The Ventura County Fire Department's "Adventures in Safety" clowns gave their final performance on Fri., May 16 at Weathersfield Elementary School in Thousand Oaks. The clowns will concentrate full-time on firefighting.

Fire engineer John Foy started the program in 1990 to teach important fire and life safety lessons to children in first through third grades.

"We do a different theme every year," he said. "We've done programs on stop, drop and roll; cool a burn; smoke detectors; bike safety; water safety; and many others. In some years we did more than 60 performances, and (we) reached more than 15,000 kids a year with our lessons."

In 1992, fire Capt. Mike Lindbery joined Foy as they used a combination of music, magic, comedy and puppetry to deliver their safety messages. They also taught other fire departments how to use humor to teach children.

"We've taught life safety clowning in California, Arizona, Texas, Tennessee, North Carolina, Colorado and Utah," said Lindbery.

Foy and Lindbery have been assisted by fire Capt. Tom Glauser, who is the team's puppeteer and sound technician. Many other department members have participated in the program over the years.

"It's sad to see such a successful program come to an end," said fire prevention officer Corina Cagley, who oversees the program, "but these are important lessons and the department will continue to deliver them to the county's children."