KTK 2B Safe Fire Safety Education

Background/Purpose: According to the U.S. Fire Administration, in 2002 an estimated 2,500 children ages 14 and under were killed in residential fires, making fires and burns the third leading cause of unintentional fatal injuries. Poverty is the primary catalyst of injury. Economically depressed children are five times more likely to die in a fire due to factors such as a lack of working smoke alarms, substandard housing, use of alternative heating sources, lack of education, and inadequate adult supervision. The KTK 2B Safe (Kids Teaching Kids to be Safe) “Fire Safety” program was started in Highland Park to help protect one of our most impoverished communities from fire/burn injury/fatality.

Methods: The program recruited ten Digital Arts and Science Academy (DASA) students to teach fire/burn education to five lower elementary classes. The DASA students created lesson plans based on evidence from NFPA and FEMA, then taught fire/burn safety to the elementary students. Pre and post tests were given to each student to measure learning.

Results/Outcome: The program was completed in the spring of 2008. Prior to the fire/burn education 64% of the elementary students tested did not know the proper fire safety technique for fire escape from the home, after the program 92% of students tested knew the proper safety technique to escape from a burning home.

Conclusions: Kids teaching kids proved to be a strong motivator for learning. Each group of students learned valuable lessons about fire/burn safety and had fun in the process.