Fires and burns kill hundreds of
children each year and permanently scar thousands
more.
Yet more fire victims die from smoke than flames.
Smoke can overwhelm a child or adult in minutes.
Kids under age 6 are at greatest risk when fire
strikes.
They may panic and hide in closets or under beds.
Young children also need special help to escape.
|
|
Fire Safety Tips
- Install smoke alarms in every bedroom and
on every level of your home. Test them monthly.
Never remove battery for use in toys, flashlight
or radio.
- Plan fire escape routes and practice them
-- even at night. That's when the most deadly
fires occur.
- Store matches and lighters out of reach of
young children. For children ages 3 to 8, curiosity
about matches and lighters is normal. But more
than one-third of the burns to these children
are the result of playing with matches.
- Lower the temperature of your hot water heater
to 120 degrees to help prevent scalding. Hot
liquids, not fire, are the most common cause
of burns to young children.
|
|
Teach your children what to do in case
of a fire
- Get out fast, seconds count. Phone for help
from a neighbors home, not from inside a burning
building.
- Crawl low under the smoke.
- Test the door. If it's hot or there's smoke,
use another way out.
- Once out, stay out. There's nothing more important
in your home than you. If someone is missing,
tell a firefighter.
- Designate an outside meeting place for all
family members to gather.
|
