Turning on the flames to talk about fire safety

The SuperParents Holiday at Home Program™ looked at fire safety for children today.

Let's crack open the extinguishers!

In truth, it wasn't even my idea. My son took a look at the extinguishers around the house and suggested we set something alight so we could see an extinguisher in action during the holidays.

Fire safety of course is not just about setting stuff alight. It's about prevention and proper planning as much as it is about using the equipment in the prescribed manner. Having visible extinguishers around the house is only part of it. There are the fire alarms that need new batteries, having a fire safety plan in case a fire does happen, and the children need to be taught how to respect everything from stoves to matches, and power points.

Pyro-maniacs

Before we start, the children don hats, tie up hair, and wear proper clothing. We set up some packing material as flammable stuff in a wheel barrow, and practice what they need to do in case they really are on fire - fortunately just missing the dog poo on the lawn. Of course I reach for an 'industrial size' extinguisher and got the camera ready.

We should ask Perth-based company Urban Locavore for sponsorship. The packing material from their three boxes we had lying in our cellar lit up REAL NICE. :-)

The extinguisher is not meant to be a magic bullet. In truth the three of us had a few goes, and each time the fire looked like it was put out, and then it was flame on again. This confirms my thinking that the fire extinguisher doesn't really have enough to put out even a small fire - it is only good to get you through an exit.

It's as fun as it looks. And for $30, a fairly cheap session for the kids! Make that two kids plus an adult.

The idea when using the extinguisher is to dismount it from its wall bracket, pull the safety pin, point the nozzle at the fire, depress the handle and then fan the base of the fire with the powder. A good tip is to close your mouth whilst doing it - the powder flies everywhere and tastes like a mixture of chalk and sawdust. Lovely.

Like some B grade movie, the fire refuses to die.

The extinguisher helps to facilitate your exit. When the extinguisher is empty, you can use the equipment to break through windows or doors. Or leftover bathroom tiles.



And once you're done ... disregard your dad's better advice, break open that packet of marshmallows and toast them up.

The novelty of roasting a marshmallow over a wheelbarrow cannot be ignored.

What other holiday at home program ideas do you have that you'd like to see us try?

Links

• Women Self Defence

Colin
-- 
The Associate Woman | The WA 6000 Daily | The Anti-Bully Paper | SuperParents on FB 
To receive updates on all SuperParents events go to subscribe.SuperParents.com.au