With Bonfire Night just around the corner and skies being filled with pretty bursts of colour, Fireman Sam is running a nationwide campaign to raise awareness of fire safety amongst children. Pontypandys hero is known for protecting the residents and teaching little ones the importance of fire safety and keeping calm in an emergency!
Real-life fireman for East Sussex Fire & Rescue and advisor to the children’s TV show Paul McIvenny comments – ‘My advice to parents would be to be extra vigilant while trick or treating at Halloween this year particularly with naked or open flames, opt to attend a well-organised fireworks display, or if you hold your own event ensure all your family and friends follows Sam’s Safety Tips”. Paul, who attends many accidents at this time of year, adds ‘I’ve seen severe burns as a result of handling fireworks incorrectly and also a lot of small accidents where children are lucky to have escaped with minor burns which could have been avoided, so I would strongly suggest parents take extra care as well as making their children aware of the potential dangers too”.
Fireman Sam’s Top Tips
Bonfire Do’s and Don’ts
• Site bonfire well away from houses, garages, sheds, fences, overhead cables, trees and always keep away from fireworks.
• Build the bonfire stack so that it is stable and never light with flammable liquids.
• Keep everyone away from the fire, especially children who must be supervised at all times, and pets are best kept indoors.
• In case of an emergency, keep buckets of water, the garden hose or a fire extinguisher ready.
• Pour water on the embers before leaving.
Firework Dos and Don’ts
• Keep fireworks in a closed metal box and take them out one at a time.
• Follow the manufacturer’s instructions on each firework. Read them by torchlight – NEVER a naked flame.
• Light fireworks at arm’s length using a safety firework lighter or fuse wick. NEVER go back to a lit firework.
• Always wear gloves when handling sparklers and hold at arm’s length. Once finished, put in a bucket of water.
• Never give sparklers to children under 5.
You can check out Fireman Sam’s Safety tips in his video.
Have a fun and safe Bonfire Night!
I love fireworks, but I have seen and heard of some terrible, yet preventable accidents. Information like this is always important to share. B is only 1.5, so I think we’ll watch from indoors this year!
Kat x
Yes, unfortunately there are some nasty accidents when guidelines aren’t followed, hope you have a lovely time watching the fireworks from in the warm 🙂 x
What a fantastic way of posting safety advice,
Absolutely fabulous way of getting children ‘interested’ and aware of fire safety
xx
Thank you! Hope you have a fun and safe Bonfire Night x
So important! I’m taking my son to his first fireworks evening this year. He has a learning disability but ‘hot’ was one of the first signs we taught him.
That’s fab! Hope he has a brilliant time 🙂
Those tips came at an apt time. We usually go to a Bonfire night celebration somewhere local to us and I’m glad though that they always light the bonfire in another field, and the spectators are usually on a different one. Better safe than sorry 😉
Too right Dean! Have a good one 🙂
Some very good advice. I must admit fireworks although beautiful to watch, do scare me a little as I have seen things go wrong previously x
Thanks Cathy! Yes me too, the consequences are awful x
Great tips Jayne 🙂 My children have never been interested in Bonfire night and fireworks. I am not sure why either, I think they like to stay inside when it is cold and dark outside.
Thanks Claire!
Can’t blame them for loving the warm indoors 😉
My children love fireman Sam and this is an excellent safety campaign and so important for this time of year! Fireworks terrify me for the safety aspect!!
Thanks Laura,
Yes, they are frightfully dangerous if in the wrong hands.
Hope you have a safe and fun Bonfire Night.
Looking forward to Bonfire Night. Great tips here.
Thanks Stella, have a fab time 🙂
This is a brilliant campaign and I love that it’s a character that will get the little one’s attention too. I LOVED Bonfire Night in the UK but at the same time it scared me a bit too, even as a kid. Your tips are so helpful x
Thanks Mim, yes I think it’s fab that little ones can relate to fire safety through a famous kids character such as Fireman Sam.
Have a lovely weekend x
what a fantastic safety message… exactly at the right time… with such a fun way of putting the message out there
Great tips! I know so many tragic incidents which happened during fireworks. But I still love looking at them.
I am not a fan of bonfire night myself. I think it is great that a much-loved character like Fireman sam is being used to help teach youngsters the dangers x
so many kids look up to fireman sam that I think it is great he is sharing these messages
My son is scared of bonfire night and fireworks so we stay well away. He does live the Fireman Sam video though so maybe it will help him understand that these things can be safe? Worth a try.
Good advice. I love Bonfire Noght but am also very wary of fireworks – they do scare me. My sister actually burnt her hand on a sparkler when little. She didn’t have one, but my mum was carrying Her and she managed to reach out and grab someone else’s. (Lucy/R is for Hoppit)
Safety is so important this time of year.. I do have a bonfire question though – it is safe to make a Guy still? I loved making ‘Guys’ when I was younger (mainly old clothes stuffed with newspaper and a paper plate face!) but don’t see people doing them these days. Any ideas?
For me, this message cannot be repeated enough, it is so easy to just forget for a couple of minutes how dangerous these things all are x
Hi Jayne, a worthy campaign indeed. Bonfire night is a fun night, but it’s all too easy for things to go wrong.
xx
Ti’s a great campaign to teach the younger generation
Bonfire night and I can hear sirens … stay safe