Fire. Since the beginning of time, it has been both a helper and a hazard. Fire is an important tool. It helps us to do many things. It keeps us warm, it cooks things, it is used to make stuff and power engines, plus it makes camping tons of fun.
However, fire can also be dangerous. It can be deadly. Since the beginning of time, it’s also caused problems. It burns down houses, it burns down forests, and if you aren’t careful, it can also burn down people. It all depends on how it is used.
It is important for children to understand how dangerous fire can be. It is not a toy for kids to play with. It is a tool for adults to use very carefully. It is one of the most dangerous tools around. Many children do not realize just how dangerous it is. But did you know, it is more dangerous than a gun?
Did you know, more children die every year because they were playing with matches than are accidentally shot with a gun? Fire can be extremely dangerous, and children need to stay away from it. Let’s see just how dangerous it can be …
Fire is so dangerous because it multiplies in such a hurry, and it burns almost EVERYTHING. It only takes one little accident, one little flame to catch everything on fire. Because of this, it is something that kids never use.
Did you know, that every single year, there are around 19,000 houses that get burned down, because kids just like you make a bad choice and play around with fire! That’s like as many houses as are in a whole city! They burn up their houses. They burn up all their toys. Even worse, many times, they burn themselves all up. Just because they made a bad choice and played with fire.
Even adults who are careless with fire will sometimes pay the price. Do know what happened to all these trees? That’s right, they caught on fire. Do you know why they caught on fire? Because some grown-ups were not being careful with fire.
If an adult could make a mistake to be careless with fire, just think how easy it would be for a kid to make a mistake if they tried to use fire! If such a small flame could get so big and burn down a whole forest, just imagine how dangerous it could be for kids!
It’s OK to be curious about things. That’s what kids are. They are curious. Fire can be interesting to look at. But when it comes to fire, curiosity is looking and not touching. You might be curious about a rattlesnake. But that doesn’t mean you would play with one.
You might be curious about a grizzly bear. But that certainly doesn’t mean you would invite one over for dinner. Because uh-oh, I think Grizzly has a different idea about dinner.
Fire is the same way, and you shouldn’t play with it any more than you would play with a rattlesnake. You can certainly ask your par- ents about fire if you are curious. You can even see fire in lot’s of ways that aren’t dangerous; like on T.V., or when your parents are using it very carefully.
You can ask mom and dad to get you books about fire from the library and you can read more about it. You can sit carefully around your fireplace. But playing with it on our own because we are curious is a big no no. I like fire too. I enjoy a good campfire. But it is important to only enjoy fire when adults are using it carefully.
Yep, no doubt about it. Kids playing with fire is a bad combination. It’s important that if we see a friend or someone else playing with fire, we don’t just stay around and watch them. We don’t participate with them, because if they start a fire, they could burn us up too! If you ever see a friend or someone else playingwith fire, you tell them to stop that and leave the room right away.
You leave and you tell the first adult you can find what they are doing. Or, if it’s a younger kid, you take away their matches or lighter and let your parents know. This isn’t tattle telling, this is being a good friend. It’s keeping them safe because you love them. You would be very sad if you didn’t tell and your friend burned themselves all up.
People who fight fire for a living can tell you just how dangerous it is. These are firefighters.
Now, you may think being a firefighter is all fun and games, but it isn’t. Sure, they do get to ride in a cool truck. Yes, they do get to use fire horns and sirens. And sure, they do have wild parties with chocolate chickens and get to ride on the gelatin slide. But they also see first hand exactly how destructive fire can be.
Firefighters sure do know a lot about fires. They have to study how fire works, they have to learn to operate all the gadgets on the fire truck.
This is fireman Dave, and he’s going to tell us some fire safety rules. Dave says that we always need to be extra careful around fire places or campfires. Is it because we think you’re going to just do jump into there and have a bath? No, of course not.
Dave tells us that we always need to be extra careful around fire places or campfires. Is it because we think you’re going to just go jump into there and have a bath? No, of course not. But kids have accidents. Heck, adults have accidents. They trip and fall into the fire. They play games too close and accidentally end up in it. And those coals are hot, hot enough to burn the skin right off you. So whenever we’re around the fire, NO HORSEPLAY. We also need to walk very carefully so we don’t trip.
You can help your mom and dad out by clearing things away from the fire that you might trip over. We also need to be careful around the stove. No playing near it, and we need to make sure we never set anything on it, even if we think it is off.
So how do we know if there’s a fire? Well, two ways: If you see or smell smoke, and your butt starts to get a little warm, and you turn around and there are flames coming out of your backside, then that probably means there is a fire. But usually, we listen to the sound of our smoke detectors to know if there is a fire. You should all ask your parents to set off your smoke alarm so you can hear what it sounds like. This way, if it ever goes off, you’ll know exactly what to do. Dave tells us that it’s important to know what to do if we’re ever in a fire. You stay low, and get out quick! You see, in a fire, smoke goes up. So you need to go down.
Fireman Dave says fire spreads fast, so you need to get out even faster. You should hurry out of your house, using your escape route. But wait, if a door is closed, check it first. Put your hand up to it. If it feels really hot, there is a fire behind that door. Find another way out. Once you’re outside, stay out, and go to your meeting place. If your family doesn’t have a meeting place, you should decide on one.
Dave tells us that if you ever see afire, no matter how that fire got there, don’t try to hide from it. There are some things you can hide from. You can hide from a burglar. You can hide from a grizzly bear. You can even hide from a slimy alien. But you can’t hide from fire. Fire doesn’t work like that.
The only safe place to be from a fire is out of your house in the open. If you try to hide from a fire, it will always get you. So whenever you see a fire, you need to scream: “Fire!” at the top of your lungs and get out right away. Let’s try that now.
Dave tells us that it’s important to never be scared of firefighters. If you ever see a firefighter, don’t hide from them, go to them. They are your friend, and they are there to save you. When firefighters get dressed up to go fight a fire, they can look pretty scary. They have to put on a special suit that protects them from the fire.
They often carry an axe so they can break down doors or walls and get to people to save them. They have an oxygen tank on, which makes them breath funny and sound like Darth Vader. But all of that just helps keep them safe and let’s them do their job better, and underneath all that stuff is just a normal person, who is very nice, and is there to save you.
Fireman Dave also tells us that it’s important to know what to do if we catch on fire ourselves. Sometimes, our clothes might catch on fire for some reason. If this happens there is something we can do to keep from burning all up. It’s called, stop, drop, and roll. First you stop. Running around only makes the fire bigger, so you don’t run around. You drop to the ground, gently putting your knees down and then laying down to the ground. Then you roll around. This puts the fire out. It squishes it against the ground and it goes out. If you have the room right now, why don’t you try. Just stop, drop to your knees, then lay down, and roll around on the ground. Simple.
Well, that’s it. I think you know what you need to know. Now you can become an honorary fire safety marshal. Perhaps when you are all grown up, you can become a firefighter yourself and help save lives. But in the mean time, BE SAFE!
The End!
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