Fire safety

It is important to talk to your children about fire – its uses, its dangers and how to be safe. Follow the safety rules detailed below

Make Your Home Child Safe

It’s crucial to be aware that children can start a fire in moments – but only if they can get hold of materials that can start a fire.

• Keep matches and lighters out of reach (and out of sight) of children
• Position lighted candles out of reach of children
• Put a child-proof fire guard in front of an open fire or heater if there are children in the house
• Don’t let children play or leave toys near a fire or heater
• Put child locks on cupboards that have anything in them that children could use to start a fire
• Unplug appliances that children could trip over
• Keep portable heaters in a safe place, both when they’re being used and when they’re being stored
• Put plug guards into sockets so children can’t stick things into the holes
• Keep your escape route clear of toys and other obstructions
• Don’t leave children alone in the home

Safety R ules for Children

These are the rules children need to learn as they’re growing up.

About fire

• Fire kills hundreds of people each year – and dozens of children too
• Fire can get out of control frighteningly fast
• You can never play safely with fire

The rules

• Never play with matches or lighters
• Never play with a lighted candle
• Don’t play close to a fire or heater, or leave toys near a fire or heater
• Don’t pull on electric cables or fiddle with electrical appliances or sockets
• Never switch on the cooker
• Never put anything on top of the cooker
• Don’t touch any saucepans on the cooker
• Don’t put things on top of heaters or lights
• If you see matches or lighters lying around, tell a grown-up

Fire instructions for ch ildren

It’s important to talk through with children what to do if there’s a fire. Don’t avoid it for fear of frightening them. Children need to know the basics of how to react to a fire.

They may not have an adult to tell them what to do. In fact, if they react quickly and well. They may end up saving your life.

Here are the basic instructions

• If you see smoke or flames, raise the alarm. Tell a grown-up straight away if you can;
• Get out of the building as soon as possible
• Find a phone and call 999. Ask for the Fire and R escue Service, and then give your address slowly and calmly. You may need to go to the neighbours to find a phone
• Don’t go back into the building – not for toys or even pets. Fire fighters can search the house much more quickly than you can
• If there’s smoke, crawl along the floor as the air is cleanest there
• If your escape route is blocked, go into a room with a window, put things round the door to stop smoke getting in, open the window and call for help
• Never hide in a cupboard or under a bed. You need to raise the alarm and get out

For more information, visit: www.firekills.gov.uk

 

 

 

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