Fire Drills

Sesame Street has a great video on fire drills/safety starring Elmo. It's called "ELMO Visits the Firehouse". Both of my girls loved it and my husband, who is a firefighter, says it is one of the best fire safety videos he has seen. You can goodle it to find where to buy it.

Hi,

My husband used to sell fire alarms, and let me tell you your fear is not unfounded. Do you know that the average smoke detector sold at home depot or lowe's will fail about 58% of the time? Not to scare you further, but it is a real issue. Keep all plugs clear of fire hazards such as loose blankets stuffed animals and such. Check your extention cords if you have any and see if the say they could be a fire hazard, if so replace them with better ones. The ones with the bar with the on off switches are best and if they have the power surge protection that is even better. One of the biggest culprits in house fires though is the clothes dryer. Do you know that using dryer sheets increases that risk drastically. To reduce that risk, you can take out your lint trap and wash it with soap and water every couple of months, if water is pooling in the screen, that means the air is not flowing freely. If the water goes straight through you are okay. Just a simple tip that can save lives. My husband no longer sells the alarms but we do still have some of the window hangers that tell the fire men which room has live bodies in it, and we still have some that have the child indicators. If you would like some for your children's rooms give me a call I would be happy to give you some. ###-###-####.

Again this was not meant to scare you further, but to help make you aware of some of the things you can do to reduce the risks. God Bless you and your family.

D.

I dont know how to handle this, but I would be concerned of creating fear in her without due cause.

At age 3 we sat down with our son and explained how fires burn things and if there is ever a fire in our house what we should do. We talked about nighttime fires and even had a drill - dad turned the alarm on after our son was in his bed (for pretend) and he showed us how he could run out of the house.

We told our son that one night when he was sleeping we would have a drill. Every day he would wake up and say "the alarm didn't go off."

Unfortunately, as you may have heard, adult (loud beeping) fire alarms don't wake a sleeping child. We tried it and it is true! Our son slept through 2 mins of the loud alarm - located right outside his room! They now make fire alarms in which you can record your voice saying "Get up there is a fire" or whatever message you think is appropriate. I believe you have to get them online at this time.

Just talking about it and having a drill has made me feel a little better about it. And hopefully is setting the ground work for when he is a little older and can truly understand the ramifications and urgency of a fire.

Good luck.

I think your 2 year old is a little young to be discussing an escape plan but if her room is on the other side of the house I can understand your anxiety.
I would make sure that all of the smoke detectors are working properly first off. Make sure her bedroom door is closed before you go to bed and relax.
Another good idea for her age is to take her to the local fire house to meet the firefighters. If you call ahead they are usually very happy to help. They will show her the truck and get dressed in their gear. This way if anything ever happened she would not be afraid of the firefighters. They can look a little scary in the helmet and everything.

Good luck.... you sound like a really good mommy!
C.

I would just let them know the fire alarm and be sure there is one in the room. two is when my child called 911 just because I tought them how. In addition. I had the opportunity to put on all the firemans gear and get down to their level and call them out. They were frightened but it was a learning experience for them to know what a fireman lookes like (darth vader) and know that this person is safe. I'm sure if you went to any fire department, they would let you put on their gear and even give you a tour for kids sake too. My kids are old now and I regretfully never did a drill. I just quized them on what they would do and show me how they would do it.

For the best information, check out this website: ready.gov, also, your city might provide a volunteer program called Community Emergency Response Team. They provide great training for emergency situations and you can also get certified for First Aid & CPR.

J. L.

It has been proved through many experiments that children do not hear smoke alarms during their sleep...they sleep in general at a deeper level than adults. So adding the fear of "the house could catch on fire" would probably not be a positive idea. Making sure YOU are prepared in every way might be a better idea