You Need to Have Family Fire Drills at Home
It’s hard to keep track of everything kids are missing out on right now, studying at home all (or most) of their time, from social to educational. However, one thing that you might not have thought of, especially for young children: they don’t train in all these regular fire drills.
While we obviously have to teach kids about fire safety in the home, even during normal times, the actual practice of hearing the alarm and following the procedure to escape may be that schools tend to be more consistent than parents. Now (and indeed, always) we must practice fire drills at home.
Scott Fitzpatrick, chief of the Omaha Fire Department, tells the Omaha World-Herald that parents should teach children that while fire is a tool that helps us in things like cooking, it can also be dangerous and can hurt us. harm:
The next task is home fire drills. Everyone should know two ways to leave the house and understand that as soon as he left, he should not leave the house.
“Don’t come back for toys or stuffed animals, or if someone else is trapped,” he says. This is the job of the fire department, which immediately upon arrival asks if there is anyone in the house and how to contact them.
Families need to agree on a meeting point when they are outside. Fitzpatrick says it’s a letterbox for his family, but it could be a tree or a neighbor’s house. Make the whole exercise fun.
Remember, you must have at least one working fire alarm on every floor of your home, including the basement. Check them at least twice a year (even better, once a month) and replace the batteries once or twice a year. Let the children see and hear you do this so they know how the alarm sounds.
Safe Kids Worldwide has some more fire safety tips for families:
Safe Kids also recommends practicing family fire drills twice a year.