Fire Safety at Home

This morning while I ate my breakfast I sat to watch the news and brought to tears by the terrible stories of 3 overnight house fires in states across Australia. The most poignant one broke my heart the most, a 15 year old girl home with her brothers & sisters, a 2 year old nephew sleeping in another room. While she was cooking dinner for them, the oil caught fire, she tried to put it out with water and made it worse. The older kids were able to escape the flames, but the 2 year old toddler was unable to be rescued and his little life cut short. I can't even begin to imagine the pain that family is feeling right now. Perhaps the parents were at work, trying to make ends meet for their family, perhaps they were visiting or shopping. 15 is a reasonable age to leave the children home, many baby sitters are younger than this. So we cannot lay any blame on anybody for anything in this tragedy. A horrific accident.

But from the absolute terror and devastation of this family, we can take a lesson that ALL children, regardless of their age, must be taught fire safety precautions, and what to do in the event of a fire. It's a matter of life & death!

I spoke to local CFA volunteer and First Aid Trainer Ian Stanley-Eyles about what we can do to teach our kids fire safety.

What is your role in the community?  

For over 14 years, my life has revolved around public safety. I have been a volunteer fire fighter for over 11 years and was an ambulance first responder for nearly eight and a half years. Now I teach first aid to give people skills in dealing with situations calmly and clear thinking.  

Ian from Key2Act

What is fire safety and why is it important? 

It is important that both adults and children understand that fire can be extremely dangerous but that they can be safe around it if they understand more about it. Knowing what fire is and how it functions allows us to deal with emergencies with minimal panic. I have met many families who have dealt with fire where the kids were able to play an active and important role in fire safety. 

How can parents teach their kids about fire safety?

Fire is not inherently evil but it is dangerous and should always be respected as such. Parents can help their children by teaching them to respect it. Talk to them about what fire can do in a non-scary way. When kids see that their parents are calm, they will also remain calm. 

• Sit down and make your fire safety plans together. 
• Give each of them a task to do if should a fire occur. 
• Remind them about keeping safe. 
• Practice your plans at least four times per year making sure that everyone know it is a practice. 
• Plan what they are allowed to take if you need to evacuate. 
• Set up a visit with your local fire station when they are training to see how the fire fighters will handle a fire. 

What can we do at home to make it fire safe for kids?  

Think through how you are going to discuss fire safety with the kids. 

• Have them help you check your smoke detectors, fire extinguishers, fire blankets, first aid kits, and test your fire pump (if you live in the country). 
• Review all of your power points ensuring that they are not overloaded. 
• Consider getting an electrician to add more power outlets if too many items are being plugged in at one point. 
• Get a registered plumber to check all gas appliances and an electrician to test all electrical devices. 
• Set up protective guards around heaters. 
• If possible, choose fire resistant, natural fibre clothing and keep the kids a safe distance away from heaters.

Are there any resources you would recommend parents look at?  

Talk to your child's school about what education sessions that they may have already arranged. Every year the Country Fire Authority's Mobile Education Unit travels the state visiting school to discuss fire safety and they may be in your area soon. 

If you would like to learn more yourself, head to the Kids & Schools, and the Plan & Prepare for fires pages of the CFA website. 

*** Like Key2Act on Facebook to find out more about Ian's first aid training ***

So when I was young we had a regular fire drill, everyone had to practice getting out of their bedroom windows, ensuring the locks were able to be opened, and meet up at the letter box. We knew about stop, drop and roll if our clothing ever caught alight and I learnt early about fire safety from my own experience. At about age 8 I was cooking toast in the grill and left the tea towel on top of the stove. It caught fire and I called out for Dad who quickly threw it out the back and left it to burn out. Which it did, although it landed on my brother's gumboots and melted them. We laugh about that story now but it was a valuable lesson, and very lucky that the outcome was just a gumboot and a tea towel. 

Please stay safe everyone. And ensure you have these important conversations with your kids. 

Over & Out.