Station Visit Can Be Time To Teach Tots Fire Safety
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Fire departments have the tendency to overlook one of the best groups for fire prevention education available—young children.
Children at the nursery school, kindergarten and first-grade level are the most impressionable audience you can find. They live more by example than anyone. Most fire departments will give them a fast tour of the firehouse and then show them the fire engine. It’s usually the smallest thing they remember—not the biggest.
With this age group, it is important to explain what is right and wrong. With these children, you can develop a good fear and respect of fire.
On one cold December morning, a group of 25 kindergarten children from Guardian Angels School in Clawson and five adults came to Station 2 of the Bloomfield Township, Mich., Fire Department for a tour. Here is what happened and some of the feedback afterwards:
At 9:15 a.m., the excited children arrived to see the fire apparatus—so they thought. After coats were off, I settled them in front of a movie screen in our recreation room. Here they saw two Disney movies, “Fire Survival Plan” with Donald Duck and “I’m No Fool With Fire” with Jiminy Cricket.
Matches discussed
Next came a talk and demonstration on fire and leaving a burning or smokefilled house. I first showed the children the wrong and right way to light a match. I had some cloth, gasoline and hair and showed them how easily they can catch on fire when playing with matches. They were then told how to roll on the ground if their clothes caught fire and why.
Next, I brought out a picture of a bedroom with bed, dresser, closet, etc. The children were told to pretend they were fire fighters and they had come into this room looking for children because the house was on fire. I asked the children what they saw in this room. They saw nothing but furniture. Removing the bed and closet overlay, I exposed small children hiding. They all saw how important it was not to hide when there is a fire.
After the demonstrations and talk, they were asked questions. It was surprising to see how much they remembered, and they weren’t afraid to ask questions, either.
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The last part of their tour was the apparatus. I showed them the different compartments and explained the features of the truck. They then had the chance to sit in the truck, have their pictures taken besides the truck and wear a fire helmet. Each child received a cardboard fireman’s badge and literature on smoke detectors, home fire escape plans and fire extinguishers.
The tour lasted about two hours, but the aftereffects were what made the whole thing worthwhile. About half the class filled out a home fire escape plan and sent it by my daughter for me to check to see if it was well planned. Some bought smoke alarms and fire extinguishers. I was told by a few that their children had corrected them on some of the hazards in their homes.
