Fatal house fires seem to be flooding the news headlines: “12 People, Including 8 Kids, Killed in Fire”; “Mother and 3 Children Identified After Fatal House Fire”; “11-Year-Old Boy Killed in Fatal House Fire.” In fact, as I was typing this article, I received an alert about the Chicago firefighter who lost his entire family in March 2023. These are tragedies that devastate families, depress communities and emotionally destroy firefighters. This trend seems to be growing despite improved standards and enhanced safety technology.
As firefighters, we are problem-solvers by nature. You never heard a firefighter say, “I give up.” If Plan A doesn’t work, we move to Plan B or Plan C until the issue is resolved.
Think about it: When there’s an issue that a typical person doesn’t know how to address, that individual calls the fire department. Whether it’s something that we can fix or not, we find an acceptable solution. Many times, we go way beyond our scope to provide help to others.
Looking at all of these fires that had fatalities, our problem-solving capabilities can’t change. Obviously, we would like to change building codes, ordinances and structural materials, but these aren’t exactly feasible. I am not saying that they’re impossible, but it isn’t going to be a quick result. It would involve several governmental figures, significant funding and potential backlash from the community.
Lack of public education
One issue that I have found that we can change is the lack of fire prevention and safety education. When I was in elementary school, a fire prevention officer came a few times per year to provide fire safety tips. As budgets tightened and cuts had to be made, that person was one of the first ones to be removed. Unfortunately, the information that member provided to children never was continued.
While reading a fire department-related story to my daughter’s fourth-grade class, I quizzed the students on some basic fire safety tips. What I discovered was a complete lack of that knowledge. Simple things, such as “stop, drop and roll,” produced blank stares. I ended up spending 20 minutes going over basic fire safety information. My 10-minute visit turned into a 30-minute education session. Even the newly hired, young teacher said that she learned a lot.
It was at that point that I realized that there’s a large generational gap in fire prevention and safety. When I say gap, I am assuming parents received some type of fire safety education in school, and, no doubt, many areas have sufficient fire prevention programs, but the trend of lacking seems to be growing.
During a time when students finally returned to in-person learning, schools seem to be focused on trying to get education back to acceptable standards. This further lowers schools’ priority for fire safety. How can we expect families to escape or prevent a fire when they never were educated?
I took this a step further and quizzed my own children about fire safety. Again, I was met with blank stares and a series of wrong answers. I take pride in my position as a firefighter and the assistance that my department provides to the community. However, I ended up letting down my own family by not relaying the information that the department constantly preaches to others. As firefighters, we almost assume that this knowledge should come naturally to our children. However, just because our children are surrounded by the fire service doesn’t mean that they automatically absorb the information. We must practice and set the example before we can provide it to others.
Looking at other adults, fire safety information is viewed as “common sense” or not a priority. Many times, they might believe that they are immune to problems. They might believe that they are prepared, when they’re far from it. Adults can tend to believe that they would know exactly what to do if their house was on fire or just never consider it a possibility. Lack of preparation is the recipe for failure.
Possible solutions
Let’s face it, firefighters’ lives are busy already. How can we reverse the trend without too much effort?
As a department, select a group of firefighters who show interest and would be dedicated to fire prevention and safety. These individuals must be able to convey this education to children of different ages.
Have meetings with school administrators to show the need for fire safety education. Start by seeing whether your department can provide information in short 15–20-minute sessions to individual classrooms or entire grades. Take part in large school events to provide information and issue free smoke alarms (these often can be provided through several grant programs).
It might be possible to convince administrators to educate teaching staff and have these people incorporate fire safety into their curriculum.
High school seniors often are looking for project ideas, so offer the task of making a fire safety video for children or adults.
The ideas are endless, but the main goals are to show the need and to be able to relay this information.
Beyond demonstrations
Fire prevention and safety educators must teach the basics. These can include: stop, drop and roll; crawling through smoke; feeling doors; closing doors while sleeping; and having an escape plan that includes a meeting place.
Obviously, topics must be adjusted for the age of the audience.
Even if one topic is discussed at a session, it’s at least a starting point. Although demonstrations, such as dressing a firefighter or showing the apparatus, are interesting for students to watch, they don’t convey the necessary information to help to save their life.
Due diligence
If we are provided the time by the school, we must take advantage of the opportunity. I am not saying that all fire deaths are preventable through fire safety education. There are many contributing factors that work against us, including increased fire loads, lightweight construction, and faster- and hotter-burning materials. However, this only solidifies the increased need for adequate fire safety education to provide the best chance of survival.
Take the initiative and make sure that your department is doing due diligence before tragedy strikes your community.
