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Permalink Reply by Captain Kevin C. Ross on June 13, 2010 at 9:39pm

Hi Ben;
flowing water is good, lot of hands on is good to keep the kids interested. You may also want to teach them about fire extinguishers as they are more likely at sometime in their lives to have to handle a fire extinguisher than a hose line, I am not saying don't let them handle a small diameter hose just in addition to that have learn the basic fire extinguisher use PASS Pull the pin, Aim at he the base of the fire, squeeze the handle, and sweep side to side, and only use an extinguisher on a small fire if absolutely sure you are able to extinguish the fire and that escape is not a better option. Also while teaching this include how to call emergency services, how to escape the principles of stay low (crawling) not standing up, how to prepare a home escape plan including a safe meeting place and have them do a home escape plan. Discuss the importance of home fire drills. Teach some basic first aid direct pressure, applying a bandage, only moving a person with a head injury if absolutely necessary, maybe even how to do CPR even if they are young they will like to do all this stuff & even if they only remember parts of it they will have learned something. Talk to your local police agency have them give a little talk one day about what they do, and how to avoid abductions, why seatbelts are important, what to do if there is another police type of emergency,explain where to go if they are scared &/or need help, if they have a K-9 unit have them bring the dog to give a demonstration, kids love that. Have your local ambulance visit one day and show their vehicle and equipment. The more the kids are exposed to before hand the less anxiety they will have if they find themselves in need of emergency services in the future. CAUTION if letting the kids try on turnout gear especially helmet be sure they are not to heavy for them, a few years ago I don't remember where but some young children got neck injuries and I am not sure but there may have been a couple deaths because the helmets were so heavy it caused neck injuries.
Visit the dispatch if that is possible. Take a walk around the neighborhood & have the kids point out fire &/or safety hazards, if they don't spot one that you see point it out to them and don't forget to explain why its a hazard. Anything that is related to safety that you can think of is a plus for the kids. One other thought is if you need fire prevention materials, etc sometimes your local insurance companies will help pay for that stuff as long as you acknowledge them or put their name on the stuff and invite them out to see what you are doing. Another thing is if you have them do an escape plan or other projects give out and awards for them even if it is just a certificate, invite the kids to bring their family to the award ceremony and have some light refreshments and sometimes the insurance companies will also pay for this, don't forget to invite the insurance company to the award ceremony.
I hope this helps you out, good luck and enjoy your program and your group Captain Kevin Ross Pembroke, NY Fire Department.

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Permalink Reply by ff/emt 2155 on June 14, 2010 at 9:36am

all the idea's are great and after all that fun have them draw plans of their own home and help them plan an escape route how many times do we find children under the bed tucked up in the corner behind a door in the closet how about doing that i like the others but if we really want to do something lets try to instill self rescue for themselves

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Permalink Reply by ff/emt 2155 on June 14, 2010 at 9:42am

hey ben sorry i did not read kevin ross reply above mine befor i wrote it but his was the best plan ( kudo;s ross love your thinking man ) it is really all about saving lives if we could just get to them with self rescue and saved one it worked thank you stat safe

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