Live Smart: Health and Safety Activities for Youth Clubs

Bulletin 907

Hunting Fire Hazards

YOU WILL TEACH CLUB MEMBERS

That most deadly fires occur at home.
How to recognize fire hazards in the home.

WHAT DO YOU NEED?

Markers, posterboard, copies of the "Where Do Fires Start?" handout and "Home Fire Safety Checklist" for each member

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Ask club members: Have you ever seen or been involved in a house fire?

Hold up the "Where Do Fires Start?" handout. (You may want to redraw the house on a piece of posterboard so that it is easier to see, or you can make copies for everyone.)

Ask club members: Can you guess which room is the starting point for most house fires? Give members the choices of bedroom, kitchen, basement, garage, or living room. From these choices, ask them to vote where they believe most fires start.

With a marker, fill in the blanks on the posterboard by writing the actual percentages for each area of the house. Compare them with the group vote.

30%	of all house fires start in the kitchen
17%	start in the living room or den
13%	start in the bedroom
2%	start in the bathroom
3%	start in the garage
5%	start in the basement
4%	start outside the home
28.7%	have undetermined causes or were not reported

Ask club members: What time of the day do most fires start?
Answer: Since most fires start in the kitchen, supper time (between 5 and 7 p.m.) is the most likely time that a fire will break out.

Ask club members: When do most people die in house fires?
Answer: People die in house fires at night (between midnight and 6 a.m.) while they are sleeping.

Ask club members: How often do house fires start?
Answer: In Ohio, fire starts in a home every 30 minutes. This means that for each hour we spend at this meeting, two homes somewhere in Ohio will catch fire.

WHAT SHOULD YOU KNOW?

Tell club members: Unfortunately, fires occur where families live, work, and play. Yet, 95% of all fires can be prevented. The other 5% are caused by acts of nature, like lightning and earthquakes. Fire prevention and safety are not complicated. It only requires that we change some living habits.

Ask club members: If Mother Nature causes only 5% of all fires, who can be blamed for the other 95%?
Answer: Ninety-five percent of the fires are "people fires." Firemen like to say that there are three major causes of fires: men, women, and children. Fortunately, "people fires" can be prevented.

Tell club members: The two age groups most often killed by fire are the very young and the elderly. Most children do not know what to do and are likely to panic in a fire. They may hide in a closet or behind a bed instead of escaping. Teaching people ways to prevent fires and what to do if a fire starts can save lives!

Ask club members: How can we prevent fires?
Answer: There are three main ways we can prevent house fires.

1. Identify fire hazards -- find things around home that can cause fires.
2. Make a family escape plan - include an early warning device like a smoke alarm, an escape route out of the burning house, and a designated meeting place outside the home.
3. Have a fire extinguisher - it should be fully charged and easily found; you should know how to use it.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

Pass out "Home Fire Safety Checklists" to members.

Tell club members: Let's find out how safe our homes are from fire hazards. Take the Home Fire Safety Checklist around your home and identify any potential hazards. Bring the completed checklist to the next meeting. At the next meeting, you can see who is living in a fire safe house.

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