BURRILLVILLE – The holiday season is just around the corner. Fire safety and burn prevention takes center stage with kids and families in the home this time of year.
Please practice exit drills in the home with your family and friends. Holiday sleepovers happen often during the season and everyone in your apartment or house should know your fire exit plan just in case. It only takes a few minutes and could help save lives.
Supervise and keep kids at least three feet away from hot stoves and space heaters in your apartment and house. Remember to keep all pot and pan handles away from little hands while cooking in kitchens. Grilling is coming to an end due to colder temperatures and earlier sunsets, so most meals are now prepared in the family kitchen. Help prevent unintentional burns and scalding. Talk with your kids about fire safety while coloring in this Fearless Dino Protector Squad “Home Safe Home” cartoon.
It is also very important to have and practice fire escapes in your apartment and house for the upcoming winter season. The weather is still mild and it’s a great time to take advantage of the weather conditions and practice your family’s escape routes while establishing safe meeting places. There should be at least two exits in case of a fire. Once you get out, stay out. Never go back into a burning building for any reason. Firefighters are trained to fight fires. Kids and family members don’t have the essential and proper training. Just stay outside and let the brave firefighters do their job. Advise them upon arrival that everyone is outside and safe, so they can focus entirely on distinguishing the fire, and not be concerned about a rescue mission to help save lives.
Jim Weicherding is a Burrillville resident, and the founder and creator of an award-winning traffic safety effort Seasons of Safety. Weicherding contributes kids’ coloring cartoons, which can be printed and used to help parents discuss safety issues with their children. He has a long list of police officers and firefighters in his family and has worked with law enforcement and firefighters in a creative public safety capacity for more than two decades.
