A home fire can be a scary experience for adults, let alone children. House fires in the United States resulted in almost 3,000 deaths and over 13,000 injuries in 2008, according to the U.S. Fire Administration. Kids can play a role in not just preventing home fires, but developing a plan for getting out of the house safely in the event of a fire.
Help Kids Develop a Fire Safety Plan
In the middle of a house fire is no time to come up with a plan for how to get out of the house. Each member of the family, especially kids, should know where to go and what to do in the event of a fire. Hold a family meeting and help kids come up with a specific fire safety plan for every room of the house, and especially for the middle of the night. Help kids come up with ideas of how to prepare the home in the case of a fire, such as having rope ladders on hand for upstairs bedrooms and equipping rooms such as the kitchen with fire extinguishers.
Help Kids Check Smoke Alarms
Getting your kids involved in regular inspections of smoke alarms in your house helps ensure that multiple people in your family are on top of keeping them up to date. Working smoke alarms can help reduce the risk of injury or death from a house fire by up to 50 percent, according to the U.S. Fire Administration. Help your child learn how to test the smoke alarm, as well as replace the battery. You can put a calendar up on the fridge to help your child remember to check the smoke alarm monthly, as well as replacing the battery every six months.
Teach Basic Fire Safety
The best way to keep your house and family safe from a fire is to prevent it from ever happening. Teach children the various ways a fire can be started, such as unsafe cooking, leaving appliances such as the vacuum plugged in, leaving blankets or other flammable materials near portable heaters and playing with matches. Kids who are informed have a better chance of being aware of potential fire hazards and notifying you of ways to fix the problems.
Teach Stop, Drop and Roll
In the event of a fire, your kids should know what to do in case their clothes or hair catch on fire. Teach kids the principle of stop, drop and roll. Stopping helps prevent the fire from spreading. Drop means to drop to the ground wherever you are. Roll means to roll around on the ground, back and forth, in order to put out the flames. Help kids practice stop, drop and roll so they know what to do in case of an emergency.
