Members of the Fort Oglethorpe Fire & Rescue Clown Battalion are spreading their fire pre-vention message to area students. Fort Oglethorpe Fire Department has conducted the fire safety programs for children since the 1960s. In the mid-1990s performing puppets and colorful clowns were added to the program to help get the message across. Members of the Clown Battalion write their own shows and they rewrite the program each year to keep it appealing for the children. The program teaches children about safety plans to get families out of the house in the event of fire. It stresses learning their home addresses and how to call 911, and that families should change their smoke detector batteries twice a year — on Easter and Halloween or when they change their clocks in the spring and fall. October is National Fire Prevention Month.