Fires are devastating. No one wants to ever have the experience of being involved in a house fire, yet no one is immune to the possibility of this happening. That is why it is so imperative that all of us prepare ourselves and our children in case a fire should happen. While parents will hopefully have the maturity to be able to handle even the most stressful of situations with control when the well-being of the family is involved, children and teens need guidance to know exactly what they should do, where they should go, and how they need to react if there is an emergency. Preparation is the best and in many cases the only way to ensure a best case scenario with your family when the house is on fire and family members need to get out.
Fire safety for kids and teens does not have to complicated and drawn-out but it is important to be thorough and to regularly remind your family about the fire safety principles that they are taught. Through regular reminders and lessons your children will better be able to internalize the safety lessons that they are taught and if the need to put those lessons into practice ever arose; they would know exactly what to do and feel confident in making smart choices. Below are some fire safety tips for kids and teens that you should be discussing as a family:
1.Make a fire escape plan – A fire escape plan should map out clearly what a child should do and where they should go in case of a fire. Each member of the family needs to be able to find and use two exits out of every room. This means making sure that little ones will be helped out by an older sibling or that they receive help practicing how to open and get out of the window themselves. Kids and teens need to know how to determine if it is safe to leaver through the door or not. A meeting place outside should also be determined ahead of time. Emphasize that once you have gotten out of a house that may be on fire, you should never go back into the house for anything, no matter what. Have a fire drill at least twice a year to work out any kinks in the escape plan and to address problems in the plan that you may not have discovered otherwise.
2.Install smoke alarms – Smoke alarms should be on every level of the house and ideally in every bedroom of the house. Test these smoke detectors monthly to make sure that they do not need to have the battery replaced. It is a good idea to replace the batteries once a year just to be safe. For the best detection and notification protection, install both ionization-type and photoelectric-type smoke alarms.
3.Stop, drop and roll – Teach every family member to stop, drop and roll if a piece of their clothing catches fire. Practice these motions and come up with a way that will help you to remember what to do.
4.Fire sprinkler system – If building a new home or remodeling your current home you may want to consider installing a home fire sprinkle system.
5.Fire extinguisher – Learn how to use a fire extinguisher. Read through the instructions on your individual extinguisher. Acronyms are great ways to remember how to properly operate an extinguisher. Make sure that you also know when to use a fire extinguisher and when to use another method of fire suppression.
6.Fire prevention – Establish rules of fire prevention for your family. Emphasize safe use of electricity and being cautious while cooking in the kitchen.
