(STARKVILLE, MISS.) (WCBI)-This week some Starkville area school children are not in the classroom this summer, that's because they are attending a kids fire academy.

Today at fire station number one they were learning exactly what fire fighter do on a daily basis.

One demonstration taught them just what to do if they are caught in a burning building.

Instructors at the academy used an infrared device to track kids finding their way through thick smoke.

"The smoke alarm is going off like you hear it now, how are they going to react. If they mess up and then panic. You know we are going to talk about this is what you don't do," said Charles Yarbrough, SFD.

"At first when I went in I couldn't really see nothing except the smoke and it was all greenish, Said Makenzie Ward, Young Fire Academy Graduate.

In addition to wading through thick smoke, the kids learned about proper fire fighting equipment and even rope repelling techniques.