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Permalink Reply by Jack/dt on August 22, 2012 at 3:51pm

Sixth through eighth graders are capable of understanding more difficult concepts:

Discuss importance of EDITH and how to prepare one

Discussion and demonstration of different types of Smoke Detectors, locating Smoke and CO detectors and why batteries should NOT be used for remotes, etc.

Understanding how fires start in the home; cooking fires, smoking, electrical fires from overloaded circuits and extension cords.

The greater toxicity in smoke from inorganic materials

How fast fire grows and spreads

Why there should be fire extinguishers, types and location for them and how to use them, PASS

Once out of the house, never go back in

This might wake them up

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Permalink Reply by Andrew Richmond on August 22, 2012 at 5:13pm

As always Jack,

Thanks for the tips.

We have a very aggressive prevention program and visit the schools as well as have field trips to the station several times a year. We also have a "kick off to a Safe Summer" open house but so far everything has been geared towards the K-5th graders.

I, like you, know that this age group is a difficult crowd to play to, so I don't want to bore them with things that we have drilled into them in the past.

I like your thoughts on EDITH and cooking fires. I'm thinking that if I put a twist on it and that they feel responsible for creating the plan and cooking safely they may take away a feeling of awareness and responsibility.

Being as the younger generation is much more visual than this old timer I'm thinking about several short vids (on top of the Christmas tree vid) to show about fire spread.

Thanks again for your thoughts.

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Permalink Reply by John Crabbe on August 23, 2012 at 1:02am

I like your thoughts on EDITH and cooking fires. I'm thinking that if I put a twist on it and that they feel responsible for creating the plan and cooking safely they may take away a feeling of awareness and responsibility.

 

I would agree on this for a message as well. Part of it is this age group now tends to have more independence, are left home alone more often, may be alone for awhile after school etc. That would mean they may cook something after school and with kids, can get hooked into something else as opposed to watching the stove.

 

This group is also starting to be trusted more with responsibility for younger kids and may be babysitting siblings or even doing that for income. All the more reason to emphasize the EDITH, especially if going to someone else's home. They should be reminded to look for exits, or ensure they know how they and the younger kids know how to get out.

 

Some simple stats could be used to get the point out of the ages of kids who have been killed or even burned. If there are examples available of burn victims etc, a little "shock" value could get the point across. This is also an age group that they think are invincible, and if most kids are like my 13 y/o, they already know it all, so some touch of reality may get a point across.

 

This age group is also a good time to educate more on the job and why things are done on fire scenes, why the staffing should be adequate, why FFs take a rig shopping (if you do), etc.

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Permalink Reply by Moose on August 23, 2012 at 10:28am

Excellent points by all, and the video Jack shared is a plus to show them the reality of fire and not what they see in movies like "Ladder 49" and "Backdraft".

I would add info about calling 911, maybe role-play with them too.  Have a firefighter act as a dispatcher and have the kid pretend to call 911 and go over what they would relay to the dispatcher in an emergency situation presented to them.

Explain the legalities of pulling false alarms in school and out, and what happens if the FD responds to the school for a false alarm and a house catches fire across town.

Just a few ideas to kick around.  Good luck to you in the presentation, I ran fire prevention in my past department for 6 years before becoming Lieutenant and loved to do the presentations at schools.  I loved to talk to the kids during the year when they come up to you and say "Hey, your the fireman that talked to me at school!"  Great feeling.

 

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Permalink Reply by Joe Galizio on August 23, 2012 at 3:25pm

My twins are going into 8th grade and I've been talking with a lot of their friends about DUI and Texting while driving.  They are starting to get to the age where they have some friends in HS, or their friends older siblings are driving.  We recently had 2 teens killed in our town due to DUI, so the topic is pretty hot right now.

Just a suggestion.  Good luck with it.

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