Fire Safety is one of these things, isn’t it? No one thinks that their home might go up in flames one day. House fires are just something you read about in the paper or see on TV. They only happen to drunks who fall asleep with a cigarette in their hand or old people who forget the lunch on the stove, but in reality house fires are a lot more common than you might think.
Every year, the Fire and Rescue Services of the UK are called to over 600,000 fires, about 50,000 (140 a day) of them are house fires that kill nearly 500 and injure over 11,000. Many of these deaths could have been prevented, if people had followed some simple fire safety rules and installed a smoke alarm. Did you know that you were twice as likely to survive a house fire as your neighbour who doesn’t!?
More Than Insurances have compiled a great list of fire safety tips and an amazing interactive video, that I’ve included below. Simply click play and click on the icons in the video to find out more about how you can prevent a fire in your home. This includes simple tips like “never leave a candle burn unattended” or others you might have never considered before. If you want to learn more about fire safety in your home, definitely check this out:
Having seen a neighbour die in a house fire two years ago, fire safety in the home is something that is incredibly important to me, but as the video as well as the More Than website show you so many useful tips, I thought I’d share with you 10 fire safety tips for kids :
- Don’t play with matches and lighters.
- Don’t hang your clothes or blankets over a lamp.
- Don’t cook without your parents.
- Don’t put flammables such as towels or blankets near the stove or the fireplace.
- Don’t play near the stove or near the fireplace
- Ask you parents to regularly check the smoke detectors or install them, if you don’t have them.
- If you see smoke, quickly get out of the house and stay out. Don’t go back in! Toys can be replaced!
- If your clothes catch fire: stop, drop and roll to put the fire out. Don’t run. It makes the flames grow!
- Make and practise family escape plan: How do you get out of the house safely and where do you meet?
- Call the fire brigade using 999 and tell them where the fire is and if there’s anyone in the house!
Have your taught your kids fire safety rules? Have you got any tips to add?
This is a promotional post with an image from Ada Be via Flickr.
You’ve made me think about teaching the children some basics now! Especially the drop and roll thing – I remember being taught that as a child. So important.
So simple to remember and once you’ve practised it with children, they’ll never forget x
I caught my kids trying to make me pasta for lunch with the gas on over Easter, so we have had to go back to basics on the fire safety rules, handy list here thanks. You think they get it, but they need so much reinforcement sometimes, kids think they are invincible.
Yes, I think it’s so important to remind them every now and again and to actually practise getting out of the house as fast as they can.
Teach them not to hide if they can’t get out. Get to a window and scream, don’t get under the bed or in a cupboard. Too many kids killed because they do something silly like play with matches, then get scared and hide.
Those are really great tips. Thanks for sharing! I hadn’t even considered that someone would hide in case of a fire, but if they’ve maybe caused it or think they’re in trouble, I can see why that could happen x
That’s such a great list of tips and a great place to start with a discussion about this with the kids – thanks very much x x
You’re very welcome, I hope you find it useful x
Some really good tips and something I MUST try to speak to the kids about. Have not done this yet.
Amy has been obsessed with fire and fire brigades since a flat two houses down the road burnt out two years ago. I immediately told her what to do, but I think it’s important to regularly remind them of the dangers and what to do.
My eldest had a fire safety week at school this week. It is so important to teach our kids about safety in all cases. I will be pinning this thank you
I think it’s fab that their school teaches them. Not enough of them do x
I remember my daughter putting her teddy by the fire to get warm and scorching his arm, she very quickly learnt some fire safety! The video is great!
Thanks for sharing.
Gosh, I bet that was scary for everyone involved, but especially for your daughter. Fires are so easily underestimated x
I had to stop granddaughter from taking her phone up the stairs as she kept plugging it in under her pillow and I was worried it would over heat
Yes, I’ve heard some really scary stories about it, but I’m terrible for having my phone in bed with me…
such a shocker a really makes you think.
Great tips there. I set a tea towel on fire last week on the hob, so we had a good chat about fire safety after that. x
When my two were tiny, we taught them “lighters, matches, do not touch – they can hurt you very much” They still remember it! 😀
We’ve got “Messer, Gabel, Schere, Licht – dürfen kleine Kinder nicht” in German 🙂
Hey there,
I just read your story and I wanted to reach out. I survived a fire in a high rise apartment building and I thought it appropriate to leave a comment here.
Furthermore, I thought I’d add that having a smoke detector installed is only part of the equation. It should be tested once a month to ensure that the batteries are working. Read this article to learn about the life of your smoke detector .
Hii,
When your child is very small you may find it easier to set one big rule that they are never allowed in the kitchen without an adult. Some parents even draw an actual line (or place sticky tape) to clearly illustrate a child’s boundaries. A safety gate at the kitchen door is also a good idea.
Once a child is old enough to understand the concept of dangers and keeping safe, you can draw up rules for them. Some of the rules you listed above and all are very relevant and important….
Thank you for such an informative post…
Regards,
Jerry James
These are all great rules for fire safety with kids! I feel its so important to go over fire safety with kids as well as the whole family and to have a fire plan in case of any fire situations! Thanks for sharing!