Parents and Childcarers - How to keep your children safe

Introduction

You know how much your children mean to you. You would do anything to keep them safe.

Yet every year children die in fires.

Use this section to find out what you can do to make sure your children are never affected by fire.

Talk about it

Talk to your children about fire - its uses, its dangers and how to be safe. Allow them to talk to you about their fears. Don't ignore fire!

   Make your home child safe

   Safety rules for children

   Fire instructions for children

   Family action plan

   Playing with fire
  
   Now check your home


Make Your Home Child Safe

It's crucial to be aware that children can start a fire in moments - but only if they can get hold of materials that can start a fire.

	Keep matches and lighters out of reach (and out of sight) of children.
	Position lighted candles out of reach of children.
	Put a child-proof fire guard in front of an open fire or heater if there are children in the house.
	Don't let children play or leave toys near a fire or heater.
	Put child locks on cupboards that have anything in them that children could use to start a fire.
	Unplug appliances that children could trip over.
	Keep portable heaters in a safe place, both when they're being used and when they're being stored.
	Put plug guards into sockets so children can't stick things into the holes.
	Keep your escape route clear of toys and other obstructions.
	Don't leave children alone in the home.

Real Life

A couple of minutes out of the room Julie Bacon left her three-year-old son Dylan in the living room while she went to get a cup of coffee. When she came back, she was horrified to see a newspaper burning on the sofa and Dylan standing smiling beside it. Julie managed to put out the fire, but she was badly shaken and the sofa had to be replaced. It seems Dylan had climbed up on a box and reached a box of matches that were on the mantelpiece. "I'm so aware of fire risks now," says Julie. "I make sure Dylan can't get access to any fire lighting materials like matches or lighters." Take some time to think about the risks in your home - and then do something about them.

Safety Rules for Children

These are the rules children need to learn as they're growing up

About fire

	Fire kills hundreds of people each year - and dozens of children too.
	Fire can get out of control frighteningly fast.
	You can never play safely with fire.

The rules

	Never play with matches or lighters.
	Never play with a lighted candle.
	Don't play close to a fire or heater, or leave toys near a fire or heater.
	Don't pull on electric cables or fiddle with electrical appliances or sockets.
	Never switch on the cooker.
	Never put anything on top of the cooker.
	Don't touch any saucepans on the cooker.
	Don't put things on top of heaters or lights.
	If you see matches or lighters lying around, tell a grown-up.

Fire Instructions for Children

It's important to talk through with children what to do if there's a fire. Don't avoid it for fear of frightening them.

Children need to know the basics of how to react to a fire. They may not have an adult to tell them what to do. In fact, if they react quickly and well they may end up saving your life.


Here are the basic instructions.

	If you see smoke or flames, raise the alarm. Tell a grown-up straight away if you can.
	Get out of the building as soon as possible.
	Find a phone and call 999. Ask for the Fire and Rescue Service, and then give your address slowly and calmly. You may need to go to the neighbours to find a phone.
	Don't go back into the building - not for toys or even pets. Fire fighters can search the house much more quickly than you can.
	If there's smoke, crawl along the floor as the air is cleanest there.
	If your escape route is blocked, go into a room with a window, put things round the door to stop smoke getting in, open the window and call for help.
	Never hide in a cupboard or under a bed. You need to raise the alarm and get out.

Real Life

Ignorance is deadly On 21 August 1999 there was a fire in the home of the Graham family. In thick smoke the parents went looking for their two children, Amy, 3, and Louis, 5, but they weren't in their beds. The parents searched frantically before escaping the house. The children never emerged. They were found holding hands in a wardrobe. Both had been killed by smoke inhalation.

Family Action Plan

You should make an escape plan that includes the whole family. Plan together so that everyone knows what to do.

Choose an escape route
Let children know the importance of getting out as soon as they've raised the alarm - or before they've raised the alarm if there's no grown-up to be found. Make sure they know the easiest way to get out of your home - and a second way out too.

Explain why the escape route needs to be kept clear.



Show children where the keys are kept.
It's important that the keys to doors and windows are kept in the same place, a place everyone in the home knows.



Talk through dos and don'ts in a fire
Make sure children understand what they should do if they see smoke or flames. See fire instructions for children.

Explain what to do if they can't get out
Discuss which is the best room to take refuge in - for example, a room with a window and a flat roof outside it.

Discuss how to call 999
Make sure children know the number by heart as well as their address. Always make sure that both are pinned up by the phone. And tell them about the dangers of hoax calls (see playing with fire).



Plan where to meet up outside
You may have to escape from your home separately, so you should choose a meeting place where children should wait.

If other people are looking after the children…
Make sure babysitters or child minders know about the escape plan and what to do.



Playing With Fire

It's natural for children to be drawn to the warmth and light of fire. But every year homes and property are destroyed in fires started accidentally and deliberately by children. Arson by young people is a serious problem.


Teach children about the dangers of fire
Children should be told about how destructive fire can be and how rapidly it can spread.

Older children may know that fire is dangerous, but might not realise how uncontrollable it can become, or that breathing toxic smoke can quickly make you lose consciousness.

Teach them how to be safe with fire
Encourage children to tell you if they find matches or lighters. Let them see you being careful about fire risks.

Older children can take part in safe activities with fire, like lighting a bonfire or a candle while supervised by an adult.

Older teenagers need to be told clearly about the risks of fire from smoking. Even if they don't smoke they may go to parties with people who do. See smoking safely.

Let them know of the dangers of hoax calls
Hoax calls to the Fire and Rescue Service put lives in danger. Children must be taught that it is completely wrong to call 999 for fun.

If they seem fascinated…
Some children can become dangerously obsessed with fires. If you know children who you think may be lighting fires deliberately, you need to do something about it.

• Children can play with fire for reasons other than curiosity - for example, to get attention or because of peer pressure.
• Call your local Fire and Rescue Service for help and advice on how to deal with the problem.
• Some Fire and Rescue Services offer a confidential service where a specially trained fire adviser visits you and your child at home to give advice and education. These services are safe and gentle, using discussion, videos, projects, and so on.
• Parents or guardians have a legal responsibility for any illegal actions carried out by children.