Preparing the Preschoolers
by Jenna Von Dietsch

How often have you read a news story that said firefighters entered a burned-out home had found the bodies of preschool-age kids in closets or under beds? How many times have you heard of youngsters starting fires, then running to hide? Many of the preschoolers who died in home fires in the United States between 1989 and 1993 responded inappropriately to the fire, making a bad situation worse.

Does this mean that there's nothing we can do to lower the number of preschoolers who die in fires? If they're too young to act appropriately, are they too young to learn the correct behaviors? Absolutely not.

The following information was obtained through the National Fire Protection Association's Web site and was published in the March/April 1997 issue of the NFPA Journal.

Eight fire safety behaviors that any preschooler can learn:

1.Stay away from hot things that can burn.

2.Tell a grown-up when you find matches or lighters.

3.Stop, drop, and roll if your clothes catch fire.

4.Cool a burn.

5.Crawl low under smoke.

6.Know the sound of a smoke detector or alarm.

7.Practice an escape plan.

8.Recognize firefighters as helpers. Important things to remember when teaching preschoolers about fire safety:

• Don't scare them. Try to teach fire safety in a non threatening way.
• Keep the lessons short and simple. Try to use fun activities.
• Encourage participation. Young children need to act out different fire safety scenarios.
• Review all behaviors. A child who is just taught to stop, drop, and roll may do that in every fire situation.