Fire Safety Tips for Kids at Home
Fire safety for kids instruction saves lives every year.
Fire is a very useful tool for us and has been for years.
While we use it for warmth, for light, and for many other reasons, it can be either an ally or a real detriment. Fire safety for kids is one of the most important things that we can offer our children at an early age, yet many of us overlook it.
It should be as important as the things we teach them about strangers and respect, but it's one of the least common things that we impart to our kids unless we're actively involved in the fire or rescue community.
Thankfully, many schools have begun to observe Fire Safety Week in October of each year and to send their firefighters and instructors into schools to offer some instruction to children on fire prevention and fire safety.
Fire Safety for Kids does begin inside the home, with parents not only keeping up with the many things that can cause a fire, but also instructing their children on why they have done things a given way. Keeping your home free of things which are most commonly known to start a fire and observing, as well as teaching fire safety for kids is an important part of keeping your home safe and secure.
In fact, once children learn fire safety tips, it's not at all uncommon for a parent to relate how they forgot or ignored a tip and were reprimanded by their children for the oversight.
A few tips that you can offer your children which will assure that they--and your home--remain safe from fire and smoke damage are these:
Never leave candles or open flames burning unattended or within reach of children or pets.
- If you smoke, make it a point to smoke outdoors so that the matches, lighters, and other implements are out of reach of your children.
- Let your children know what they are to do in the event of a fire. Set up a meeting place outdoors and practice it, quizzing the kids until everyone is clear. Instruct them firmly that they are to leave the house immediately, not attempt to find the dog or anything else, but to meet you at a given spot.
- Never leave your dryer or coffee maker, or other electrical appliances running when you are asleep or away from home.
- Teach your children not only to leave fire making items such as matches and lighters alone, but also why they are to leave them alone.
- Provide explanations of a fire drill and be detailed about how they would get out of the house in the event of a fire at night or other times. If it will require them to break a window or use a ladder, make sure that they know step by step how to accomplish it.
- Keep your bedroom doors closed at night. This may give you some extra time to get out.
- Expose your children to fire and rescue workers where possible so that they know the look they will see and are not frightened of it.
It is common that in the event of a fire, the fire fighters in full gear will look and sound frightening. Children have sometimes hidden where firefighters can't reach or find them.
Making sure that your children know how to prevent a fire, to avoid a fire if it strikes, to get out of the house and meet their family safely, and to know what to do if they see fire elsewhere is an important part of keeping your children safe.
Sit down as a family and plan escape routes and ways to stay safe in the event of fire or emergency.
Don't just plan them; practice them at least once a month. Practice home fire drills on a regular basis so that children are doing these things almost automatically and it becomes second nature to be safe from the ravages that fire can cause.
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