EDUCATING YOUR COMMUNITY
NFPA offers a wealth of information and resources to help local officials keep their communities safe from fire during the pandemic and beyond.
Smoke alarms
With everyone working and learning at home, and routines altered, it’s critical to protect your family from fire. Ensure your home has working smoke alarms on every level, outside all sleeping areas, and in all bedrooms.
Watch: While entering homes right now may be challenging for your smoke alarm installation program, there are still alternatives for reaching people with vital fire safety information and support for installing smoke alarms.
Cooking
Families are trying new recipes and having fun cooking together, but there are also more distractions with everyone at home. Never leave cooking unattended, and follow these safety tips.
Teach children that hot things can burn, and have a kid-free zone of 3 feet (1 meter) around appliances. Follow these safety tips to keep your family safe.
Microwaves are a great option for quick meals when everyone’s at home. Be sure to open heated food slowly and away from the face; hot steam can cause burns. Always supervise children when they use a microwave. Teach these safety tips to everyone in the household.
Watch: Cooking fires are the leading cause of home fires. Now more than ever, it’s important to stay safe in the kitchen and practice fire safety while preparing meals.
Electrical safety in the home
It’s a good time to review electrical safety at home; make sure electrical appliances are plugged directly into wall outlets rather than extension cords, and follow these safety tips to protect your family.
Lithium batteries
Laptops, tablets, phones, game systems ... we’re all relying on these devices while we work and learn at home. To be safe while being productive, be sure to plug electronic devices directly into wall outlets, and place them on hard surfaces rather than under a pillow or blanket, or on a couch.
Escape planning
With school out and new work-at-home schedules, sleep patterns may be different. Make sure everyone in your home knows your home fire escape plan. Practice the escape plan. Factor in options for family members who may fall asleep in front of the TV in a family room or basement.
Use NFPA’s home fire escape plan grid to draw a map of your home and plan two ways out of every room.
Smoking
More people at home may mean more people smoking at home. If you smoke, smoke outside and extinguish butts in deep ashtrays, water or sand. Never put butts directly into a trash can.
Emergency preparedness
Part of keeping your family safe at home is having an emergency kit. NFPA’s emergency planning checklist helps families prepare; being prepared helps children feel safe and secure.
Campers and camping
Fire departments and other first responders are taxed, and many communities have imposed burn bans. Check with your municipality before setting up a campfire, and follow these safety tips to prevent accidents.
To properly isolate from family members and keep everyone safe, some frontline workers are using campers or RVs as temporary homes. Be sure these homes have working smoke alarms, pay particular attention when cooking, and follow these safety tips.
Social media cards
Share these cards on social media to encourage home fire safety.
More videos
- I SPY Fire Safety
Teach children how to be fire-safe. This fun video gives easy tips for the whole family.
- Fire Safety Minute
Plan your fire escape in less than a minute! This fire safety video will give kids the tools they need to be safe in under a minute!
- Storytime Video: The Story of Sparky the Fire Dog®
Share the story of Sparky the Fire Dog® with your students in this classroom storytime. This read-aloud will help teach your students about fire safety.
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Every second counts in a home fire!
In a typical home fire, you may have as little as one to two minutes to escape safely from the time the smoke alarm sounds.
This video is intended to convey safety messages in a light hearted entertaining way. It is not intended for children. (Adults should play an important role in reinforcing safety messages for children.) This video highlights critical elements of home escape planning and practice that can ensure a safe escape, as well as missteps that waste precious time and jeopardize safety.
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Work in Fire safety
You can have a career where you help your community every single day. Work in fire safety! There are firefighters all over the world to keep us safe. But they can’t do it alone. There are many other jobs that help firefighters.
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Firefighting’s Weird History & Fascinating Future
Did you know that firefighters used to use their beards as air filtration devices? Or that they used to compete for the right to fight a fire? Get all of the details about these strange legends and help your 2nd-5th graders learn how to stay safe in case of a fire.
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