Fire Prevention Education Starts in the Home

Last week marked Fire Prevention Week throughout the country. Fire departments from all over the area visited schools to meet with students. On the schedule for those visits were tours of the fire trucks, explanation of equipment, and lessons on fire prevention and fire safety. Some of the older students even learned about the fire service industry and the history of fire prevention. One of the most important lessons taught throughout the week is that fire prevention education starts at home.

Did your child come running off the school bus decked out in a fire fighter helmet carrying a bag full of goodies? It's best that you look through that bag as most of the information in there is for parents. There are some pencils, coloring books and other little things of interest to the kids, but most of it is for you, the parent, who can reinforce the lessons at home.

Even though a child spends most of their day in school, fire prevention is also important at home. Children will get to experience fire drills multiple times per school year, but do you hold them at home too? You should hold a home fire drill at least twice per year. When you conduct a home fire drill you should activate the smoke alarm so the whole family knows what it sounds like. The family should have a meeting place predetermined. It can be a neighbor's house, a neighbor's driveway, at the very back of the yard or anywhere else that is far enough away from the home if it is on fire.

Home fire drills should teach your children the different ways they can exit the home. Make sure their doors are closed and that they feel it with the back of their hand prior to opening it. They should crawl as low to the ground as possible. Everyone in the home should know how to open the windows and the doors in the event of an emergency. Children should also be taught that they never go back into the house for anything!

Read through all of the literature that came home with your child for fire prevention week. You never know what you might learn about fire safety and prevention. Don't forget; batteries in smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors should be changed every six months. If your smoke detector is 10-years-old, it's time to replace it.

If you would like more information about fire prevention, or our foundation, contact us via the website. The Hunter's Heroes Foundation is dedicated to educating and motivating both fire service personnel and the public.