Fire Safety Heroes

To introduce the topic of the activity, the teacher asks the children if they have ever heard of fires occurring in their municipality or if they have ever seen a movie in which a large fire occurred. Then the teacher asks the children what would be the first thing to do to put out the fire and treat the burns.

This activity should be done in a large, open space (indoors or outdoors). The teacher explains to the children that they will become “Fire Safety A condition that makes one feel that one is not in danger or that a risk can be prevented or reduced Heroes” and learn important fire safety rules.

To prepare for the game, the teacher can refer to the “Materials” resource (see “Fire Safety Heroes - Materials” below) all the materials needed for each stage of the game.

RULE 1: Harm Prevention - “Stay away from the flames.”

The teacher scatters red and orange pieces of paper (flames) in the play area and orders the children to move around the area. When the teacher shouts “Flames!” the children must freeze and stand still. It is important to emphasize in this phase that fire is very hot and dangerous.

RULE 2: Prevention of harm -“ Report it to an adult.”

It is important to make children understand that they cannot put out a fire on their own and that the safest move to avoid harm is to tell an adult about the fire.

Children are then instructed to quickly find a partner, making sure to avoid the flames (red and orange pieces of paper) on the ground and choosing the person closest to them. If the number is odd, a group of three is allowed.

The pair that is farthest away from the teacher starts the “wireless phone game.” Their task is to communicate with the nearest couple, passing on the message that there is a fire. To do this, they must approach the chosen couple without getting burned by the flames on the ground. Each pair, once they receive the message, has to approach another pair and continue the chain of communication until the information reaches the teacher.

RULE 3: Protect yourself-“Crawl when there is smoke.”

When a fire starts to burn, the surrounding combustible material (e.g., trees or grass), smoke starts to spread. Smoke is dangerous to our health and we must avoid breathing it. That is why when there is a fire and we need to escape, one solution may be to crawl down.

To simulate the blanket of smoke, the teacher can place a sheet or rope between two supports, about 50 cm above the ground. When the teacher shouts “Smoke!”, all children should climb down under the cloth or rope and crawl to the other side, to avoid breathing in the “smoke.”

RULE 4: Protect yourself - “Stop, go down and roll.”

It can happen that clothes catch fire. In this case there is a sequence of actions to help put out the fire. The teacher divides the children into pairs and in each pair assigns one child the role of “firefighter.” When the “Fireman” says “Fire!”, the other child pretends his clothes are on fire and falls to the ground. The “fireman” instructs him on the correct behavior: “stop, go down and roll” to put out the fire!

RULE 5: Help people with burns - “Cool the burns with water.”

At this point it is necessary to cool the burns. The teacher provides each pair with a set of three white cards, one representing ice cubes, one representing boiling water, and one representing a clean cloth. 

(Note to teacher: the solution is to put the sheet with ice cubes and the one with boiling water together to have cold water.)

Teacher asks children to choose the right paper to “cool” their partner's hand (at this stage, it is important to make children understand that ice water should be avoided so as not to make the burn worse. After finding the solution, children can practice gently “cooling” a “burn” (another child's wrist) using the combination cards.

RULE 6: Helping people with burns-“Covering burns.”

After the burn has cooled, children can use the third card (with the clean cloth) to cover their companion's wrist. It is important that the burn does not come in contact with dirt or non-sterile material.

RULE 7: Be a fire safety hero - “Know the escape plan.”

The teacher prepares an obstacle course (the level of difficulty can be decided based on the age of the group and the space available) using cones, flags, ropes or other materials available. The teacher scatters pieces of orange, red and yellow paper (these can be the same ones used for Rule 1) within the identified path and marks the exit to be reached with a colored object (such as a scarf).

Then, in turn, the children must walk along the path to reach the safety exit being very careful not to touch or brush against the pieces of paper on the ground and not to run.

RULE 8: Be a fire safety hero - “Don't go back in.”

Once all the children have reached the safe exit, the teacher points out that there are valuables left in the house (the teacher can place pictures or toy versions of the chosen items once the setting is set - e.g., a phone, headphones, TV).
The teacher asks who feels up to going back into the house to retrieve them. If one or more children offer to go back, the teacher lets them, but once they go back, the teacher tells them they failed the test.
When there is a fire and you have reached the exit, you must never go back!

RULE 9: Be a fire safety hero: “Don't open the door.”

In case of fire, it is important to be cautious when touching objects such as door handles, which can be hot and dangerous. The teacher discusses the importance of feeling the handle with the back of the hand to check for heat before deciding to open the door.
By placing colored sticky paper (red and yellow for hot temperature and green and blue for cold temperature) in different positions on a real door, the teacher starts the game. For each round, one child is blindfolded and will be the “Door Controller” while another child is chosen as the “Guide.” Two other children will place colored sticky paper in different parts of the door, determining where it is hot and where it is cold. When finished, the guide should instruct the Door Checker to feel the door and put his hand in the safe areas. He or she will also need to check if the door is safe to open (depending on whether the handle is red or blue at that turn).

RULE 10: Be a fire safety hero - “Call 112”

The teacher divides the children into pairs and provides toy phones or walkie-talkies. In each pair, one child will impersonate the firefighter and the other the person who detects the fire. The person must report the fire by calling the number 112, and the firefighter must ask for the information needed to reach the burning area.  

At the end of the game, the teacher gathers the children together and discusses what they learned during the game.
The teacher can print out and share with students the 10 Fire Safety A condition that makes one feel that one is not in danger or that a risk can be prevented or reduced Tips (see attachment “Fire Safety Heroes - 10 Fire Safety Tips” below) to go over the entire activity together highlighting what was done correctly and what they should have avoided during each step.
The reflection should emphasize the importance of being fire safety heroes in real-life situations. At the end of the discussion, children can take their copy home to always remember how to stay safe during fires.