How to Keep Your Children Safe From Fire

Even in the most careful households, fire hazards are always present. If you have children, these hazards are even more threatening. No parent can be expected to keep their eyes on their children 24 hours a day; therefore it’s highly important to take the necessary precautions to keep your family safe.

Fire precautions – keep your family safe

1. Do not leave children unattended in a room where there is a fire risk, such as an oven or a heater. Don’t let children play near ovens, hobs, fireplaces or heaters, even if you are nearby, and make sure they don’t leave their toys in these areas.

2. Make sure your fireplace or heater is covered with a childproof fire guard to ensure they cannot get too close or drop toys in the fire.

3. Keep any lighters, matches, candles and other dangerous objects locked away out of your children’s reach.

4. Cover all plug sockets with plug guards to ensure children cannot insert anything into them. Make sure you cover all the sockets in your house, not just the ones you think your children can get to easily. Also ensure that sockets not in use are switched off. An unguarded plug socket is a huge danger to an adventurous child.

5. Store portable heaters in a safe place where they cannot be knocked over, even if they are not in use.

6. Make sure your fire escape route is always clear, and not obstructed by toys and other objects.

Educate your child about fire safety

Whilst it’s important to take these measures at home, it is equally important to ensure your children know what to do in the event of a fire. Educating your child about fire safety could save multiple lives in the event of a fire at school or at a friend’s house. The following points are all things which your children should be taught in case of fire.

1. Tell an adult immediately if you see smoke or flames, and set off the nearest fire alarm, or shout to alert people.

2. Get outside as quickly as possible, and call 999. Ask to use somebody else’s phone if you need to.

3. Do not find a hiding place such as a cupboard or underneath a bed – you need to get out as soon as possible and alert people.

4. If the room is smoky, stay low and crawl on the floor, as smoke rises and the air is clearer on the ground.

5. If you cannot get out of the building, go to a room which has a window. If there are others in the building with you, you should all go to the same room. Put blankets, pillows or towels underneath the door to stop the smoke from coming in, and open the window for air. Shout out the window to alert people that you need help.

6. If your clothes have caught fire, roll on the floor to smother the flames, or place fire blankets or coats on top to smother them. Fire blankets should always be kept nearby. Do not panic and run around, as this will fan the flames and make them burn faster.

7. Never ever go back into the building. The fire brigade will do their best to rescue any pets or possessions left in the building.

Go to this site to find more fire safety tips and make your home a safe place for your family.

Featured images:

•  License: Creative Commons image source
•  License: Creative Commons image source
•  License: Creative Commons image source
•  License: Creative Commons image source
•  License: Creative Commons image source

Amanda Green is mother of 3 small children, age: 2, 4 and 5. She is a keen blogger and understands the issue of safety at home. She believes that no child is too small to start the education that could save their life.