How kids can prevent fires

CEBU, Philippines - It's March and it's Fire Prevention Month.

Kids must be involved in the campaign to prevent further fires. There were instances in the past wherein fires were caused by children who play with matches and flammable items.

Kids are therefore urged to ask adults like parents, guardians, teachers or elder siblings to guide them how fire can start from an unattended stove, from a plugged electrical cord, or from a lit candle.

Children are also called on to work with their parents in creating escape routes that they can take to get from their bedrooms out of the house in case of a fire. The escape route can be tested through a trial run, through adult supervision, to ensure the design would work. The route should be free from any obstruction, so toys and stuff should be taken back to their proper places after use and not left littered or scattered on the hallway or corridor or passageway.

Further, kids are encouraged to join actively fire drills in schools and take the safety drill to heart. The drill usually teaches children to "stay low to the ground, to feel the doorknob before opening a door, to never ever go back to the building for anything, and to roll on the ground if ever clothing catches on fire."

Feeling the doorknob for any sign of heat or warmth from flames is important because if the kid opens the door recklessly, such would create a flashback. This is very dangerous. This causes serious burn injury.

Most of all, kids must ask their parents to coordinate with the fire bureau for the proper putting up of window grills. Some households have permanent grilled windows in an effort to prevent breaking in of thieves. However, the intention becomes a bane whenever fire occurs. If the intention backfires, the grilled window can become a trap.

The fire bureau officials can teach parents how to secure grills with nuts and bolts to make these removable instead in the event of fire.