The Start Safe: Fire program was designed to make it easy for fire service professionals to work with preschool teachers to share important fire and burn safety lessons with young children. You can use Start Safe: Fire in any childcare, preschool or other program serving children ages 3-6. We offer free videos and other materials that are tailored to preschool teachers and fire and life safety professionals and will help you learn how to implement and evaluate the Start Safe: Fire program.
The Start Safe: Fire videos, games and other materials for children relate to the theme “I Spot Something Hot!” and feature Rover the Home Safety Hound, Freddie Flashlight and adorable puppies Wiggle and Giggle. The characters reinforce key messages about fire safety in a fun and engaging way. These materials are easy to reproduce, and many are available in English and Spanish.
The most successful Start Safe: Fire programs involve teachers and firefighters working together to educate families. We know that fire service personnel will also want to reach out to parents and caregivers through home visits, or perhaps by hosting special fire safety classes.
We appreciate feedback on this program. Please let us know what you think.
VIDEOS
Videos for Educators
A Fire and Burn Safety Education Program for Preschoolers and Their Families. Educators can watch this video to quickly become familiar with the Start Safe: Fire program. (TRT 4:05)
Benefits of Start Safe: Fire. In this video, a teacher, a firefighter and others talk about the many benefits of Start Safe: Fire. (TRT 2:29)
Tools and Resources. This video provides a brief overview of the free resources the Start Safe: Fire program offers.. (TRT 2:51)
Tips for Teaching Young Children About Preventing Fires and Burns. Preschool students need to be taught differently than older students. Watch this video to learn important teaching tips from Nancy J. Trench, an expert in teaching fire safety. (TRT 11:10)
Program Evaluation. How do you know if preschoolers and their parents are learning and practicing fire and burn safety at home? This video explains how to use the Start Safe: Fire program evaluation tools to gauge the success of your program. (TRT 3:19)
- Parent Knowledge Survey
- Start Safe Evaluation 2013
- Start Safe Fire and Burn Prevention Home Behavior Change Survey
Video and Audio Recordings Educators Can Share With Kids
I Spot Something Hot! - In this fun, animated video, Rover the Home Safety Hound and Freddie Flashlight teach children to stay away from things at home that might cause fire and burns. (TRT 8:27)
Videos Educators Can Share With Parents
Overview for Parents and Caregivers - This video gives parents and caregivers a quick overview of Start Safe: Fire and our many free, family-friendly materials designed to help keep families safe from fires and burns at home. (TRT 2:47)
How to Prevent Fires and Burns at Home - It isn’t hard to prevent fires and burns at home. Watch this video for simple steps parents can take. (TRT 6:09)
Planning and Practicing Home Fire Drills - Kids have fire drills at school; it is important to practice at home, too.(TRT 3:25)
Cause for Alarm: Will Smoke Detectors Wake Your Kids? – This segment from NBC’s TODAY Show may surprise some parents, as it shows how kids can sleep right through the sound of a smoke alarm. You can plan for this and make sure it doesn’t happen in your home. (TRT 4:38)
Can You Stop Children From Playing With Fire? – Learn why we should always put matches and lighters out if reach and out of sight of children. Watch this segment from NBC’s TODAY Show and see what preschoolers do with matches and lighters when the teacher leaves the room. (TRT 4:50)
Resources for Educators to Learn How to Implement and Evaluate the Program
Teacher/Fire and Life Safety Educator Guide and Lesson Plans – In addition to offering fire and burn safety lessons for preschoolers, this 16-page guide suggests relevant topics to cover and tips for working with parents and caregivers.
Evaluation Tools – Start Safe: Fire has developed three evaluation tools that will help measure the effectiveness and reach of the program:
- Fire and Burn Prevention Parent Knowledge Survey – Measures what parents know about fire safety, after your outreach.
- Fire and Burn Prevention Home Behavior Change Survey – Assesses whether parents are taking steps to be safe from fires at home.
- Start Safe: Fire Evaluation – Helps Safe Kids Worldwide assess which aspects of the program are most useful to preschool teachers and firefighters.
Resources and Online Games Educators Can Share With Kids
I Spot Something Hot! Activity Sheets – Simply print and fold the two pages to make a booklet. Children can mark where they see things that are hot in a kitchen, bathroom or living room, just as they learned from the I Spot Something Hot! video.
Additional Activity Sheets – These fun tools will also help kids learn and remember important fire and burn safety lessons:
- Rover’s Home Escape Map – Point to two ways out of each room on this floor plan of a house.
- Code Red Rover, Grownup Come Over! – Tell a story about what to do if you see matches or lighters.
- Smoke Alarms Help Us – Practice what you learned about smoke alarms.
Posters – These colorful posters are great tools to use with young children:
- Firefighters are Helpers – Learn the word for each piece of the firefighter’s uniform.
- Home Escape Map – Point to two ways out of every room in the house.
Hot or Not Hot Flash cards – Print and cut out these color photos of common household items. Use them as flash cards for children to practice pointing to what’s hot and what’s not. Or play musical chairs, with children sitting on the “not hot” flash cards when the music stops.
Certificate for Students – Kids will love receiving this Start Safe: Fire Certificate after they have learned how to be safe from fires and burns at home.
I Spot Something Hot! Lyrics – Here are the lyrics to the I Spot Something Hot! song.
Online Games – Kids can play these on a computer
- Visit the Fire Station– Have fun with puzzles about fire fighters and fire stations.
- Hot or Not Hot– Guess whether items are “Hot” or “Not Hot.”
- Dress the Firefighter– Practice dressing a firefighter in his or her uniform.
Resources Educators Can Share With Parents
- Fire and Burn Safety Tips – Two pages of simple, useful tips can help parents and caregivers keep kids safe from fire and burn injuries. In English and Spanish.
- Safety Tips for Parents – More in-depth tips for parents focus on 12 different home safety topics. In English and Spanish.
- Fire Escape Plan – Parents can use this tool with their children to draw rooms in their home, note two exits from each room, and mark the location of each smoke alarm. There should be one outside each room where someone sleeps. In English and Spanish
- Certificate for Adults – Use this Start Safe: Fire Certificate of Appreciation to thank parents and other adults for learning about and practicing fire and burn safety.