There was a commotion on Monday morning in the grounds of Brindabella Christian College, caused by a boisterous group of tiny children rolling around, flailing limbs as they pretended to be on fire.
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"Fire, fire, fire", they shouted enthusiastically, as smiling teachers and firefighters watched on.
The annual fire-safety education campaign has begun once again, with ACT firefighters touring kindergartens across Canberra to spread important messages about fire safety.
"We aim to teach students in a safe and fun way so they understand the basics of what to do if there is a fire in their home," explained ACT Fire & Rescue Deputy Chief Officer Conrad Barr. "And that firefighters dressed up in their protective gears are friends and nothing to be scared of."
Following the lead of experienced firefighters, the kids ran through a 45-minute activity-filled lesson on how to dial triple zero, "stop, drop and roll" and "get down low" when smoke is inside a home.
At the end they were invited to step into a real fire truck to see the equipment at first hand.
Mr Barr said the importance of teaching young children about fire safety should not be underestimated.
"I think we need look no further than the fire on the weekend, where a 12-year-old child helped their siblings get out of the home safely and alerted the neighbours so that the firefighters could be called, to demonstrate the safety, value and effectiveness of the program," he said.
Their target is young students. They visited more than 90 per cent of entry-level students last year, and Mr Barr hopes to reach even more this year.
"Once they're old enough to learn, they're the most receptive. If a child learns these things at an early age, they have it for life."
Senior firefighter Rod Mertin has found his seven years of service incredibly rewarding and, having two young girls of his own, talked about the excitement of working with kids as part of his job.
"It's good to see how enthusiastic the kids are," he said. "They really enjoy us coming out and they have a great time. We notice that they remember a lot from what we taught them last year, and they seem very engaged in the presentation."
The program was praised by Keith Roberts, head of junior school at Charnwood Campus, who said it was always an exciting spectacle for the teachers.
"There are some definite life skills that children have to have [so] they know in an emergency how to respond [and] not panic," he said.
Brimming with nervous energy, little brown-eyed Anna-Simone broke off from her kindy group to explain her favourite part was watching the firemen "[squirt] the water and see how far away it can get".
Promising she would alert her parents of a fire hazard by yelling "fire, fire", she showed off her key findings of the day by performing a perfect body roll on the pavement.
