It may be Fire Prevention Week, but let's assume the worst has happened and there is a fire in the home. What then? Or, what if you aren't home, but your kids are. Would they know what to do?
Back in November of 2007, this scenario became reality at my house.
With my kids.
This nightmare scenario started while I was at work. Experiencing some pregnancy complications, the doctor sent my wife to the hospital, and I was leaving a worksite to meet her there. I wasn't sure what part of the hospital she'd be at, and I couldn't raise her on the cell phone, so I called home to see if my father-in-law (who was watching my oldest two girls) had heard.
While I was on the phone with him, I heard my oldest daughter (who was only five at the time) yell out, "Grandpa... FIRE!" All I heard was, "Jason, I've got to go." The line went dead, I was in a hospital parking lot not sure what was wrong with my wife, our unborn child, and now knowing that my house was on fire... with my daughters and Father-in-law inside.
Just a month earlier, my oldest daughter had learned about fires at school. Fireman Bob came in from the Troy Fire Department and taught them about basic fire safety and things like having a plan. When she got home, she forced us to develop a plan for what we would do if a fire ever broke out. Things like where to meet for a head count... we decided on the mail box by the street.
We rehearsed a few fire drills, at my daughter's insistence. But I never thought much about it.
Now, less than one month later, my daughter had discovered a fire, alerted an adult, then:
- picked up the phone and dialed 911
- handed the phone to her Grandpa
- grabbed coats for her little sister and herself
- walked her little sister to our mailbox (which was the designated meeting place)
- provided accurate information to our neighbors who were rushing to the scene to assist
All that from a five-year-old who heard the message of Fire Prevention Week and took it to heart.
As a side note, my girls went to school in Troy, and learned about fire safety from the Troy Fire Department... so thanks, Troy! But we lived in Sterling Heights at the time. The Sterling Heights Fire Department was great and saved my house from burning down. I can't thank them enough!
And I'm glad it was my Father-in-law, not a teenage babysitter, who was present that day. But something tells me that a little five-year-old girl would have known what to do no matter who was in charge.
Comments(7)