Please enjoy this syndicated copy of our Fire Prevention and Safety Week article, originally featured on the Mom’s Choice Matters blog!
This week is National Fire Prevention Week (October 9-15), the perfect time to refresh your knowledge on basic fire safety tips for home, work and/or school.
There are very simple steps a family can take to fire proof their home (and to keep in mind for work/school), but often these easy tasks get forgotten even though they are very important to the safety of you and your children.
Let’s start with some basics. Here are 10 tips to share with your family so you are all understanding of what it takes to prevent a fire in your home:
- Keep all hot foods, liquids, appliances (curling iron, iron, etc.) away from table/counter edges to avoid them being knocked over or pulled down.
- Be sure to install and maintain (aka change batteries) a working smoke alarm outside of every bedroom in your house.
- Know your family’s escape route and practice it at least two times per year.
- Teach everyone the “Stop, Drop and Roll” method in case clothing ever catches fire.
- Replace or professionally repair any appliances that spark, smell unusual or overheat.
- Keep hot lamps/lights away from drapes, bedspreads or other fabrics.
- Cover unused electrical outlets in your house with plastic safety covers.
- Keep candles out of reach from kids and pets and away from curtains and furniture.
- Be sure your home as a fire extinguisher and that you know how to use it.
- Keep matches and lighters out of a child’s reach.
Additionally, it’s always nice to have a few “fun” ways you can teach your kids about fire safety and prevention. Here are two that we love!
Website: For TONS of information for kids, the USFA Kids website is a fabulous educational site that features games (crosswords, matching games, coloring pages), quizzes, facts and more – all aimed at kids.
Book: The Good Fire Helmet by Tim Hoppey and illustrated by Lori McElrath-Eslick (Illustrator), is a Mom’s Choice Award Gold winner. It’s a wonderful story about being brave in everyday life and believing in yourself. Two brothers treasure the firefighter’s helmet that once belonged to their dad and use it to remind themselves to be brave. While this book doesn’t include specific fire safety tips, it’s a great story to read to your kids to educate them on the topic of firemen and what they do, and the importance of being brave in trying situations.
Have you talked to your kids about fire safety and your family’s fire safety plan? What approach worked for your family?
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