Stay Alive House

We went to the Stay Alive House out at the Fairgrounds yesterday. It was a lot of fun, and teachers discovered for the first time just how some of our children would probably hide from firemen who were trying to rescue them.

One of the things the fireguys do is dress up in full gear with the SCBA (Self Contained Breathing Aparatus) and show the children what a rescuer would look like if one should appear in their bedroom. For the first time in 25 years, I saw children really lose it and scream. That's a problem. We will do this again several times this year, because children should be familiar with a fireman completly suited for fire.

The children were able to shoot the fire hose, and learn about kitchen fires, and how to escape from the house. They were taught where to go after escaping as well. It was almost funny, because every time Scott asked the children, "Where do you go?" their answer was, "Out to the tree." Some families don't have a tree...

This is a good time for parents to establish a "go to zone" outside the house that every child will be able to get to. The big question is: if no one knows where to go to take household role in an emergency, then it's a given someone is going to go back into that burning building, and that's not a good thing. If mom goes outside to the front yard, and dad to the back yard, who is going to know who is safe? Pick a spot this weekend and do a fire drill at home.

Every house is different, and every parent has different expectations for children. In my house, getting to my room from their room could be dangerous, so we taught our children to open the window in a fire and climb out onto the porch covering the front door. Meeting place? Front road.

After the fire lesson, we went to the playground and had a picnic lunch. It was hot, but I think the kids had a good time.

Talk with your children about fire escape. I hope you enjoy the pictures!