Since it is fire prevention week, you might want to take the time to review the fire emergency plans that your child’s school and/or daycare has in place. This would most likely be similar to what would happen in the case of an emergency or a school lockdown. Here are five things that you should learn about:
1) You should learn the procedure for the children to evacuate the building. You can call the school and ask about how this takes place. In many schools, the teachers will take attendance after the students have left the building to make sure that each child is safe. If there are children missing, the principal is notified, and adults will look for them.
2) You should learn how the children will practice a fire drill. It is important that your children have regular fire drills. In many states it is the law for daycare providers to have fire drills as well. You may want to know how these take place so you can discuss any concerns that your children may have.
3) School fires do happen. While I was in kindergarten, my school building caught fire and burned in the library. Fortunately it was on the weekend. When I was in high school, my little brothers’ and sisters’ elementary school burned down. It was on the weekend as well, which was fortunate, because firefighters said that the fire spread so quickly that many children would not have made it out safely.
4) You should review the procedures with your children, when you talk to them about fire safety. It is important to approach the matter in a matter of fact, informative way. You do not want to scare your children, but simply prepare them for what may happen.
5) You should learn how the school plans on contacting you in the event of a fire. You may want to volunteer to be one of the people who makes phone calls to other parents. This can help the school out, plus it will make sure that you are informed early on.