Back in January, a local mom’s group put together a visit to a Fire Station for the kids. They’ve done this every year since I’ve been a member, but my kids were never old enough to have any concept of what a Fire Station or a Firefighter was, so we never went.
This year, Jed is ALL about Firefighters, thanks to some kids TV shows he’s seen and some books we’ve read. So we went.
I thought it would be a good chance to teach him a little about fire safety; an important life lesson for all kids.
The best thing they did was to introduce us to an actual Firefighter in plain clothes, then have him dress in the full Firefighting outfit in front of the kids.
Firefighters in full regalia can be scary looking for kids, so it’s important to let them see what one looks like before they’re in a scary situation. Kids have been known to hide from Firefighters during a house fire, simply because they were scared of them. Giving them a preview of before and after is valuable.
After that, the kids got to go on a tour of the firehouse to see where the firefighters work and live when on duty.
Then they got to play with the equipment.
My boys loved it! Their favorite part was the pole. Jed actually went up to the Fire Marshal and asked him, very sweetly, if he could slide down the pole.
The answer was no, of course, though I secretly wonder if Jed could have done it. He’s a big climber!
Instead, the boys made do with spinning around the pole as fast as they could.
All the kids were given the chance to climb into the fire trucks to look around.
My boys went back for a second climb-through, of course. They LOVE vehicles of any type, and being in a real, live Fire Engine was a little boys dream come true!
It was a fun excursion, and I’m glad we went, but I was a little disappointed that there wasn’t more fire safety awareness taught that day.
Fortunately, the kids have a couple of books in their growing library that are great at teaching about fire safety!
Our first ever “fire” book was Hello, Fire Truck! by Marjorie Blain Parker.
It’s very simple, with sing-song rhymes and a sweet story about rescuing a kitten, but it serves to introduce the concept of what a fire fighter is and what they do.
Jed and Zac both still love this book.
You can’t go wrong with Mercer Mayer, and Going to the Firehouse is a fabulous story for kids.
Little Critter and his class go to the Firehouse to visit Fireman Sam, who shows them all the fire fighting equipment and offers safety tips to the kids, including Stop, Drop and Roll, and staying low to avoid smoke.
Again, both my boys adore this book.
Another fabulous Mayer book, To the Rescue isn’t specifically about fires.
Little Critter has to call 9-1-1 to come rescue his Dad, who gets locked in the basement.
This story shows Little Critter being smart: he tries different keys to unlock the door, stays out of trouble and makes his own snack while he waits for help, and knows his address when he calls 9-1-1.
Fireman Sam shows up with the police to come break down the door and rescue Dad.
Jed gets a kick out of this book; personally, I think he’s tickled at the idea of a kid rescuing a parent.
Last, but by no means least, is Clifford the Firehouse Dog by Normal Bridwell.
My kids LOVE Clifford. In this story, Clifford visits his brother, who is a firehouse pup. He helps the firefighters rescue people when a call comes in.
The best part of this book is at the end. On the last page is a list of “Clifford’s Fire Safety Rules”.
None of the rules is especially ground-breaking, but they’re simple, short, and presented by Clifford…therefore far more likely for my kids to remember!
In addition to good books about Fire Fighters and Fire Safety, there’s a ton of great resources at FireFacts.org.
Under their parents section, there are some great reminders for us grown-ups (like testing smoke detectors, having fire extinguishers, etc.), and in the kids section, they really make it fun and simple to learn fire safety.
With their games and coloring sheets, they break fire safety down for the kids into what they call the “Three P’s: Prevent, Plan, and Practice”.
I like that. It has encouraged me to take my own family’s fire safety awareness a step further.
As a Flight Attendant, I have a great respect for emergency procedures, so our smoke detectors and fire extinguishers are always ready to go.
I’m also big on plans. Jed and I have already discussed what to do in the event of a fire. He’s got it down, too. He’ll tell anyone, with great excitement, how if there is a fire, he’s going to “break out the screen in his bedroom window and take my baby brother outside to the pole”. He knows how to get out, and where the family meeting place is. That’s pretty good.
The only thing we haven’t done is to practice. So I think some fire drills are in our future!
Fire safety awareness is so important for our families. A visit to a firehouse is great fun, and potentially very informative. Even if you can’t do that, though, there are some great resources out there to teach kids how to stay safe in a fire – without scaring them.
Plus, watching kiddos role-play being Fire Fighters is great fun.
And I can’t wait to see how Jed and Zac react to a fire drill.
Have you done fire drills in your house? How did they go?
