6 Things to Teach Your Kids About Home Fire Safety | SERVPRO® of The Lower Shore

11/4/2021 (Permalink)

You’ve likely had a lifetime’s worth of fire safety education (although despite it all, the top cause of home fires is still ignoring food while it’s cooking, but we feel sure you’re working on that). However many years you’ve been alive, you’ve got that many years of fire drills, NFPA advertising campaigns and OSHA talks at work under your belt.

Your kids, though, are at a natural disadvantage, because while they may have had some education, they don’t have the years and years of engrained fire safety knowledge you may now possess. But their knowledge and reactions as it pertains to fire safety are certainly no less important than yours, so it’s crucial that you do everything you can to empower them to react quickly and safely in the event of a fire.

Here’s the basic knowledge you should go out of your way to impart.

The sound of a smoke alarm. Make sure your kids know this is the sound of warning, but that it should provoke action, not fear. Younger children especially may be tempted to run and hide.

What firefighters wear. Listen, if a person showed up in your bedroom in the middle of the night looking like Darth Vader with a big ax, you might be a little skittish, too. Get your kids acquainted with the look of firefighters who are actively in rescue mode and gear.

The way out. Kids need to know the escape route you have established as a family and two ways out of every room.

How to exit safely. Teach kids to test doorknobs with the back of their hand to ensure it’s safe to open, and make sure they know to crawl out under smoke to avoid inhalation.

Get out, stay out and meet up. Teach your young ones to move quickly to your family’s designated meeting spot outside the home, so that you and the on-scene firefighters know everyone is accounted for. Stress to them the importance of staying out of the house once they’re outside, and that they shouldn’t reenter the home for any pets, toys or other items.

Call 911. If your underage child happens to be home alone without a cell phone, make sure he or she knows to knock on a neighbor’s door to quickly call 911 to get first responders on the scene.

Hammering home this information can help your kids react quickly and safely in the harrowing event of a fire.

Fire can cause serious damage to your home, but we can provide serious restoration. Contact SERVPRO today if you need fire recovery.