fire safety

FIRE SAFETY MINI UNIT

Compiled by Robyn © February 2005

We are having a field trip to the fire station soon and I am going to use the next week to do a mini theme unit on fire engines, firemen and fire safety! Here are some ideas & wonderful links with fire-safety, songs, activities & worksheets.

INFORMATION and FIRE SAFETY

Fire is very important in our lives. It gives us warmth, cooks our food and gives us light. But it can also be very, very dangerous. Fire Fighters or Firemen are called to help put out fires. When the fire alarm rings at the fire station, the firemen have to get to the fire as quickly as possible. They have sirens on their fire engines to warn people that they are coming. Firemen wear special clothing and helmets to protect them from the fire. They attach their big hoses to a fire hydrant the fire engine pumps the water through the hoses onto the fire. They use their long ladders for rescuing people from tall buildings. All big fires start as little fires. Firstly we need to try and prevent the little fires where possible by adhering to safety tips. Secondly, we can try and put out the little fire quickly to prevent further damage. We can do this by using buckets of sand or water or fire extinguishers. Each home should have a fire extinguisher. Learning about fire safety at home is very important. It could save your life. Here are some fire safety tips:

Know Your Emergency Numbers

Using your cel phone (turned off) or by unplugging your home phone, practice dialling your emergency numbers. Ask the questions an operator might ask, such as what is your name and address and what type of emergency is it. Find out the emergency numbers in your area and stick them up near your telephone. Teach your children to memorise the numbers. Children as young as three have been crucial in saving family members lives by being able to dial through to an operator. Here are the emergency numbers for the Durban Area ~

FIRE STATION 361 0000

AMBULANCE 361 0000 or 10 177

POLICE 10 111

Fire Escape Plan

Talk about how you would get out of your house if there were a fire. Make a home fire escape plan now. Every room should have 2 escapes, the normal way out and the emergency exit, a window if possible. Decide on a meeting place once everyone is out the house such as the post box or driveway. Draw a bird’s eye view map of your home. Colour all the emergency exits red. Stick this plan up by the emergency telephone numbers. The most important thing to do in a fire is to keep calm. Don’t panic and let your family know that you are all right. Do not hide under the bed or in a cupboard. Once you are out the house, no matter what, you must NEVER run back into the house for ANYTHING, stay at the meeting place until the firemen arrive.

Have a Fire Drill

Everyone takes his or her normal places around the house and someone gives the signal. Check your emergency exit and leave the house as quickly as you can. Meet at the meeting place. Stress the importance of being calm, closing doors and testing doors with the back of your hand for heat before opening them. Make sure everyone could get out of the emergency exits. Remember that there are no lights in a fire; you must be able to do this in the dark! Parents, remember that children will often try to hide from fire, be sure to check all closets and under the bed for children during fire emergencies. Once again, NEVER go back into a burning building. Let the firemen do the rescuing. They have the protective clothing, masks and equipment.

Fall and Crawl

Teach children that if there is a fire they must get down low and crawl under the smoke. It’s easier to breathe low down because smoke rises. Some smoke like carbon monoxide is invisible and particularly deadly. Practice the smoke crawl ~ every time you say smoke, they must get down low and go!

Stop, Drop, and Roll

Do you know that if your clothes catch fire you should never run! Don’t panic, stop where you are, drop to the ground and roll around until the fire is out. Practice Stop, Drop, and Roll. When you shout “fire”, the children stop whatever they are doing, drop to the floor and roll! Remember to cover your eyes to prevent burning.

Teach this VERY important safety lesson ~ NEVER PLAY WITH FIRE OR MATCHES! Keep matches and lighters in a safe place away from children. If they find matches lying around, teach them to give them to an adult immediately. Never play with electricity or plugs! Do this fire safety unit often, so that you don’t forget the procedures.

CRAFTS & ACTIVITIES

Flame Marble Painting
Stick a piece of white paper into a cardboard box lid with prestik. Put a couple of yellow and red paint blobs onto the paper and one small black blob. Put one or more marbles into the lid. By tilting the lid slightly, roll the marbles around and through the paint to make wonderful flame designs. Add more paint if necessary. The red & yellow should blend in places to create orange. The black is the smoke.

Paper Fire Engine

Cut out some circular and rectangular shapes. Glue the shapes on to a piece of paper to resemble a fire truck. Glue on wool or string for the fire hose and to make a ladder.

Cardboard Box Fire Engine

Using a cardboard box, red paint, circles for wheels, string for hose and ladder, design your own fire truck.

Instructions for Enchanted Learning’s Fire Truck Box Toy

Easy Egg box Fire Truck Instructions from DLTK

Make A Fireman from a Toilet Roll

Downloadable Template and Instructions from DLTK

Fire Experiment

Caution: Fire is VERY dangerous; these experiments should be done ONLY by an adult. Light a small candle and watch it burn for a few seconds. Then put a small glass jar over the lit candle and watch it burn. Watch the flame go out. Why did it go out? There is no air. Try this a few times. Light the candle again. When you blow on the flame, why does it go out? Because there is less heat. Ask questions and chart responses. As you light the candle, ask, "What does fire need to keep burning?" Fire must have air, heat and fuel in order to burn. Fuel is something that keeps the fire going, like gasoline keeps the car going and healthy food keeps your body going. What is the fuel here? The candlewick and the wax are the fuels.

SONGS & RHYMES

Make up a song to memorize the emergency telephone number in your area….

What’s the number for a fireman hero?

Three six one double zero double zero

Something like this (o:

Wheels on the Fire Engine (instead of Wheels on the Bus)

The wheels on the fire-engine go round and round

Round and Round, round and round

The wheels on the fire-engine go round and round

All day long.

The siren …goes bee bar bee

The ladder …goes up and down

The hose …goes squirt and spray

Use your imagination!

Stop, Drop and Roll (tune ~ The Farmer’s in the Dell)

Stop, Drop and Roll
Stop, Drop and Roll
If your clothes should catch on fire
Stop, Drop and Roll

Fire fighter (tune ~ "Frere Jacques")

Fire fighter, fire fighter
You are brave, you are brave
Putting out the fires, putting out the fires
Lives you save, lives you save.

Never Play with Matches (tune ~ "Frère Jacques")

Never, never play with matches
If you do, if you do,
You might burn your fingers, you might burn your fingers.
That won't do.
That won't do.

Never, never play with matches
If you do, if you do,
You could burn your house down, you could burn your house down.
That won't do.
That won't do.

WORKSHEETS AND PRINTABLES

Dot-to-Dot Fire Truck to Print Out (Numbers 1-27)

Fire Safety Colouring Pages from Everything Preschool

Print this telephone, write your emergency number in the blocks and practice dialling it

Preschool Colouringbook Pages ~ Fire Safety

INFORMATION and FIRE SAFETY

CRAFTS & ACTIVITIES

SONGS & RHYMES

WORKSHEETS AND PRINTABLES

LINKS

WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE TO GO NOW?

THIS PAGE WAS LAST UPDATED JULY 2006