Fire Safety Basics

(You can help in preventing fires at your home by simply being careful. Make your home fire safe by being aware of potential fire hazards in your home. Think safe and be safe by finding fire hazards and getting rid of them. Remember a safe home is your hands.)

This following incident is true and is one of the many occurrences that happen through carelessness, thoughtlessness and just plain stupidity. It was on a Halloween night and all the children in our neighborhood were dressed in costumes going around in the traditional 'trick or treat' custom. When we answered the knock on our door my wife was ready with a plastic bowl of candy to pass to the children when suddenly out of the blue an older boy appeared from the shadows and threw a firecracker. BAM!! His laughter ended with the sound of girlish screams as the sparks of the cracker ignited the muslin costume of a little girl. Fortunately my wife was quick in her reaction; she dropped the bowl, took hold of her sweater and wrapped it around the girl and smothered the flames. The little girl was not badly burned but she could have been - she fully recuperated after a short stay at the hospital.

This accident would not of happened if the parents of that naughty boy would of told him of the dangers of firecrackers, and equally of the parents of the little girl not to use flammable material for a Halloween costume or a dress of any sort. Many homes are destroyed by fire by just such careless behavior because most people don't understand fire. Only when we know the true nature of fire can we prepare ourselves and our families.

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