‘B is for being brave’: School class delivers N.S. firefighters a hopeful message

“B is for being brave and not giving up.”

Grade 3 and 4 students at Alderney Elementary in Dartmouth, N.S., are voicing their gratitude for the heroism being displayed by firefighters and other first responders in Nova Scotia as they continue to fight a staggering number of wildfires in the province.

The class designed a booklet that offered 26 messages of encouragement for first responders in alphabetical order. The project also featured student drawings depicting firefighters as superheroes and receiving a “best fireman!” trophy.

“E is for everything that you do for us. Thank you for keeping us safe,” one student read.

On Wednesday, the video was uploaded to Twitter by the class’s teacher, Amanda Reardon, and has already generated about 40,000 views with several replies applauding the student’s powerful message to first responders.

Reardon said students were concerned about the wildfires upon arriving at school on Monday, which led her to suggest that they do something creative to offer support. She said it was a group effort, as her whole class participated in the writing process.

“On day one we wrote the words for the book, on the second day students illustrated, and on the third day we did the narrating,” she said, adding that everyone in her 22-student class provided a drawing for the booklet. “They were so enthusiastic, and they knew they were going to make other people happy.”

The project even received praise from Halifax Fire.

“What a wonderful video of support,” said the department on their official Twitter account.

Reardon said the students were “so excited” on Friday morning when they first heard how their message was being received online.

“They think they’re big movie starts now,” Reardon laughed.

“It’s been a very positive mood in our classroom today, and they keep on getting excited when it (the post) gets retweets because my Apple Watch vibrates, so they’ve been paying attention to my watch all day.”

Other acts of heroism that students acknowledged included firefighters’ commitment to protecting pets, being kind, and making them “smile and feel safe.”

“L is for love. We LOVE you!” one student read.

“V is for being valued. We know you are doing your best.” another student added, as their drawing of a “#1” medal was shown.

A wildfire broke out Sunday afternoon in the Tantallon area, about a 30-minute drive from downtown Halifax. The fire destroyed about 200 buildings, including 150 homes, and forced the evacuation of more than 16,400 people.

In addition, a fire that started on Saturday at Barrington Lake in Shelburne County has now grown to 20,000 hectares, making it the largest recorded wildfire in the province’s history.

As of Friday morning, Nova Scotia’s wildfire map indicated the province is still experiencing 14 wildfires, with four deemed out of control.

Reardon noted that working on the booklet was especially helpful for some students, as she said many had family members that were evacuated or previously attended schools that ended up closing due to the ongoing fires.

“They were so proud of themselves, so I’m glad that we took this on,” she said.