Being prepared is the best way to protect your family. When it comes to children, parents need to ensure the little ones have a clear idea of how to react in case of fire.
Teaching children about fire safety is the best way to prepare them in case of an emergency. Itâs also the most productive way to protect them when a fire emergency happens.
Parents can teach their children two things: how not to cause a fire and how to exit your home if there is a fire. Both lessons are crucial to their safety.
This article explains the things you need to teach your children and suggests some fun ways to do this.
Teach Children about Fire
Not everything is a game, of course. Parents can explain to children what fire is and how it is caused. If your children are old enough, you can explain the fire triangle, i.e. that fires require heat, oxygen, and fuel to start and burn.
Toddlers, on the other hand, should be simply taught not to play with matches, candles, and lighters. It is essential to explain to children in simple words how fires start and how they can destroy their house and hurt them.
When to Put out a Fire
Older children can learn how to put out a fire using a fire blanket or even a fire extinguisher once they have alerted you. This, in itself, can be great fun for kids but whether you should allow it or not depends on the child. As a parent, you will know the right age and if the child is ready to handle such a responsibility or should simply head out as fast as possible.
Even if you donât teach them how to put out a fire, you should stress the need to avoid at all costs throwing water on fires, especially electrical ones and oil-based ones like a burning pan, as this can result in serious injury and even death.
Organize Your Escape Routes in Case of Fire
Once you have described the dangers and causes of fire to your children, you should move on to how they should protect themselves in case of fire.
The first thing to discuss is your escape routes. You must establish escape plans and routes from every room in your home, including the kitchen and the living room.
You should consider alternative routes: think of escape plans from the window if the height is not a problem. Ideally, and depending on the houseâs layout, you should establish two ways out of each room, in case one escape route is blocked or too dangerous.
Walk through your home with your children and plan your escape. To make it less of a lesson and more of an adventure, pretend it is some sort of game. Pretend, for example, that a volcano has erupted in the kitchen, and now they have to find their path outdoors before the lava gets them.
Get Outside Quickly and Safely
Tell your children that the foremost thing they must remember is to get out as fast as possible. They shouldnât carry anything with them: explain to them that firefighters will take care of their belongings and their precious teddy will be just fine.
No matter how much we love our pets, tell your children that losing time looking for their cat or dog can cost them their lives. Gently explain to them that the firefighters will save their pets because they know how to enter a fire and look for pets.
Turn this into a game by asking them where they think their pet escaped from. Make it more fun by using imaginative routes like A/C ducts or vents.
Feel Your Way out of Your Home
Our eyes sting in the presence of smoke. Teach your children how they can feel their way out of the house by touching things and furniture and keeping their eyes closed.
Prepare a game and have them memorize the setting of the furniture and other items so that they have a clear image in their mind of what the interior of your home feels like.
You can easily turn this into a fun game by turning it into a blindfold obstacle course.
Set a Meeting Point Outside
Whether itâs the garden gate or the sidewalk, define the meeting point where the whole family gathers in case of emergency. Tell your children that once they get out of the house, they should reach the meeting point and wait there for the whole family to gather.
Teach Your Children Not to Hide
In case your children have not managed to find their escape route, teach them not to hide under the bed or in the closet. This will make it harder for firefighters to locate them. Instead, tell them to stand in front of the window or in some obvious place where they will be highly visible and easily reachable.
As a game, ask them to find the most visible part of their room and pretend you canât see them until they reach it.
Crawling
Most fire victims die due to smoke inhalation. Teach your children that they should crawl out in case of fire. This will save them from smoke suffocation and greatly improve their ability to get safely outside.
Present it as a game and run fire drills where you ask them to crawl through the kitchen or the living room to teach them how important this is.
Stop, Drop, Roll
Even if their clothes catch fire, your children can be safe if you teach them to âstop, drop, and roll.â
If a child becomes aware that her clothes are on fire, show her how to stop, drop on the floor, protect her face with her hands, and roll over and over again, pretty much like a dog, to stop the oxygen supply to the fire. Since this is what a dog might do, you can present this in a light, playful manner, instructing them to âplay the dog.â
Doors, Handles, and Smoke
Show your children how to become perceptive of fire risks.
If smoke is coming from under the door, they shouldnât open it: it means the corridor is filled with smoke. Instead, they should choose the alternative escape route you have organized.
Remind them to check the door handle: if itâs too hot, they shouldnât open it, opting instead for an alternative plan.
This can be made more fun as a version of a hot and cold game. The family will yell âhotâ as the child gets near a hot object like a door handle and âcoldâ as they move away from it until the child identifies it.
Prepare Your Children for Safety from Fire
Teaching your children what to do in case of fire is one of the best ways of keeping them safe. Spend a few afternoons explaining to them about fire and how they can keep safe. If you can do this through some fun games, even better!
Most importantly, teach them that all that matters in case of fire is that everyone is safe and well. Houses can be rebuilt, particularly with the help of a professional restoration company like Valley Restoration and Construction.
If you need the help of a professional restoration and construction company, we are available 24/7 online and at 970-964-4437.
