November 7, 2006 8:23 AM
Fire safety for children
With winter setting in - fireplaces, candles, and holidays - I thought it would be a good time to rerun this entry from the archives:
Justin attends an early intervention preschool in the morning to get the little extra help he needs. The other day the firemen came to visit and I didn't really think twice about it until later his teacher told me that this is a safety program with a specific purpose: to familiarize childen with the gear worn by firemen so that if their house is on fire they won't run and hide from the brave men who break in to rescue them.
You know, I've been around kids for a long time and I never thought of that! But it made so much sense. Just thinking about how those enormous suits and face masks from a child's point of view made me understand what the firemen are up against. Apparently some children have been lost to fires while hiding in closets and under beds.
So the firemen go in and explain all the gear and the child's teacher puts it on. Still, the effect is scary enough that Justin trembled in another teacher's arms and refused to go near his suited-up teacher.
So here's a little safety item you need to think about. Call your local fire department and ask if they have a visiting day coming up. Or if you have a playgroup or homeschool group, you might ask them to come visit you. If your kids are in public school, ask the principal if they have a visit from the fire department on the agenda.
Along with basic safety rules, your child needs to know what to do in case of fire:
*Do not hide from firefighters--teach your kids what they look like and sound like with their oxygen masks on.*Show kids how to crawl low on the floor, below the smoke.
*If there is a fire in the house, get out and stay out.
*Stop, drop and roll if clothes catch fire.
I found this website of a local fire department visiting a school - you can click on the pictures to enlarge them for your kids.
Also, ordered these books for my kids: Firefighters A to Z and Firefighter George & Fire Engines, Fire Trucks, and Fire Safety.
(Remember, you can always ask your local library to order books too!)
I looked for quite a while before coming up with fireman coloring pages that were appealing. I found them here.
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Comments
Hey Barbara,
I check in every once in awhile to read your blog. Great stuff! The firefighter entry caught my eye. I remember way back when learning that you can contact your local fire department and let them know if you have kids with disabilities in your home. That way if there is an emergency of some sort they know that they may have to take extra steps to make sure everyone is safe etc. I believe the program was started here in California by a firefighter who had a child with disabilities.
xo
Catherine
Posted by: Catherine McQuilkin | November 7, 2006 9:45 AM
Libraries may have visiting firemen too.
Posted by: Thia | November 7, 2006 9:58 AM
Hey everyone, that is my wonderful sister-in-law commenting above. Catherine is Tripp's youngest sibling and she has two teenage sons, including Alexander, who is a year older than Jonny and also has Down syndrome (though they say there is no genetic link and this is completely random).
Thanks, Catherine - that's a great idea, and I need to call my fire department right now to tell them.
Posted by: barbara | November 7, 2006 10:14 AM
A few years back our local library had a visit from the fire department; they let the kids climb up on the truck and see the firemen in their masks. Once you SEE your child freak out and get hysterical over the sight of a fireman in his mask you realize how important this is. They asked all the children who were scared to stick around and watch the fireman take everything off until he was just a man in a t-shirt and pants, totally unscary.
This past Halloween my middle son was a fireman, and we went over the fire safety rules again. Another thing I thought to tell them was that if YOU start the fire, don't be afraid of getting in trouble! Just get out of the house! My son is a piece of work, and I can just see him hiding so I won't know the fire was his fault.
Posted by: Michelle Potter | November 7, 2006 11:15 AM
Barara,
I have a friend whose son lit the bathroom on fire while at his grandparent's house this past summer. He heard his mom and dad remark earlier in the day "Boy, someone needs to light a match in here!" and he interpreted that literally. Thankfully he notified his mom about the fire before it hurt anyone or caught the rest of the house ablaze.
Fire is a powerful draw to little ones and especially so at other homes that are not childproofed. A firefighter I know has banned his whole family from using the glade plug-ins type of products as a result of the fires started by those products.
On another note, my DH loves candles. He also is easily distracted by the immediate and he has left candles burning after he retired to bed. After a few incidents of this I finally threw all the candles away save the one in a hurricane lamp surrounded by rocks. That was also the same motivation to update our insurance policies. We found with the real estate and building materials boom in our area we were amost $100K underinsured for rebuilding costs.
Thanks for the thought about the firefighters. Since I grew up with a father who was a volunteer firefighter from my early years, I didn't think about the possibility of my child becoming scared from the sight of one. I'll get that rectified ASAP!
Posted by: Imajackson | November 7, 2006 2:34 PM
On our fire station tour the firemen said that the firemen in his gear sounds like Darth Vader. He asked all the little boys to make their best Darth Vader breathing sounds, then he did it with his fire mask on. All the kids were told to go to the Darth Vader sounds if they were stuck in a fire. Be sure to ask when they have an open house and go. With a very small child or one with special needs it might be worth checking out a small station. Most firemen dreamed of being firemen when they grew up and they love to pass that on. Take advantage of it. It is fun to let your two or three year old boy ask the firefighter or perimedics if they are Rescue Hero's.
Posted by: JaneD | November 7, 2006 4:18 PM
Great ideas!
Don't forget to check all the smoke detectors in your house and change the batteries since we just changed the clocks. And anyone with little kids who take naps and have a smoke detector in their room should be sure to leave the baby monitor on if their house is big ... because wouldn't it be awful if the smoke detector went off in there and no one heard it but the baby? Many firestations will also send a firefighter to your house to check it out, meet the kids, and help you come up with an escape plan if you ask them to do so.
Thanks for this!
Daughter of a Firefighter
Posted by: whymommy | November 8, 2006 10:43 PM
