Nelson, Gary

Texas A&amp;M Repository

L-1495PARENTS: DON'T LET YOUR CHILDREN BURNGary Nelson • Extension Agricultural Engineer • The Texas A&M University SystemIn the time it takes to read the next few para-graphs, several homes in this country will catch fire. Aresidence burns every 45 seconds, adding up to 1,900fires a day and almost 700,000 a year. Almost 7,000persons die in these fires and at least a fourth of thevictims are children under 14 years of age.Most children are pathetically helpless to savethemselves in a fire. Through lack of knowledge andpractice, they make deadly mistakes, such as rushinginto smoke-filled hallways or down burning stairwayswhen they might escape through a window. Some donot even attempt to escape. They wander in bewil-derment or panic. Many hide in closets or underbeds, waiting in vain for someone to rescue them.Many are later found dead by firemen.The tragedy is that youngsters could get out aliveif parents would take a few minutes to teach themhow. Schools routinely hold fire drills. Yet, fire drillsat home are seldom thought of, much less done on aregular basis. A child is about 200 times more likely tobe caught in fire at home than at school.The child who has practiced what to do in case offire is much less susceptible to panic and has a betterchance of surviving, fire authorities agree. This hasbeen proved by thousands of fire-drill trained pupilswho have safely escaped from burning schools.A home fire drill could be done much like a class-room exercise, or you could capitalize on your child's30.3imagination. Drills conducted as "let's be a fireman"game may stimulate more interest and impress theinformation more firmly in the child's mind.Below are six home fire drills designed to teachchildren and their parents how to survive a fire. Aftertrying each fire drill during daylight hours, tryanother test drill shortly after your children go to bedby using a pre-arranged signal like "FIRE!" Followingthese fire drills is a final "rookie" examination to de-termine whether your children qualify as i<firemen."FamHy Fire Drills1. Meet the Fire Chief In this drill, the entirefamily, called the "fire department staff," gets to-gether to make escape plans. A "fire chief' is electedto draw a rough diagram of the house. He asks theother "firemen" the help map out two separate escaperoutes from every room in the house. There must be amain route and, in case that is blocked, an alternateroute. Pay special attention to escapes from bedroomswhere fire is most likely to trap you. Don't rely muchon stairways because these often are flooded with heatand deadly smoke, making passage impossible.Your best escape route is through a window,perhaps one that opens onto a garage deck or porchroof. Even if you can't get to the ground from there,you usually can wait safely in the fresh air for rescue.You could use a sturdy trellis or commercially availa-ble fire-escape ladder, either portable or permanentlyinstalled. A knotted rope might work for athleticyoungsters if they go down hand over hand instead ofsliding.Decide who will help very young children or theelderly in the family and where you will meet afterthe escape. This will prevent the risk of going insideto check on someone who is already safe. Youngstersmay be instructed to go to a neighbor's home whichricu tu lEt I n Un ersity y t • DonI I C. pfa n ti I, Director Coli Stati ncan serve as a place to meet and a place to call for helpaway from the location of the fire. A youngster maywant to draw his own copy of the fire-escape plans andregulations to put on a bulletin board in his room.2. Don the Gas Masks. This drill teaches childrenabout poisonous gases which are the real killers infires.Pretend the house is filling with smoke and thatyou must get out as quickly as possible. In all thedrills, stress immediate escape. Yell "Smoke!" andhave the children, wherever they are - in bedrooms,living room, kitchen - grab a pillow or severalthicknesses of fluffy material such as a towel and placeit over their mouths and noses. The cloth won't filterout poisonous gases in smoke but it will relieve someof the irritating effects of inhaling smoke. Then havethe children move as fast as they can, keeping close tothe floor where the air is best. They should know toavoid deep breaths.Emphasize the fact that smoke, not flames, is theNo.1 killer in fire. It contains large quantities of car-bon monoxide and a dozen or so other poisonousgases from burning materials. By far the majority offire victims are asphyxiated by smoke gases long be-fore flames ever touch them. At times poisonouJsmoke can knock you unconscious after two or threebreaths and can kill you in a few minutes. Heat causessmoke to rise, making upper floors where bedroomsare located the greatest fire traps. Be sure childrenknow that wherever there is smoke, there is potentialdeath - and that they should get to fresh air fast.3. Hot Door, Cold Door. As a part of "basic train-ing," firemen learn the dangers of opening a door in afire. Your child must know this, too. Teach him neverto open a bedroom door if he suspects fire.Instead, he should apply this test:Put a hand on the door panel and knob. Ifeither iswarm, do not open the door, for heat and gases on theother side are ready to burst in. One lungful ofsuperheated air can fell a person instantly. Leave thedoor closed and escape another way.If the door doesn't feel warm, brace against it,open it a crack and be ready to slam it should smokeor heat rush in. If all is clear, proceed through thedoor with caution.Make sure your young firemen practice thisroutine until they have it down pat. As a fire drill isbeing announced, slip a sign under the closed doorreading "hot" or "cold" while youngsters react ap-propriately. Also make it a nightly ritual to close bed-room doors unless this practice would prevent settingoff a fire detector located in a hallway. Tests haveshown that behind a closed door your survival time is5 to D. minutes. With the door open, the survivaltime is only 2 minutes. Ideally each bedroom shouldcontain an audible fire detector.4. Get Out Fast. This one teaches youngsters theimportance of qUick escape. A child's first impulse infires should always be to "get out," although the blazemay be small, for it can become an inferno in min-utes.Fire most often strikes at night while children areasleep. The most important drill you can give is this:Have them lie on their beds and then sound thealarm. Time them to see how long it takes to reach themeeting place outside the house. At first, let themescape the simplest way. Then make them go throughobstacles, such as "smoke" and the "hot" door. Blockoff stairways with a string so they know to use analternate route. Be sure they practice going out awindow. If they use a rope ladder, have them throw itout the window and actually climb down. If they areto wait on a roof until someone comes with a ladder,make them wait while you get the ladder. They mustbehave exactly as they would during a real fire.5. Call the Fire Engines. Teach your child exactlyhow to call the fire department; his quick action couldsave his life, and maybe your house. However, im-press on him that if he discovers fire, he should dothings in this order:First, alert all in the house so they can begin theirescape. Second, call the fire department if it can stillbe done safely. Lives have been lost because someonepaused to call the firemen when he should have fled.It is safer to call the fire department from a neighbor'shome when pOSSible. Have the children memorizethe number of the fire department. Also, write outthe number and place it permanently near the phone.Even small youngsters who can't dial long numbers atleast can learn to dial "0" for the operator in anemergency.When practicing, place a strip of tape over thereceiver buttons so you can dial without letting thecall go through. Have your youngster dial and givethis information: "Our house is on fire at (address).The name is (head of household)." Then don't letthem hang up immediately, but wait to be sure theywere understood.Should your party line be in use when you start toreport a fire, interrupt and say "Excuse me, my nameis __ . I must report a fire emergency - pleasehang up." State laws require that you hang up on aparty line immediately when told the line is neededfor an emergency call. An emergency is defined as asituation in which property or human life is injeopardy and the prompt summoning of aid is essen-tial.6. Man the Hoses. This drill teaches some princi-ples of fire fighting. Although a child will never fightfire extensively, his quick action could save his life oryour house.Stage a small paper or wood fire in the backyard- in a box, barbecue pit or trash burner - whereyou can control it. Show youngsters how to put it outwith a bucket ofwater or a hose. A coarse spray nozzleis better than a steady stream. Make sure that eachfamily member knows how to operate a fire extin-guisher, an item every household should have. Apractice session is worth the cost of a refill. An extin-guisher is useless unless you know how to work it.Warn children never to throw water on an electri-cal fire because of the shock hazard or on a grease firebecause it may spatter, spreading the flames. Only anextinguisher especially designed for electrical fireswill work on electricity. To squelch small grease fires,put a lid on the flaming pan or throw on several hands-ful of baking soda (never flour; it may explode). Forwood, paper and cloth, the surest extinguishing agentis water. Some households keep a coiled hose storedunder sinks that is attached to an extra under-sinkwater outlet for quick use in emergencies.Teach children what to do if their clothing catcheson fire. Let them pretend they are on fire and havethem roll up in a blanket, rug, large towel or thenearest thing av~ilable to smother the flames. Em-phasize that they should never run if clothes are burn-ing because the breeze fans the flames, increasing thefire's intensity.Fire QuizTo determine whether your children qualify as"firemen," put them through the recommended "firedrills" in this series and then give them the paper-and-pencil test that follows.You can read the questions to the test while theymark the answers. Don't accept a score of less than80. When they pass, give them a toy fireman's badge,fire truck or other reward, symbolizing their new-status and achievement.Another- worthy project would be a family visit tothe local fire department. Available firemen will showtheir equipment to visitors.Children will also need periodic "refreshercourses" and much practice to make escape from firean automatic response.TRUE OR FALSETrue False 1. Ifyou awaken in the night and smell smoke, you should run and open the bedroomdoor to see where it is coming from.True False 2. Smoke contains poisonous gases and can kill you if you breathe much of it.True False 3. When phoning the fire department, say "Our house is on fire!" and hang upquickly.True False___ 4. If there is a fire in your house, you first should go directly to the phone and call thefire department.True False___ 5. If there is a grease fire in the oven or skillet you should throw water on it.True False___ 6. In a fire, stairways are usually filled with smoke and heat.True False___ 7. If your clothes catch on fire, you should run for help.True False___ 8. You should always get out of a burning building even if the fire is small.True False___ 9. If a closed door feels warm to your hand, it means that the flames and smoke are onthe other side and you should not open the door.True False 10. You should never go inside buildings that are on fire.The correct answers are listed below..(JJ ·0 ~ (JJ ·6 (jJ ·S ·aJ!~ alH JalHOWS 0l JOOI~ a4l uo 1I0J JOla>juelq JO 6nJ e U! dn 1I0l::::l ·aJ!~ uo aJe sa4lol0 JnOA ua4M unJ Jal\aN (,:j) ·L (jJ ·9 ·aJ!l a4l Ja4l0WS 0l P!I e 4l!M lall!>js a4l Jal\OO JO epos 6uPlequo SSOl 'pealsul ·saweu a4l Jauelds II!M JaleM (,:j) ·S ·Ala~es os op 0l aW!l al\e4 nOA ~! luaWlJedap aJ!~ a4l AmOU Ua4l pue lno auoAJal\ala6 lSJ!,:j 8) .p ·dn 6ue4 nOA aJoJaq ssaJppe a4l SleadaJ lUawlJedap aJ!~ a4l mun l!eM alq!ssod J! pue ssaJppe pue aweu mOA alelS(,:j) .£ (1) .~ ·WJeM aJe Aa4l J! aU!WJalap 0l qou>j pue laued a4l uo pue4 mOA 6upeld lSJ!J ln04l!M JOOp a4l ua~o Jal\9N (,:j) . ~ :Sl::::l3MSNV'Educational programs conducted by the Texas Agricultural Extension Service serve people ofall ages regardless ofsocio-economic levels, race,color, sex, religion or national origin.Cooperative Extension Work in Agriculture and Home Economics, The Texas A&M University System and the United States Department ofAgriculture cooperating. Distributed in furtherance of the Acts of Congress of May 8, 1914, as amended, and June 30, 1914.lOM-1O-76 SAF

Parents:  Don't Let Your Children Burn.

Texas A&M University

L-1495
PARENTS: DON'T LET YOUR CHILDREN BURN
Gary Nelson • Extension Agricultural Engineer • The Texas A&M University System
In the time it takes to read the next few para-
graphs, several homes in this country will catch fire. A
residence burns every 45 seconds, adding up to 1,900
fires a day and almost 700,000 a year. Almost 7,000
persons die in these fires and at least a fourth of the
victims are children under 14 years of age.
Most children are pathetically helpless to save
themselves in a fire. Through lack of knowledge and
practice, they make deadly mistakes, such as rushing
into smoke-filled hallways or down burning stairways
when they might escape through a window. Some do
not even attempt to escape. They wander in bewil-
derment or panic. Many hide in closets or under
beds, waiting in vain for someone to rescue them.
Many are later found dead by firemen.
The tragedy is that youngsters could get out alive
if parents would take a few minutes to teach them
how. Schools routinely hold fire drills. Yet, fire drills
at home are seldom thought of, much less done on a
regular basis. A child is about 200 times more likely to
be caught in fire at home than at school.
The child who has practiced what to do in case of
fire is much less susceptible to panic and has a better
chance of surviving, fire authorities agree. This has
been proved by thousands of fire-drill trained pupils
who have safely escaped from burning schools.
A home fire drill could be done much like a class-
room exercise, or you could capitalize on your child's
30.3
imagination. Drills conducted as "let's be a fireman"
game may stimulate more interest and impress the
information more firmly in the child's mind.
Below are six home fire drills designed to teach
children and their parents how to survive a fire. After
trying each fire drill during daylight hours, try
another test drill shortly after your children go to bed
by using a pre-arranged signal like "FIRE!" Following
these fire drills is a final "rookie" examination to de-
termine whether your children qualify as i<firemen."
FamHy Fire Drills
1. Meet the Fire Chief In this drill, the entire
family, called the "fire department staff," gets to-
gether to make escape plans. A "fire chief' is elected
to draw a rough diagram of the house. He asks the
other "firemen" the help map out two separate escape
routes from every room in the house. There must be a
main route and, in case that is blocked, an alternate
route. Pay special attention to escapes from bedrooms
where fire is most likely to trap you. Don't rely much
on stairways because these often are flooded with heat
and deadly smoke, making passage impossible.
Your best escape route is through a window,
perhaps one that opens onto a garage deck or porch
roof. Even if you can't get to the ground from there,
you usually can wait safely in the fresh air for rescue.
You could use a sturdy trellis or commercially availa-
ble fire-escape ladder, either portable or permanently
installed. A knotted rope might work for athletic
youngsters if they go down hand over hand instead of
sliding.
Decide who will help very young children or the
elderly in the family and where you will meet after
the escape. This will prevent the risk of going inside
to check on someone who is already safe. Youngsters
may be instructed to go to a neighbor's home which
ricu tu lEt I n Un ersity y t • DonI I C. pfa n ti I, Director Coli Stati n
can serve as a place to meet and a place to call for help
away from the location of the fire. A youngster may
want to draw his own copy of the fire-escape plans and
regulations to put on a bulletin board in his room.
2. Don the Gas Masks. This drill teaches children
about poisonous gases which are the real killers in
fires.
Pretend the house is filling with smoke and that
you must get out as quickly as possible. In all the
drills, stress immediate escape. Yell "Smoke!" and
have the children, wherever they are - in bedrooms,
living room, kitchen - grab a pillow or several
thicknesses of fluffy material such as a towel and place
it over their mouths and noses. The cloth won't filter
out poisonous gases in smoke but it will relieve some
of the irritating effects of inhaling smoke. Then have
the children move as fast as they can, keeping close to
the floor where the air is best. They should know to
avoid deep breaths.
Emphasize the fact that smoke, not flames, is the
No.1 killer in fire. It contains large quantities of car-
bon monoxide and a dozen or so other poisonous
gases from burning materials. By far the majority of
fire victims are asphyxiated by smoke gases long be-
fore flames ever touch them. At times poisonouJ
smoke can knock you unconscious after two or three
breaths and can kill you in a few minutes. Heat causes
smoke to rise, making upper floors where bedrooms
are located the greatest fire traps. Be sure children
know that wherever there is smoke, there is potential
death - and that they should get to fresh air fast.
3. Hot Door, Cold Door. As a part of "basic train-
ing," firemen learn the dangers of opening a door in a
fire. Your child must know this, too. Teach him never
to open a bedroom door if he suspects fire.
Instead, he should apply this test:
Put a hand on the door panel and knob. Ifeither is
warm, do not open the door, for heat and gases on the
other side are ready to burst in. One lungful of
superheated air can fell a person instantly. Leave the
door closed and escape another way.
If the door doesn't feel warm, brace against it,
open it a crack and be ready to slam it should smoke
or heat rush in. If all is clear, proceed through the
door with caution.
Make sure your young firemen practice this
routine until they have it down pat. As a fire drill is
being announced, slip a sign under the closed door
reading "hot" or "cold" while youngsters react ap-
propriately. Also make it a nightly ritual to close bed-
room doors unless this practice would prevent setting
off a fire detector located in a hallway. Tests have
shown that behind a closed door your survival time is
5 to D. minutes. With the door open, the survival
time is only 2 minutes. Ideally each bedroom should
contain an audible fire detector.
4. Get Out Fast. This one teaches youngsters the
importance of qUick escape. A child's first impulse in
fires should always be to "get out," although the blaze
may be small, for it can become an inferno in min-
utes.
Fire most often strikes at night while children are
asleep. The most important drill you can give is this:
Have them lie on their beds and then sound the
alarm. Time them to see how long it takes to reach the
meeting place outside the house. At first, let them
escape the simplest way. Then make them go through
obstacles, such as "smoke" and the "hot" door. Block
off stairways with a string so they know to use an
alternate route. Be sure they practice going out a
window. If they use a rope ladder, have them throw it
out the window and actually climb down. If they are
to wait on a roof until someone comes with a ladder,
make them wait while you get the ladder. They must
behave exactly as they would during a real fire.
5. Call the Fire Engines. Teach your child exactly
how to call the fire department; his quick action could
save his life, and maybe your house. However, im-
press on him that if he discovers fire, he should do
things in this order:
First, alert all in the house so they can begin their
escape. Second, call the fire department if it can still
be done safely. Lives have been lost because someone
paused to call the firemen when he should have fled.
It is safer to call the fire department from a neighbor's
home when pOSSible. Have the children memorize
the number of the fire department. Also, write out
the number and place it permanently near the phone.
Even small youngsters who can't dial long numbers at
least can learn to dial "0" for the operator in an
emergency.
When practicing, place a strip of tape over the
receiver buttons so you can dial without letting the
call go through. Have your youngster dial and give
this information: "Our house is on fire at (address).
The name is (head of household)." Then don't let
them hang up immediately, but wait to be sure they
were understood.
Should your party line be in use when you start to
report a fire, interrupt and say "Excuse me, my name
is __ . I must report a fire emergency - please
hang up." State laws require that you hang up on a
party line immediately when told the line is needed
for an emergency call. An emergency is defined as a
situation in which property or human life is in
jeopardy and the prompt summoning of aid is essen-
tial.
6. Man the Hoses. This drill teaches some princi-
ples of fire fighting. Although a child will never fight
fire extensively, his quick action could save his life or
your house.
Stage a small paper or wood fire in the backyard
- in a box, barbecue pit or trash burner - where
you can control it. Show youngsters how to put it out
with a bucket ofwater or a hose. A coarse spray nozzle
is better than a steady stream. Make sure that each
family member knows how to operate a fire extin-
guisher, an item every household should have. A
practice session is worth the cost of a refill. An extin-
guisher is useless unless you know how to work it.
Warn children never to throw water on an electri-
cal fire because of the shock hazard or on a grease fire
because it may spatter, spreading the flames. Only an
extinguisher especially designed for electrical fires
will work on electricity. To squelch small grease fires,
put a lid on the flaming pan or throw on several hands-
ful of baking soda (never flour; it may explode). For
wood, paper and cloth, the surest extinguishing agent
is water. Some households keep a coiled hose stored
under sinks that is attached to an extra under-sink
water outlet for quick use in emergencies.
Teach children what to do if their clothing catches
on fire. Let them pretend they are on fire and have
them roll up in a blanket, rug, large towel or the
nearest thing av~ilable to smother the flames. Em-
phasize that they should never run if clothes are burn-
ing because the breeze fans the flames, increasing the
fire's intensity.
Fire Quiz
To determine whether your children qualify as
"firemen," put them through the recommended "fire
drills" in this series and then give them the paper-
and-pencil test that follows.
You can read the questions to the test while they
mark the answers. Don't accept a score of less than
80. When they pass, give them a toy fireman's badge,
fire truck or other reward, symbolizing their new-
status and achievement.
Another- worthy project would be a family visit to
the local fire department. Available firemen will show
their equipment to visitors.
Children will also need periodic "refresher
courses" and much practice to make escape from fire
an automatic response.
TRUE OR FALSE
True False 1. Ifyou awaken in the night and smell smoke, you should run and open the bedroom
door to see where it is coming from.
True False 2. Smoke contains poisonous gases and can kill you if you breathe much of it.
True False 3. When phoning the fire department, say "Our house is on fire!" and hang up
quickly.
True False___ 4. If there is a fire in your house, you first should go directly to the phone and call the
fire department.
True False___ 5. If there is a grease fire in the oven or skillet you should throw water on it.
True False___ 6. In a fire, stairways are usually filled with smoke and heat.
True False___ 7. If your clothes catch on fire, you should run for help.
True False___ 8. You should always get out of a burning building even if the fire is small.
True False___ 9. If a closed door feels warm to your hand, it means that the flames and smoke are on
the other side and you should not open the door.
True False 10. You should never go inside buildings that are on fire.
The correct answers are listed below.
.(JJ ·0 ~ (JJ ·6 (jJ ·S ·aJ!~ alH JalHOWS 0l JOOI~ a4l uo 1I0J JO
la>juelq JO 6nJ e U! dn 1I0l::::l ·aJ!~ uo aJe sa4lol0 JnOA ua4M unJ Jal\aN (,:j) ·L (jJ ·9 ·aJ!l a4l Ja4l0WS 0l P!I e 4l!M lall!>js a4l Jal\OO JO epos 6uPleq
uo SSOl 'pealsul ·saweu a4l Jauelds II!M JaleM (,:j) ·S ·Ala~es os op 0l aW!l al\e4 nOA ~! luaWlJedap aJ!~ a4l AmOU Ua4l pue lno auoAJal\a
la6 lSJ!,:j 8) .p ·dn 6ue4 nOA aJoJaq ssaJppe a4l SleadaJ lUawlJedap aJ!~ a4l mun l!eM alq!ssod J! pue ssaJppe pue aweu mOA alelS
(,:j) .£ (1) .~ ·WJeM aJe Aa4l J! aU!WJalap 0l qou>j pue laued a4l uo pue4 mOA 6upeld lSJ!J ln04l!M JOOp a4l ua~o Jal\9N (,:j) . ~ :Sl::::l3MSNV'
Educational programs conducted by the Texas Agricultural Extension Service serve people ofall ages regardless ofsocio-economic levels, race,
color, sex, religion or national origin.
Cooperative Extension Work in Agriculture and Home Economics, The Texas A&M University System and the United States Department of
Agriculture cooperating. Distributed in furtherance of the Acts of Congress of May 8, 1914, as amended, and June 30, 1914.
lOM-1O-76 SAF


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Parents: Don't Let Your Children Burn.

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Parents: Don't Let Your Children Burn.

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