Body & wellness activity
Fire Safety Plan: Get Out and Stay Out
Teaches the get-out-and-stay-out rule and the family meeting spot.
Materials and setup
- paper for escape map
- smoke-alarm test button
- optional: training fire extinguisher
- CO detector (upper elem)
Parent note
NFPA recommends home fire drills twice a year. Pick a date (e.g. daylight-savings changes) and stick to it. Kids who have physically walked their escape route beat kids who only talked about it.
How this changes by age
Pre-K (ages 3–4)
Teaches the get-out-and-stay-out rule and the family meeting spot.
Steps
- Talk about what a smoke alarm sounds like — play a clip so they recognize it (not during sleep).
- Rule #1: when the alarm goes off, GET OUT. Don't grab toys, don't hide, don't go back for anything.
- Rule #2: if there's smoke, get LOW — crawl under it.
- Pick a family meeting spot outside (mailbox, big tree, neighbor's porch). Walk to it.
- Practice a calm fire drill: pretend the alarm went off, everyone walks (no running) to the spot.
Learning objectives
- Recognize smoke-alarm sound
- Execute 'get out, stay out'
- Locate family meeting spot
Kindergarten (ages 5–6)
Adds two ways out of every room and the 'feel the door' rule.
Steps
- For each bedroom, identify TWO ways out: the door and a window.
- Before opening any door during a fire, FEEL it with the back of your hand. Hot = don't open, use other way.
- If you can't get out, close the door, go to the window, wave a light-colored cloth.
- Practice stop-drop-roll on carpet: if clothes catch fire, don't run. Stop. Drop. Cover your face. Roll until it's out.
- Draw a family escape map together, one arrow per room.
Learning objectives
- Identify two exits per room
- Use back-of-hand door check
- Execute stop-drop-roll
Early elementary (ages 6–8)
Home hazard walk + kitchen-fire specifics + smoke-alarm battery check.
Steps
- Walk the house together: candles near curtains? cords under rugs? space heater clearance? overloaded outlets? matches / lighters within kid reach? Take notes, fix what you find.
- Kitchen fires: grease fire → NEVER water. Slide a lid over the pan, turn off heat, step back. Oven fire → keep door shut, turn off oven.
- Smoke alarm on every level + inside every bedroom. Press test button together. Check battery dates. Replace whole unit every 10 years.
- Escape map v2 with both exits per room and the meeting spot. Post on fridge.
- Time a full drill — goal: everyone at meeting spot in under 2 minutes.
Learning objectives
- Identify home fire hazards
- Respond correctly to grease and oven fires
- Test smoke alarms
Upper elementary (ages 8–10)
Adds fire-extinguisher fundamentals (PASS), carbon monoxide, and high-rise / second-story procedures.
Steps
- Fire extinguisher PASS: Pull pin, Aim at base of fire, Squeeze handle, Sweep side to side. Only use if: fire is small, you have a clear exit behind you, the room isn't filling with smoke. Otherwise LEAVE.
- Carbon monoxide: invisible, odorless, deadly. CO detectors are required in most states near sleeping areas. Symptoms: headache, nausea, dizziness, confusion — multiple family members at once.
- Second story: practice opening the window and identifying the escape-ladder spot (consider buying a collapsible fire-escape ladder for upstairs bedrooms).
- High-rise: NEVER use the elevator. Stairs only. If stairwell is smoky, return to apartment, seal door with wet towels, call 911, signal from window.
- Run two drills: daytime and (with parent permission) a simulated nighttime. Debrief: what was confusing?
Learning objectives
- Use PASS technique
- Recognize CO poisoning
- Execute second-story and high-rise escape
Safety and evidence note
Read the full activity before beginning. An adult should supervise tools, heat, food, outdoor work, movement, and experiments as appropriate. Completion records that the activity was done; the child’s explanation, work sample, photo, or demonstration is stronger evidence of learning than a completion check alone.
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