Team 5 Alive

During the first project meeting, team member and pediatrician, Dr. James Simmons shared that he recently lost three patients in a house fire. He questioned the need for smoke alarms in homes. Everyone sympathized with James. Team member and City of Beaufort Fire Chief, Reece Bertholf shared that fire detectors are often in homes but are not working. Reece also shared a safety tip some of us were not aware of and that is sleeping with your bedroom door closed can buy you minutes needed to escape and stay ALIVE.

The message of fire safety isn’t new.  It has been told many times by fire fighters in schools and at community events.  We want to deliver the message of fire safety differently.  5-Alive is 5 safety messages, told by 5 doctors, echoed by 5 children, in 5 different languages.

The team partnered with the Beaufort County Broadcast Services Department to video the message, thanks to team member and County Councilmember Alice Howard. Another great partnership was made with Beaufort-Jasper-Hampton Comprehensive Health Services (BJHCHS) thanks to Chief Executive Officer and DLI Alumni Roland Gardner.

The video message of fire safety – Get Out and Stay Out; Smoke Alarms in Every Bedroom; Sleep With the Door Closed; Give Matches to An Adult; and Don’t Run by Campfires will be told by doctors and children in multiple languages.

Thanks to the project partners, this message will be seen by thousands of residents who sit in waiting rooms at County Offices and BJHCHS Medical Offices. These offices are equipped with TV monitors and will show our video several times daily to clients that visit these offices.

Team 5-Alive will implement this project starting with Beaufort County and BJHCHS facilities. The team will then spread this message to government offices and health care facilities in all four counties of our Lowcountry Region – Beaufort, Colleton, Hampton, and Jasper.