October - Fire Safety Month

A lot has been written and more said about Fire Safety tips. When asked to write a blog, I decided to narrow my concentration on prevention and safety messages with respect to children. Doing a bit of research, I encountered some facts:

• From the Children's Hospital in Des Moines, Iowa - Every day, at least one child dies from a home fire and another 293 children are injured from fires or burns. Ninety percent of all fire-related deaths are due to home fires.
• Young children, especially under the age of five years, cannot be relied upon to escape from a fire on their own.
• When a fire starts, children often become confused plus scared and tend to hide somewhere where they feel safe (i.e. under the bed, in a closet, or even a corner).
• It is known that a number of children have difficulty waking up to the sound of a tonal smoke alarm. It's known that in excess of 50% of children under the age of five years who die in a house fire are asleep at the time.
• Surprisingly, it has been found that older children sometimes make an improper decision and even return to the burning house after something they left behind.

As parents, we should have a definite escape plan when there are children in your home. Many children need help getting out of the house, as they may not know how to escape or what to do without the help of an adult. Subsequently, households must talk about and develop and escape procedure:

• Have a plan for young children who cannot get outside by themselves. Designate who will have to wake babies and very young children and help them to safety.
• Plan on two different ways out of every room of your house. This is because there is a likelihood that one exit could be blocked or too dangerous to exit from.
• Arrange a meeting location outside your home. It is extremely important that children know what to do when they hear a smoke alarm, particularly when there is no adult around. As adults, we need to help them practice going to the outside meeting place. Impair upon them to never go back inside a building that is on fire.

• "3-foot rule" from anything that can get hot. Stove-tops and space heaters are just two of the objects that can cause terrible burns. Keep children at least 3 feet away from stoves, heaters, or anything that gets hot.
• Never play with lighters or matches when you are with your children. Children may try to do the same thing.
  
• Keep smoking materials locked up in a high place. Don't leave matches or cigarette lighters where children can reach them.