Rainy Day Activity: A Home Fire Drill

August 1, 2009 at 6:45 AM by Cafe Cynthia - Comments (3)

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Photo by martinsmom2008

"Stop, drop, and roll!"

"Stop, drop, and roll!"

"Stop, drop, and roll!"

My 4 year old usually comes home from pre-school camp singing Hannah Montana, but yesterday she was belting out the fire safety song. I could tell the fire department had made it's yearly visit.

I'm so thankful (remind me to give them a nice donation). She probably knows better what to do in the case of a fire than I do. I'm going to change this very soon. It's high priority on my to-do list this weekend, which is supposed to be a little rainy.

Together, my toddler and my 6-year-old and I are going to make our very own Home Fire Escape Plan, with a little help from the Home Safety Council.

As you'll see from that link, they've outlined a step-by-step guide on how to set this up. It starts with drawing a map of your home and finding at least two means of escape from every room. Get out the crayons and make it a fun art activity.

It tells you to test the fire alarms (your tots will love pressing that button), going over how to actually crawl out of a smokey house (on hands and knees -- more stuff kids will be into), and to designate a special meeting spot outside the home. Let your kids offer some suggestions.

I've always told my kids that if they smell fire, don't worry about waking Mommy or Daddy, your stuffed animals, or toys, just GET OUT as fast and quickly as you can. They are a little baffled by this, but I just say that Mommy and Daddy will find you later.

What have you told your toddler to do in the case of a fire? Have you held fire drills in your home? Do you have escape ladders for the windows?

FILED UNDER: safety