Friday Fails: Fire Safety

We went on a field trip today to the local fire house.

IMG_4784

First, we listened to the firemen explain the concepts of EDITH: “Exit Drills In The Home,” and “Stay Low In Smoke,” which in my mind turned into the acronym SLIM so that for the rest of the time I kept referring to the two main ideas together as “Slim Edith”. Then my friend, Kara, informed me that “Stay Low In Smoke” actually comes out to SLIS, and what what I going to do about that?

Ahem. That’s not even the fail I’m writing about right now (you get two for the price of one today).

No, my fail came during the group lecture portion. This young fireman (whom all the moms agreed appeared to be 12 years old and what was going on that they had to recruit men so young nowadays?), demonstrated what they put on every time they go. It was really cool, as the stuff made all the beeps and noises you might hear if a fireman actually has to come into your house to save you so the kids are prepared and don’t get scared when they see a fireman coming toward them.

IMG_4779

Okay, so my fail. The man on the left in the above picture was running our tour for us and showed the whole group that red canister you see on the table above. He asked all the kids what it was called, as well as to raise their hands if they didn’t have one in their homes.

Out of 50 kids in the room, how many kids’ hands were raised? No idea? I’ll tell you: 4. MY four. We do not have a fire extinguisher in our home. Major Fire Safety Fail. Guess who is now insisting that we get one? This junior fire ranger right here:

IMG_4809

Yep. And the rest of my junior fire rangers are insistent we develop our EDITH plan and practice stopping, dropping, and rolling. We are also to think about how we’re going to get out of the third story of our house through a window should that need ever present itself.

IMG_4813

Fortunately for us, our township within the county of St. Louis is only 1.5 square miles (I learned that today), and the firemen can be at our house in 2 minutes (add 30 seconds to that if they’ve been sleeping). Yay for that, but yes, I do plan to get a fire extinguisher really soon. And, I imagine some fire drills will be making their way into our weekend plans as well.

9 thoughts on “Friday Fails: Fire Safety”

  2. Rachel says:
    Reply

    Um…we need to buy one, too. Had one in our last house but it was left there, secure in its spot. Thanks for the reminder. Adding it to the list right now.

    Like

  5. Mom says:
    Reply

    Remember when you bought your first house in Colorado Springs? It was 2 stories and this fearful mom/Nana bought you a fire escape ladder that clamps on to the window sill, a fire extinguisher and a smoke alarm. Remember all the presentations that I and Mr McGruff the Safety Hound made to area schools? Do we need to go shopping while I am there? Please don’t have a fire drill while we are at your house. I can’t move fast, but I will be glad to call an unexpected one, and time you all to see how fast you can get out. This reminds me, I have a fire extinguisher, but do those things need to be “recharged or reloaded after non-use for several years? Just wondering.

    Like

  6. Megan says:
    Reply

    I do remember and I’m really sad we gave that ladder away when we moved to our second house in Colorado because I never thought we’d be moving again and we didn’t need it there.
    I think fire extinguishers do have an expiration date, so I’d check yours to make sure.

    Like

  7. Jenny says:
    Reply

    I’m new to your blog, but I’m also in the St. Louis area! We do have a fire extinguisher in the kitchen. I have been thinking about getting another one to store in the master bedroom. I figure if we are asleep and there’s a fire, I may have to use it to get to my daughter or to get us out of the house. Can you tell I have anxiety issues? LOL!

    Like

Leave a comment