For several years now, the Caped Crusader has made a big impact on the lives of children in the Tri-State, most recently with a visit to Burlington Elementary School.

Batman, also known as John Buckland with the Huntington-based Heroes 4 Higher, visited the school to give out smoke detectors to families who didn’t have the life-saving device in their homes.

This was prompted by a tragic fire that claimed the lives of one of Burlington’s students’ mother and siblings back in February.

Who better to spread the message of safety to schoolchildren than a superhero?

Heroes 4 Hire, visits schools, libraries and community events with the hope of inspiring children to “be the hero.” This is exactly the sort of message children need to hear at such a young age.

They need to know what they do and how they act impacts their communities. Children need to know they will have tough decisions to make but “being a hero” means being brave and doing what’s right.

We applaud the efforts of Heroes 4 Hire and sincerely hope each child who met Batman at Burlington Elementary this week will always remember to be a hero for his or her community.