Fire drills at home

WITH house fires more likely in the cooler months, the school holidays are a great time to make sure the whole family is fire safe.
Queensland Fire and Emergency Services acting community engagement manager Kevin Reading said it was never too early to start teaching children about fire risks and safety.
“The home is full of potentially dangerous situations, and we cannot expect parents to eliminate them all; however what we are asking is that they encourage their children to gain a better understanding of recognising these hazards,” he said.
“It’s all about fireproofing your fun. There are plenty of fire safety messages that can be incorporated into everyday activities, particularly in winter when we may be indoors more often.”
With two weeks to keep the kids occupied, the school holidays are the perfect opportunity to educate children about fire risks, by appointing “junior firefighters” in the house to help look out for potential dangers.
“During the holidays, junior firefighters will have lots of time to practise the ‘get down low and go, go, go’ manoeuvre as well as the ‘stop, drop and roll manoeuvres,” Mr Reading said.
“Junior firefighters can also help Mum and Dad to test, clean and change the batteries in smoke alarms, if it hasn’t been done within the last 12 months.
“Involving kids in these types of activities with supervision can be a fun way to communicate safety messages that all children should learn.”
Mr Reading said it was also critical that every household had an effective fire escape plan, working smoke alarms and that all family members knew when to use triple zero (000).