Teaching Kids and Teens Fire Safety- Before College

I know this is off topic, but it's important.

An off campus fire at RIT took the lives of two students a day ago, following the recent fire at the beach house which took even more students' lives. Officials think the cause of the fire at RIT was lit candles or carelessness in cooking - in other words, possibly preventable with some fire safety knowledge.

One of my nephews attends RIT. I know before he left for college as a freshman, he was taught certain things: how to handle money, how to do laundry, how to study and drug and alcohol awareness. Some of these skills were taught by his parents and since he's a pretty sharp young guy, he'll take it from there. I have confidence in him. But I bet the next time he talks to his parents he'll be getting a talk about fire safety.

Fire safety is an important skill to learn. Once teens go off to college, you're not there to extinguish those candles left on or put out the bbq properly - etc. etc. Scouting groups help teach these skills, as do trips to a fire house - you can get creative in your approach in teaching awareness - but assuming kids know the dangers of carelessness around fire just isn't a good idea.

It's also important, particularly with off campus housing, to make sure your kids have a fire extinguisher in their apartment - and know how to use it. Some cities require this - but I wouldn't assume that one is there. Buy one, show your kid how to use it and leave it in the kitchen area. Fire extinguishers can work for small fires, but teens also need to know when to evacuate. Check to make sure the apartment has smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors - and that they're working. Put a few batteries in your pocket if you're visiting and change them to make sure the alarms are in working condition. Involve the college student in this - point out what maintenance needs to be done as you initially do it and monitor that it's being done.

If you click the heading, you'll be taken to a site prepared for college kids - fire safety 101. If you have kids or teens, check it out. If you're a teacher or administrator in high school or middle school, think about whether an assembly and some handouts on this would be a good idea. If your kids are already in college, email them the link.

College is meant to be a place where kids can further their education - not where kids go and don't return.

Wheelie Unsafe?

Since we deal with all things on wheels here, I just wanted to mention that I saw this article about shoes on wheels - the kind that kids whiz around on. It's seen in the picture to the left where teenage girls are rolling along, leaning back on a wheel that comes out of the rear of the shoe and called heeling. Apparently the number of ER injuries are up around the world from children who hurt themselves wearing these shoes/skates - many of whom don't wear protective gear.

Parents are being warned to have children wear helmets, knee and elbow guards, etc. just as they would with any skate to avoid serious injuries- and not be lulled into thinking that this is just another shoe since it's bought in a department store.