No matter how well you may have prepared, young children have inconsistent reactions to fire and other life-threatening emergencies. It is up to the adults in their lives to provide adequate supervision, eliminate clutter and other fire hazards, make an exit plan and practice it often, and carry children and vulnerable adults to safety.
Candles and Kids Don't Mix
Children and open flame of any kind do not mix, whether it's a candle, oil burner, chafing dish or incense burner. It takes only a few seconds for a fire to start and as little as 90 seconds for a fully-involved room to flash over, according to the National Fire Protection Association. Do not leave young children alone with any flame source, even for a few seconds. Put out the flame and take your child with you to answer the door, run to your car for a forgotten object or talk to a neighbor over the back fence.
Practice Prevention
Fires need three things to burn: fuel, heat and oxygen. Take away any of the three, and you have no fire. Keep your home free of clutter, especially in doorways, hallways, near gas-powered appliances, water heaters and furnaces. This includes piles of laundry waiting to be washed or put away, old toys, recycling bins and boxes of keepsakes. Keep candles, matches, oil burners, chafing dishes, solvents, flammable lubricants, paint and fuels in locked, flameproof cabinets out of reach of children and at least 15 feet from any source of open flame.
Exit Comes Before Extinguish
Exit comes before extinguish for a good reason. Unless the fire is confined to a small area, such as a wastebasket or lidded saucepan, you need to ensure that "everyone has exited the building; the fire department has been called or is being called; and the room is not filled with smoke."
Have a Plan
Have a written fire exit plan and practice it with your children and all other family members. The plan should include a diagram of main and alternate exits, posted at your child's eye level. Practice both a primary and alternate route each week, asking children what to do if an exit is blocked. Group home manager Janet Stoneking warns, "Unless you practice alternate routes, children and people with cognitive differences, such as mental retardation, Alzheimer's disease or dementia, will use only the route they have been trained to use. Individuals have been discovered next to the exit familiar to them, overcome by fumes, even when there was a clear path to a closer exit."
Teach children not to hide under beds or in closets when they see smoke or flames, but to go to the nearest exit and leave the house if they are able. Use a live-practice evacuation of all children and any non-ambulatory adults, carrying them out if necessary. Make sure you tell one another who has which child, where each remaining child is waiting and who can get them to safety fastest. Teens can carry younger siblings to safety, but anyone under 12 should not bear responsibility for someone else if they are left alone.
Once you are outside, do not allow anyone to reenter the home for any reason until fire officials assure you that it is safe to do so. A fire can reignite if any hot spots are missed.
Know Your Firemen
Most fire departments have fire safety programs that include a tour of a fire station, a chance to meet and speak with a fireman and a chance to see fire equipment in operation. Show your child pictures of real firemen in full gear and explain that when he sees a fire, he should allow a fireman to help him.
