the event of a disaster on weekdays, adults are often not in the area due to work or other reasons. So, I think there are situations where elementary school students may be in trouble if they do not act independently. In the Negishi area where there are many new residents, I think it is necessary to increase the horizontal connections between residents and encourage them to participate in the disaster drill, similar to those who have lived for a long time. I think there are many people who don't know what to do unless they participate, so I think it's important to have them participate first.

Do you have any thoughts on expanding your experience or thoughts to other friends?

Everyone at Negishi Junior High School understands that efforts related to disaster prevention are important through disaster prevention learning. So, I think it's more important for us at Negishi Junior High School to communicate to other areas and other junior high school people than to tell me.

As a whole junior high school, there is the thought and management of the principal, and I think that the school as a whole has done the approach that I just explained. It is how to deploy it to other junior high schools. Is there a secret to horizontally developing the initiatives you are doing at Negishi Junior High School?

I think it's important to promote your understanding, but I don't think it's easy to say "let's do it." Regarding expanding this because it is a good initiative, it is important to try "practice" and have "successful experience" so that everyone can "be aware" that "it is a good thing." I think it is important.
Indeed, the teachers in Negishi are working together on various things, and each approach is linked as a result, so we will tell it to the whole of Yokohama City, understand it, and expand it I hope you can.

I knew that the approach in the Negishi district was a wonderful approach, but what do you expect from children through such active disaster prevention activities?

In the event of a disaster, I think that we need to be conscious of "protecting ourselves" first. It is the same for both adults and children, and children need to understand how to protect themselves in the event of a disaster. From there, I think that it will be like my family and community. Through the activities of the Boy Fire Club, first of all, in the event of a disaster, "What kind of response do you do?" I want you to know something like "What to do with evacuation?"

What kind of town do you want to make the whole Negishi district through such an approach of the whole area?

After all, I want all the residents to be friendly and have a high awareness of disaster prevention. The Negishi area is a very small area and there are few residents, so they play many roles each person. For example, there are quite a few such people as "Sports Promotion Committee Members and fire brigade Members", "Committee Members and fire brigade Members" and "Chairman of the Town and fire brigade Members". That's why everyone is close and understands each other well. Even when I was a child, it is a very closely connected town where local children gather and work in the boy firefighting club, so I would like you to make use of it in disaster prevention and become a friendly area with a high awareness of disaster prevention. I am thinking.