ANN ARBOR, MI - Dundee Elementary School students will receive fire prevention and home safety education on Friday, Oct. 8, at 10 a.m., as part of the U-M Trauma Burn Center's Community Education Outreach Programs. Every 23 minutes, someone is injured by fire. Working with the Dundee Volunteer Fire Department, staff from the Trauma Burn Center will present to over 600 children ways to keep themselves and their families safe.

Pamela Pucci, RN, Trauma Burn Center 's Nurse Educator states, “Education is a critical component of prevention. It is important to teach parents and children about the danger fire presents and the life long consequences of a burn injury.”

Kindergarten classes will be given a tour of the fire station while grades 1 – 4 will have an educational assembly at the school. The Trauma Burn Center will provide fire prevention home safety information while the Dundee Volunteer Firefighters will focus on how to handle a fire emergency.

“Programs such as these are essential in educating children to help keep them safe,” states Fire Chief Daniel Motylinski. “The Dundee Fire Department is fortunate to have community support, as well as the opportunity to work with the Trauma Burn Team in educating our children.”

Every child will receive fire prevention packets consisting of a variety of safety items through the generous donations from the Trauma Burn Center, Firefighters Charitable Foundation, Monroe County Community Foundation, Dundee Kiwanis Club, State Farm Insurance, Lowe's, Walmart and Home Depot.

There will also be an added focus on Halloween safety with safety tips, reflector bags and pins for each child.

Halloween Safety Tips

• Purchase only costumes, wigs and props labeled flame-resistant or flame retardant. When creating a costume, choose material that won't easily ignite if it comes in contact with heat or flame.
• Avoid billowing or long trailing features.
• Dried flowers, cornstalks and crepe paper are highly flammable. Keep away from heat sources, including light bulbs, heaters, etc.
• Use extreme caution when decorating with candles, and supervise children at all times when candles are lit.
• Jack-O-Lanterns, use long, fireplace-style matches and be sure to place lit pumpkins well away from all combustible items. Pumpkins can also be illuminated with small, inexpensive flashlights.
• Remember to keep exits clear of decorations, ensuring nothing blocks escape routes.
• Use flashlights as alternatives to candles or torch lights when decorating walkways and yards. They are much safer for trick-or-treaters, whose costumes may brush against the lighting.
• Instruct children to stay away from open flames or other heat sources. Be sure children know how to stop, drop and roll in the event their clothing catches fire. (Stop immediately, drop to the ground, covering your face with your hands, and roll over and over to extinguish flames.)
• Instruct children who are attending parties at others' homes to locate the exits and plan how they would get out in an emergency.
• Provide children with lightweight flashlights to carry for lighting or as part of their costume.

"Reproduced from NFPA's Fire Prevention Week Web site, ©2004 NFPA."

Contact: Krista Hopson

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