Kids Fire Safety Basics

Have you ever wondered what you’d all do if there were a fire inside your home. Whether in the daytime or at night, a fire in your home is scary  business, but you can take steps to make sure that everyone gets out safely if you plan ahead.

The key to doing your best to assure the safety and security of your family in fires, home invasions and nearly any other scenario is to pre-plan what you might happen in those circumstances.

There are ways to minimize the chance of those things happening, which we’ll address in other items for you, but for the purposes of this one, what would you do, if you woke to find a fire in your home?

Would you know the closest exit and how to get outside? Would you have a meeting place planned for yourself and your family?  You would if you take a few simple tips and then spend some time with your family making a plan of action for the event of a fire emergency.

As an adult, it’s our job to keep our children safe. Using our heads and passing them the knowledge they need and making sure that they have it memorised is what we need to do first of all. While we do need to take steps to assure that we don’t unduly frighten our kids, they need to commit to memory the steps to take in the event of a fire emergency and then practice it so that it’s a natural routine for them in the event it ever happens.

Simple safety rules that all children should know:

Steer clear of flammables. Keep your matches and lighters as well as your candles out of reach of young fingers but make sure that the rule is clear that even if they see them, they don’t touch them.

Leave electrical appliances and lamps alone. Ask an adult to plug in or unplug something if you need it to be done.

Never place anything over a lamp. Things that are fabric should be kept well away from lamps or lights in any room.

Preparing for an Emergency:

To get your kids ready so that they have the best chance of staying safe in an emergency, make sure that you plan ahead, share the plan with them, practice that plan, and imprint the seriousness of remembering it on them.

**Have a fire escape plan. Let your kids know which doors to use, how to get out if they can’t get to a door (Throwing a chair through a window if they don’t open, how to open their window if it does)  Tell them what to do once they get outside. Select a meeting place for the entire family so that you all know the others are safe. PRACTICE the fire escape plan at least every couple of months so that it stays fresh in their memories.

**Make sure that you have at least two means to get out of any room in your home at any time of day or night. The best way is always a door but  if the door is not available, make sure they know the second means.

**Test your smoke alarms on a monthly basis and two times each year, replace the batteries in your fire or smoke alarm.

In The Event of an Actual Fire

Get out as fast as you can once you hear the smoke alarm. Don’t waste time trying to find objects or pets.  Never hide from the firemen or women.

Follow the plan of escape that you have practiced.

Before you open any door, feel it. Lay the BACK of your hand on the door, not your palm. If the door is hot, don’t open it. It’s quite likely there is fire on the other side of the door. Find another way out.

Smoke rises. Smoke is poisonous gas so stay low to the ground and get out.  Call emergency services as soon as you are safely outside.

Once you are outside of the burning home, go directly to your meeting place. DO NOT re-enter your home for any reason. No matter who is missing or what you forgot, stay outside until the emergency services arrive.
Staying safe in a fire is something we can teach to our children to assure, so far as we can, their safety in this situation. Make sure that you take the planning and practices seriously and they will too.
Do your part to assure that your kids and you are safe in the event of a fire and that everyone knows what they should be doing and how to do it.  Many people are reticent to speak with their children about emergency situations for fear that they will scare them.

While the thought of a fire is a frightening event for a young child, not teaching them what they need to know will make it even more frightening and leave them unprepared to deal with it if the event ever happens.