How to Develop a Fire Safety Plan for Kids

A fire safety plan is important for all households to have. If you have kids, then your fire safety plan will need to be crafted so that your children will be able to understand it. These steps will help you to create a fire safety plan for your kids.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Determine what type of information your children can understand. For older kids you can write out the instructions for your fire plan, and younger children may need colorful drawings to help illustrate what they need to do.

2. Conduct a room-by-room search for possible fire hazards and fire escape routes. Have your kids help you with this process.

3. Work as a family to remove fire hazards from your home, or at least to minimize their threat to your family's safety. For example, replace frayed wires, move combustible materials away from heat sources and don't overload outlets.

4. Design a map of your house. Have your kids help with this project. If you have younger kids make the project colorful and fun. Map out possible fire exits from each room in the house. Also identify important fire safety tools like fire extinguishers. Also add to the map an outside meeting spot where the family will meet if a fire occurs in the house.

5. Review fire safety materials with your kids. Discuss what fire is, what it can do and what kids should do if a fire occurs.

6. Teach your kids how to use a fire extinguisher. This is good practice for parents too. Let your kids fire off the extinguisher so that you know they know how to use it. This is also a good time to hang the fire extinguisher in a spot that everyone in the family can reach.

7. Create a fire safety review checklist. This should include when you need to check the batteries in your fire alarms, when you need to recharge or service your fire extinguishers and when you need to have a family fire drill.

8. Practice your fire safety plan. Run fire drills. Use a cardboard cutout of flames to block exits so that your kids have to find another exit point.

[ways4success]

on 10/20/2008 Remember, practice make difference. And don't forget other safety issues like hurricane etc.

[iamageniuster]

on 10/14/2008 Great tips. 5 Stars!!!

[DiscountTickets]

on 10/14/2008 So important to know what to do at a time like this.
Very important, and so necessary.

[vikki9]

on 10/14/2008 This information might also be explained in such a way that does not instill a sense of fear especially in younger children. We wouldn't want a fire safety plan to cause nightmares.

[judy8074]

on 10/14/2008 A valuable article. However, it would be good to add several things. I learned most of these from our county fire rescue service:
1. Everyone in the family should learn not to run out the door, but to drop to the floor and crawl, because smoke rises. The family dog can practice with you.
2. Studies in our county show that a majority of third-graders do not know that they must go outside before calling 911.
3. It is important to make a plan where the family members will meet after they exit the house, so that all can be accounted for.
4. Arrange for your children to see a firefighter in full gear, including the helmet, so the child will not be frightened and run from the firefighter.
5. Teach the children that they must not run back into a burning building to save a pet or anything else.
6. There are many good web sites that provide entertaining ways of education children about fi