It’s Fire Safety Month!

Fire Safety Week starts today, Oct. 6! And all of the month of October is Fire Safety Month! Teaching about fire safety is an important life skill for students and teaching about firefighters fits in with social studies, as firefighters do an important job in the community.

There are so many great activites that go along with fire safety! I’m going to share my favorites right here.

Field Trip/Visit

Of course, the best one is to set up a field trip to your local fire station! Usually this needs to be set up at the beginning of the school year, but you may still have time. I have worked with a few different fire stations in the past and in a couple different states. They have all been friendly and usually have a specific team that works with schools. The coolest field trip was one where the fire station was in walking distance and they let my preK students spray the hose (with help, course).

However if you are unable to do a field trip, you can have the firefighters come to you. We have done this whole school, and as a grade level. The students get to tour the fire truck, see the firefighters dressed up in their gear, and learn fire safety tips! It’s important for students to see that firefighters are real people behind their masks and that they are there to help.

Practice Stop, Drop, and Roll

My students loved practicing this! Be sure to point out when someone would need to do this and how to cover their face when rolling. We, also, practiced crawling under smoke with this skill. They can either pretend there is smoke or you and another person can hold a sheet low to the ground making it wave slowly to act as smoke.

Smoke Detector

You can do this separately or along with the previous activity. Have a working smoke detector available for the students to see and hear. Give them a heads up to cover their ears if they don’t like loud noises. Point out that they can remind their parents to check the batteries in their smoke detectors at home to make sure they are working.

Fire Safety Sort

Have a discussion with your class about fire hazards in and around their homes. Tell them what to do if they see one of these fire hazards. Include hazards such as finding a lighter, items on the stove, candles, too many cords in an outlet, etc.

After the discussion, have students either work in partners or individually to do a sort on hot/not hot to identify fire safety hazards. Here are is a hot/not hot sort free from Sparky Schoolhouse. And another from Teachers Pay Teachers.

Calling 911

Make sure your students know how to call 911 in an emergency. Discuss what is considered an emergency and what is not considered an emergency. Make it clear that we do not call 911 for fun or as a prank. Furthermore, discuss what information the 911 operator may ask them. This can be modeled and, then, role played using old-school landline phones or old cell phones with dead batteries. You don’t want a student accidentally calling 911 for real! In the past, I have had students make paper phones and we practiced on those.

Along with calling 911, discuss the importance of having an emergency plan. What would your student do if they smelled smoke or saw a fire in their home? Talk about checking the door knob to see if it is safe to open and how to safely get out of their home and to a meeting place. You could have students make a map of their home and draw a emergency plan or send one for family homework. Furthermore, discuss the importance of not bringing anything as they escape, including pets (as sad as that may be). You can, also, practice the emergency plan for if there is a fire at school.

Older students could, also, be instructed on fire extinguisher use. You would need to show a video or talk about the different types of fire extinguishers and when is a fire too big to safely use a fire extinguisher.

Here is a free printable cell phone craft from Create in the Chaos.

Fire Truck Snack

Your students can make a fire truck with graham crackers, red-dyed frosting, mini Oreos, and pretzel sticks! Check out step-by-step how to make it from The Printable Princess!

Books about Fire Fighters, Fire Trucks, and Fire Safety

Read aloud books and include them in your classroom libary for independent reading during the month of October. Here are some great ones to share with your class!

1. Fly Guy Presents: Firefighters by Tedd Arnold

2. I’m Brave! by Kate and Jim McMullan

3. No Dragons for Tea: Fire Safety for Kids (and Dragons) by Jean E. Pendziwol and Martine Gourbalt

4. Dial 911! (Fire Safety) by Charles Ghigna

5. I Want to be a Firefighter by Laura Driscoll

Fire Safety Songs

Include catchy tunes that will help your students remember fire safety tips!

1. Firefighters on Their Way by SteveSongs

2. Fire Safety Video for Kids by SteveSongs from NFPA Kids

3. Stop, Drop, and Roll by Victor Johnson

4. The Fire Truck Song by Danny Go!

Conclusion

I hope your students enjoy these fire safety month activities and learn A LOT! If you enjoyed this post, check out my post A Round-Up of FREE Fall-Themed Activities!