A Smart Fire Safety Plan

As parents, it’s easy to obsess over issues of health and safety when it comes to our kids, but we often overlook a preventable danger that kills more than 4,000 Americans each year: fire. According to the National Fire Protection Association, children 5 years old and younger are responsible for nearly half of all home fires from their playing. Preschoolers and kindergarteners are the most likely to die in these fires, which are usually ignited in the bedroom with matches and lighters.

PREVENTION

The Missouri Department of Public Safety suggests several ways to protect children from fires. Some of their suggestions, found on the www.DFS.DPS.mo.gov website:

• Store matches and lighters out of reach and sight, preferably in a locked cabinet.
• Use only lighters with child-resistant features, with the awareness that this does not guarantee the products are completely childproof.
• Teach children to tell an adult anytime they find matches or lighters.
• Never use fire as a source of amusement; children like to imitate adults.
• Keep a 3-foot “kid-free zone” around open fires and space heaters.

TEACH FIRE SAFETY

Would your child know what to do in a real fire? It’s important to review how to escape from a fire safely. The following are guidelines from an interactive lesson on the U.S. Fire Administration website, www.USFA.FEMA.gov/kids:

• Get out fast! Never hide or gather valuables and don’t attempt to put the fire out yourself.
• Before opening a door, feel the bottom of the door first and work your way up. If it’s hot, there may be fire on the other side. Try to get out another way.
• “Go low in smoke.” Stay low to the floor to avoid heat and toxic smoke.
• “Stop, drop and roll.” If your clothes are on fire, stop, drop and roll until the fire is extinguished, covering your face with your hands.
• Call 9-1-1 only after you escape the home or building.
• Once out, stay out. Don’t go back inside to get anything.

PLAN AND PRACTICE

Break out the poster board and markers and make fire safety fun for your family. Together, draw an outline of each floor of your home, locating all the windows and doors. Then, touring your house with your poster in tow, find two ways that you can escape from each room, and have the kids map them with red arrows.

The Kansas Fire Marshal website, www.KSFM.ks.gov, lists five instructions for creating a successful fire escape plan:

• Diagram your home showing two ways out of each room.
• Walk through your home to make sure the escapes are accessible to everyone.
• Pick an outside meeting place that is safe and easy to remember.
• Regularly review your family’s fire safety plan with everyone in your household.
• Put your fire safety plan into practice: have mock fire drills with your family.

FIRE SAFETY WEBSITES

FEMA for kids: http://www.Ready.gov/Fires

Take a tour of Hydro’s Hazard House (can you spot all the dangers?) and quiz your fire safety skills on this interactive website.

Junior Fire Marshal Program: www.JuniorFireMarshal.com

Since 1947, more than 110 million junior fire marshals have been deputized through this classic program. Has your kid earned one of their signature red fire helmets?

Sparky the Firedog: www.Sparky.org

Learn all about fire trucks, download cartoon printables and explore interactive “Sparky Stuff” on this colorful, kid-friendly site.

FIRE SAFETY QUIZ

1. How often should you replace batteries in functioning smoke alarms?

a) Every three months

b) Every year

c) Every two years


2. Where should smoke alarms be installed?

a) On every level near sleeping areas

b) In every room

c) On the level of the master bedroom


3. How often should you test smoke alarms?

a) Yearly

b) Every six months

c) Monthly


4. In the event of a home fire, you should:

a) Call 911 immediately.

b) Evacuate first, then call 911 from a neighbor’s house.

c) Try to contain the fire yourself until the fire team arrives.


5. To escape from a fiery interior:

a) Remain on your feet.

b) Crawl low beneath the smoke.


6. The most deadly elements of fire, in order, are:

a) Flames, heat, then smoke

b) Heat, smoke, then flames

c) Smoke, heat, then flames

7. The difference between temperatures at the cooler floor level versus eye level can vary as much as:

a) 50 degrees

b) 100 degrees

c) 500 degrees

Answers: 1-b, 2-a, 3-c, 4-b, 5-b, 6-c, 7-c

Wendy Connelly, mother of two from Overland Park, is raising a future firefighter.