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Teaching Your Kids About Fire Safety | SERVPRO of Conway & Faulkner Counties
6/14/2023 (Permalink)
SERVPRO of Conway & Faulkner Counties is here for you and your family if you experience a fire in your home or business.
f you have children, you know how much work it is to keep them safe on a daily basis! The world is full of unknowns and things are often out of your complete control, but you do your best to teach them about personal safety while also fostering independence. This can sometimes be tricky with sensitive topics without scaring your children with the facts.
Fire safety is one of those topics that if you introduce it wrong, it can cause your children unnecessary stress and anxiety. By introducing fire safety in a fun or encouraging way, you can increase your child’s likelihood of responding quickly and accurately to a fire emergency.
SERVPRO of Conway & Faulkner Counties explains how to introduce some of these concepts below, so read on to get some ideas for your own children.
Fires can start in many areas of your home, and each instance carries its own level of risk. Start by explaining how fire starts and what is needed in order for a fire to spread, and then let your children walk around your home to try and identify every space that could start a fire. Lead them into the kitchen, utility room and even the backyard by the grill or fire pit.
Show them the matches and lighters that you use so that your children are familiar with them. Once you explain that they are not toys and should only ever be used by adults, your children will be more likely to leave them alone. A single match and a curious child are never a good mix.
Seeing a firefighter in his or her suit and heavy gear can be an overwhelming or even scary experience, so don’t let this first interaction happen during a true fire emergency. Try to expose your kids to pictures, videos and books about firefighters. You should also attempt to go to any local meet-and-greet events to see our local fire crews in person.
If your child knows what to expect, it can help him or her understand that these people are just there to help and to trust them. You also need to ensure your children are comfortable calling for help.
To do this, put them in their rooms and have them call out their name as loud as they can! Once you can hear them, tell them to army crawl out of their room and toward the front door.
All homes should have a robust emergency exit plan. If you don’t already have one, this is the perfect chance to make it a fun game for your kids. Let them go into each room and find all of the ways out, and have them write down their findings. Once you have your list, see who can make it out of your home the fastest!
This is also the perfect time to discuss the use of windows and window safety. While knowing how to open the windows is important in an actual emergency, be sure that your children know that windows are always a last resort and should never be played with.
Once you are done, put it all together and practice getting out of your home! Choose an external meeting location and practice your plan all the way through at least twice a year.
Fires can cause widespread damage. Call us for a thorough and efficient restoration.