Keep Your Children Safe from Fires
Posted by Donna Dolezal Zelzer on May 7th, 2006
Did you know that deaths from fires and burns are the second leading cause of death in children between 1 and 9 years old? (Motor vehicle injuries are the leading cause.) Or that the rate of deaths for preschool children in home fires is more than double, relative to population, the rate for all age groups combined?
This information is included in Reducing the Number of Deaths and Injuries From Residential Fires, a report by the American Academy of Pediatrics published in the June 2000 issue of Pediatrics journal.
Other facts from the report:
- In 1997 children playing with fire accounted for 8% of the home fire deaths and 2/5 of the home fire deaths of preschool children.
- In 1996, cigarettes and other lighted tobacco products caused 1/3 of the home fires that resulted in deaths.
- Most fire-related deaths in all age groups occur as a result of smoke inhalation, rather than directly from burns.
- Arson is the known or suspected cause of 13% of residential fires in 1993-1997. 52% of people arrested for arson during those years were children and adolescents younger than 18 years; more than one third were younger than 15.
The report gives specific recommendations for both parents and pediatricians. These include teaching parents about fire and burn prevention, providing psychological help to school-age children who set fires, and encouraging adolescents and adults not to smoke.
What can you do to reduce the risk of your children being hurt or killed in a fire?
Here are some recommendations, compiled from information in the above report, as well as from:
*Always supervise your children around fires and other sources of heat.
*Install and maintain functional smoke alarms in or near each sleeping area and on each level of your home. Test all of them once a month — it only takes a few minutes and could save lives. Replace batteries at least once a year.
*Design an escape plan which includes people with special needs, such as very young children, the aged and the disabled. Practice this plan at least twice a year. The plan should include:
- Two ways out of each room, if possible. Make sure all exits are accessible, including windows; if your home has an upper level, you should have a noncombustible fire escape ladder.
- A safe place for everyone to meet.
- A floor plan of your house with all the rooms showing the exits from each room, and the path from each exit to the meeting place.
- The phone number of your fire department.
*Children three and older can begin to learn what they should do if there is a fire. Get them involved in designing the escape plan. A child who has thought about and chosen ways to exit from her own room is more apt to remember them in an emergency.
*Remind everyone in the family that they should get out and stay out at the first sign of a fire or sound of a smoke alarm. They should follow the escape plan and meet at the chosen place. Then someone can call the fire department from a neighbor’s phone.
*Teach your children not to hide from fire fighters.
*The cleanest air in a smoke-filled room is 12 to 24 inches above the floor, which is why you should crawl on hands and knees to an exit.
*Never use an elevator during a fire. Always use the stairs.
*Teach your children to stop, drop and roll if their clothes catch on fire. You can then use cool running water to begin treatment of the burn.
*Learn how to choose and properly use a fire extinguisher.
Resources
If you’d like to learn more about fire safety and safety in general, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has technical information plus information for consumers.
And be sure to have your children visit Sparky the Fire Dog, NFPA’s official spokesdog. This excellent site is designed to teach children about safety in an entertaining way. Your child will find news, safety tips, fun facts, things to do, special sections on Dalmatians and fire trucks, and lots more.
License
This work is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 License.