Preschool Fire Safety Messaging

NFPA reviews fire safety messaging for preschool age children

NFPA's Public Education Division hosted a preschool fire safety messaging meeting November 8, 2012 at their headquarters in Quincy, MA. This effort focused attention on the high-risk population of children under the age of five and developmentally appropriate instructional methodology that can help reduce injuries and deaths in this age group. Children under age five are more likely to die in a home fire as the average person. Children under the age of five are almost eight times as likely to die in fires caused by playing with fire than are people of all ages.

The objective of the fire safety roundtable was to evaluate what new research must be done to ensure that we are teaching the correct fire safety behaviors using developmentally appropriate practices for children age three to five.

Participants in the roundtable came to agreement on messages that should be taught consistently in preschool fire safety presentations and those that, to be effective, require consideration of conditions, including instructional methods and developmental readiness. The group determined that “cool a burn”, although critically important, is not an appropriate behavior for teaching preschool children. It is a primary message that needs to be shared with parents and caregivers of young children. When asked if there were any other messages not appropriate for this audience, the group easily agreed that any type of instruction on fire extinguishers or escape ladders should only be directed to adult audiences.

Download the report. (PDF, 2.4 MB)