Fire Prevention

As a caregiver or parent, Christmas, with all the candles, Christmas lights, and festivities, can be a good time each year to educate children about the danger of fires and to give them clear instructions on what to do in case of emergency. These reminders should be reiterated frequently throughout the winter.

Here are five simple things you can do this winter with kids:

1. Decide on a meeting point. This is absolutely the most important information you can relate to children. Kids of all ages should know that if they hear a fire alarm, smell smoke, or see fire, they should proceed to your meeting point. This could be the school parking lot or, if at home, in the neighbor's yard. This is information they can be quizzed about regularly.
2. Hold a fire drill. What is the best way out of your school/parish/home? What should kids do if one way is blocked or if they encounter a hot doorknob? Should they take anything with them? (Hint: the answer is no!) All of these questions can be answered ahead of time and then practiced so that if there is a fire, the safest actions are ingrained in their memories.
3. Identify challenges. Consider alone, or as a family, or a class-elements that might make an orderly escape difficult. Are there small children who need help? Doors that are difficult to open? Disabled students who need an extra hand? All of these issues should be identified and solutions decided upon.
4. Test your smoke alarm(s). If the alarms are more than 10 years old, replace them! Also check to make sure any heating devices you use in the colder months meet safety standards. Find some great tips about both of these procedures here. 
5. Plan a trip to your local firehouse. Nothing reinforces fire safety like a visit to see local firefighters. Consider setting up a field trip for your school or community group (or even a group of parents and kids) or seeing if a firefighter can come talk to your group.

There are a wealth of resources for both adults and kids provided by the National Fire Prevention Association. 

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