Fire Safety Rules for Kids: Life Saving Fire Safety Tips for Children

Fire safety is one of the most important things that a child should be aware of. For children fire is always a representation of something fun and useful, but they should be aware of certain rules while they are around fire. Parents and teachers can introduce fire safety to children in a calm and simple way, by talking about how fire is helpful but must always be handled with care. 

Key takeaways   

• Make children learn their home address and a parent’s phone number and also keep a physical copy inside their pockets all the time.   

• Point out exit signs whenever you visit public places together.   

• Talk about fire safety often so it becomes second nature.   

• Rehearse “stop, drop, and roll” with kids until it’s automatic.   

• Make safety practice fun so kids stay engaged and confident and remember the process. 

What is Fire Safety for Kids?

                  
Children associate fire with positive things like cooking, birthday cakes, or warm campfires. They might not realise the threat of fire unless we help them understand how important it is to be careful around it. Fire safety rules for kids include teaching kids to become aware of fire going wrong, remain calm and safe during fire hazards. It also means teaching them how the fire behaves, practicing safe habits, flammable materials, and how to handle such incidents.

Importance of Teaching Fire Safety at An Early Age

Teaching fire safety precautions at an early age prepares the child to be ready for whenever there are chances of fire hazards. They carry knowledge of how to recognize the signs of fire accidents and how to escape safely.

With the fire safety tips for kids, the probability of children getting out safe from fire disasters increases. It is essential for kids to learn how to stay safe in case of a fire incident. As a matter of fact, when children are aware of how to react to such situations, they can help themselves, along with others.  Ultimately early fire safety tips for kids can save lives because these life skills always come handy.

Fire Safety Rules for Kids  

1) Not Playing with Fire

You can educate your children about flammable items like matchsticks, incense sticks, candles, perfume sprays, and diffusers. Leave instructions for your kids to stay away. Make a habit to blow off the candles, or diyas while leaving a room, so that your kids can learn from you. Never keep any such items within the reach of your children.

2) Understand Smoke Alarms 

Make kids understand what smoke alarms are and why they ring. Let them listen and memorise the sound of fire alarms. At school level, mock drills are usually conducted for fire safety.

At KLAY preschools, we practice evacuations so frequently that children memorise the sound of fire alarms and even know how to escape in absence of an adult.

3) Unplug Electrical Outlets

Educate your kids to switch off the electrical appliances like TV, Phone, Lamp, Toys when their work is done. Teach them that power should always be turned off when not in use. Train them to stay away from switchboards and electrical outlets.

4) Put out Candles and Diyas 

Show your kids how to blow off candles or oil lamps when they are not in use. Educate your children never to go near any source of fire and not to touch them. Teach them to inform any adults if they see any fire source, small or big.

5) Avoid Playing near Fireplaces

Educate your children on what are fireplaces, stoves, heaters and show them the dangers of not being cautious around it. Teach them to avoid playing near any fire sources. This is a very important fire safety rule that a child must be aware of.

6) Be Aware of Outdoor Fires

Outdoor fires can mean barbeque grills, campfires, bonfires, or fireworks. Outdoor fires, when uncontrolled, may become a natural disaster. Guide your kids to be at a safe distance during outdoor fire plans. Guide them not to touch, keep, or throw flammable materials near fire.

7) Stay Away from Electrical Sockets

Electrical sockets are a cause of electric shock and fire also. There could be hidden faulty, loose, or overused wires that can be dangerous. Teach children not to touch switches or sockets with wet hands. Show them how careful you are around these, so that children learn and keep it at the back of their mind to be careful around electrical sockets.

8) Keep Away Flammable Items

Teach kids that items like clothes, curtains, newspapers, any oils, perfumes, etc can catch fire very easily. Make them aware of not using these things when around fire or to stay away from these things at the time of any fire incident.

9) Keep Toys Away from Fire Sources

Children are attracted to toys and may begin to play anywhere where they can find toys. Parents should be attentive not to keep toys near any power appliance or fire source so that children make it a practice to stay away from the area.

10) Routes for escape 

Take your children through the nearest or safest exits of the house or schools in case of fire. Demonstrate how and where to run during fire. Explore all the possibilities on how to get outside quickly and share that knowledge with your kid. Doing such drills regularly will make them prepared for the future.

11) Two Exits

When a fire breaks out, chances are the exits may get blocked due to debris or fire. Show your children at least two exits on how to get out of the rooms of the house. Teach them how to break the windows in case of emergencies.

12) Inform Adults

Train the kids with the smell of smoke, electric fire, burning food, burning candles or clothes so that they recognize them. Encourage them to let you know even if any electrical appliance like phones or laptop get hotter than usual or if they observe any sparks in wires. Teach them to inform the nearest adults as soon as they notice any of these.

What to Teach Kids to Do During a Fire

Fires can cause menace in houses, schools, or public places, but knowing the drill makes a huge difference. Here are some major fire safety rules for kids during fire: 

1) Don’t Hide, Exit Fast

It is natural for kids to hide into some corner of the house or under the bed when they are stressed or scared. Make them understand the urgency of exiting a building during fire rather than in finding a safe space house. Teach them to call for help if they are stuck inside and never to spend time inside to collect any item.

2) Decide a Meeting Point

Educate the children how important it is for everyone to know that they are safe. Or else they may be stressed and may want to go inside to save them, which is dangerous. Decide a meeting spot outside the house, where the family should meet so that everybody knows that they are safe.

3) Head to Room with a Window

When a fire escalates, it makes the structure of the house weak, and it may break into pieces and fall. This may block exits. So, it’s best to try to run out of the room where a detachable window exists as it cannot be blocked easily and will be easy to get out from.

4) Close Bedroom Doors

A bedroom usually has more flammable items. The gases and smoke from toxic flames may harm a person before fire does. Closing bedroom doors makes it comparatively harder for fire and smoke to spread than open doors. It’s easy to escape when there is hardly any smoke or fire.

5) Never re-enter a burning house

Educate your child that when they have escaped a burning place safely, they must never go inside again to get any of the things they own. It is because fire spreads rapidly and by the time they enter again, pieces of the structure of the house may start falling and could injure anyone.

6) No elevator, only stairs

This is the most important fire safety rule for kids. Whenever there is a fire at home, teach them that electrical wires may burn or cords may snap abruptly which will stop the lift. Anyone can be stuck inside and may not be able to escape, so it’s clever to take stairs during emergencies.

7) Lie Low When There’s Smoke

Smoke and heat tend to rise up. Train your kid to stay low and crawl on the floor to escape because the ground will be less hot and smoky, therefore, easier to escape. 

8) Stop, Drop, Roll

Teach children the basic fire safety precautions like Stop, Drop, and Roll. Train them to stop running immediately if their clothes catch fire as running will only make the fire bigger. Drop to the ground and cover their faces with their hands. Roll on the ground to douse the fire.

9) Test Doors

Educate your kid to open doors cautiously during fire. Train them to linger their hand close to the door to feel the heat. If the door feels hot, it means there is fire in the room and to keep it closed which will keep the fire inside a little longer. This will give some more time to escape.

10) Exit First

Instruct them to escape the building first before trying to save others and run to the meeting spot. Ask them to always ask for help from others only after exiting a building. Screaming or calling for help while still in the building will be just wasting time and a harder escape later.

What to Teach Kids to Do During a Fire

At Home

• Teach kids not to panic in unpredictable situations, because one can act better when they are calm. 

• Teach them to pay attention to adults if they are present. If they are not present, teach them to act according to the escape routes taught to them.   

• Teach them not to take belongings of toys with them, as they are replaceable.    

• After escaping, head straight to the pre-decided spot. 

At School 

• Teach them to follow the plan the educator or teacher tells.   

• Instruct them not to push around peers in a crowd. Exiting the school in a line will be quicker and easier.   

• Teach them to not to scream as it will start a chaos and will be difficult to handle for adults. 

In Public Places 

• Train the children to stick with the family during such times.   

• If they have separated with the family, ask them to follow the exit signs to escape the building.   

• Educate them to not run into crowds but walk calmly wherever they see the exit signs.   

• Approach a trusted staff, adult, or firefighter to get more help.

  KLAY priotises early learning but considers safety as a basic. See how…