Blount County firefighters have teamed up with local Cub Scouts to give an extra dose of fire safety and prevention education while the cubs are enjoying one of their favorite scout activities: Pinewood Derby model car racing.

The Blount County Fire Department purchased a derby track, which is now housed at Station 7 on Sevierville Road. Part-time Blount County firefighter Steve Roberts came up with the idea to purchase the community track for all Cub Scout packs in Blount County.

“We did a lot of research and talked to Cub Scout leaders to find out what their needs were,” Blount County Fire Chief Doug McClanahan said. “We discovered that some of the packs had tracks that were old and damaged, and some didn’t even have a track. They didn’t have a central location to go to where they could all race.” 

When talking to McClanahan about purchasing the derby track, Roberts said he made a promise to the chief: Firefighters would use each race as an opportunity to educate the children and their parents about fire safety and prevention. Each event would begin with a nine-minute fire safety video, which would be followed with a question-and-answer session.

The fire department purchased the top-of-the-line track in January from its fire safety and prevention education fund. The four-lane aluminum track has computer-generated timing, making it an easy read for the winner of each race. “There’s no question who crossed the line first on this track,” McClanahan said.