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Firefighters Go On Bike Helmet Hunt With Free Ice Cream

THORNTON, Colo. (CBS4) - We all scream for ice cream, but on Monday children who know about bike safety got their ice cream without screaming.

CBS4 Health Specialist Kathy Walsh went along for a special giveaway. She got to ride in a fire truck searching for children using their heads. Walsh tagged along with a Thornton fire crew canvassing the town looking for kids on wheels with the proper head gear.

The first they found was Antone, a 5-year-old with a helmet that matched his snazzy bike. He learned that safety pays off after getting a voucher for free frozen custard at Culver's from a firefighter.

"All because you're wearing your helmet while you're riding your bicycle," the firefighter told Antone.

The cool summer giveaway is part of a safety campaign launched by North Suburban Medical Center. Doctors want people to understand the importance of helmets.

"They reduce your risk of getting any type of a head injury or facial injury by up to 80 percent if you're involved in a bicycle accident," Dr. Tom Dietrich with North Suburban Medical Center said.

North Suburban is hoping lots of kids get caught, like the Leist brothers.

"I see you both are wearing your helmets, that's good," the firefighter told them.

It was good enough for ice cream for two.

Children also got a quick lesson on how to properly wear a helmet.

"You want to wear it right above your eyebrows," a firefighter told the Leist brothers.

The boys have been known to give their father a hard time.

"'Oh Dad, we don't want to wear the helmets, it's not cool,' " their father said.

But they were reminded wearing a helmet is a no-brainer.

North Suburban is trying to make wearing a helmet easy. In May they handed out 125 helmets to children thanks to Horizons North Credit Union.

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