Yesterday I woke up to very sad news in our community about a house fire that killed 4 people, injured 1, and left 2 older children without parents. It hit hard... really hard. I didn't know the family personally but know a few families they went to church with and from posts I saw on Facebook you just knew that this was such a good family. The fire destroyed their entire home and the mother, father and two young children were unable to escape. My heart hurts for this family and all who knew them.
This got me thinking what steps we can take to help keep our kids safe from fires and educate them on fire safety.
1. Change the Batteries in your smoke detectors regularly:
We change our smoke detector batteries every 6 months when daylight savings time occurs. It seems like a silly thing to remind people of but we actually went 3 years at our old house without ever changing the batteries. I was reminded in the middle of the night of this when one started beeping non-stop. While it was annoying it is such a simple thing to do. In our new house we have had issues with our smoke detectors going off randomly, always in the middle of the night. They will go off for a few seconds and then shut off. * When they go off I literally fly out of bed before the first beep even stops. I run as fast as I can to the steps to go grab my kids. Times like these terrify me to have my master downstairs and my kids upstairs. By the time I get to the steps the alarm usually stops. I go back to my room and check the monitor and both my kids are sound asleep. Did they even hear the alarm? I know the alarms went off in both of their rooms because they are all wired together.
Studies have shown the small children can easily sleep through the beeping of a smoke alarm. New alarms feature a voice that says "Fire" to help alert children. Our smoke alarms are also carbon monoxide detectors and will also alert you if that is the reason for the alarm by saying "Carbon Monoxide detected". Do you live in an older home? You might want to check out your detectors and upgrade them. You also might want to make sure you have detectors in every room of your house. We have them in each bedroom, one in the main living area downstairs and two in the upstairs hallway.
*I have had our smoke detectors check by an electrician and the fire department and they are fine. I was actually told to make sure they are free from dust so every so often I clean them with the dust buster. Dog hair or small dust particles can cause them to go off.
2. Take time to think about a plan:
Do your kids know what to do if the alarm goes off? Obviously Lucy is just a baby but Molly is 4 now and has learned a lot about fire safety at school. They have monthly fire drills and are taught to not panic when the alarm goes off but drop low to the ground and wait for an adult to tell them what to do. She came home from school one day asking me what her escape plan was.. made me sit down and think for a moment. Do you have an escape plan? What if you couldn't use your steps?
3. Get your children comfortable with firefighters:
One thing I would have never thought about before having kids in how scary looking a fireman can be in all of their gear. They sound scary too when they have their mask on. Would your child go to a firefighter, a stranger, in an emergency situation? We were lucky to be invited to a fire station birthday party when Molly was 2. She got to see a firefighter in his gear and then see him take the gear off to reveal a friendly man. If your child has not had the chance to see something like this you should find an event to attend or even call your local fire department to arrange something. Our local stations do birthday parties at no charge, they are happy to educate the children on fire safety.
4. Get books about fire safety! Your local library has tons!
Here are a few books that Molly read at school during fire safety week. Books are such a great gateway to conversation with toddlers.
5. Get a fire extinguisher!
A small fire can quickly be extinguished with a small fire extinguisher. We keep one under the kitchen sink. Both my sister and parents have had small kitchen fires in the past few years. Both had fire extinguishers under the sink and were able to quickly put the fires out. Spend the $20 and make sure you have one!
6. Get a fireproof safe
It is important to keep birth certificates, social security cards, copies of drivers licenses and other important documents safe from fire and other natural disasters. It is also advised to keep some cash in case of emergency. We recently bought the safe below and try and keep things as updated as possible in it just in case we ever need it. I'd rather be safe than having to deal with unnecessary paperwork after a disaster.
