National Fire Prevention Week is October 5-11 this year, commemorating the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 that killed over 300 people and left over 100,000 homeless. Yikes. Now we know better and do better to prevent these kid of large-scale disasters when we can but there’s always room for improvement and education, and of course some disasters are completely out of our control. I, myself, got a hands-on education in fire safety recently while visiting the Van Nuys Tanker Base in Los Angeles thanks to Fire Chief Steve Martin and several of his colleagues. Van Nuys Tanker Base is the site that the filmmakers of PLANES: FIRE AND RESCUE visited to conduct their research (I’ll share more on that in an upcoming post) on the planes they modeled the movie characters after. With the upcoming release of PLANES: FIRE AND RESCUE on DVD on November 4, it was a great time for me to get a lesson in keeping my family safe in case of an emergency.
Before You Jump In to Help
Being aware of your surroundings is SO important in the case of an emergency. You can’t help other people if you put yourself in danger. So be smart, be aware, stay safe. In this brief video below, one of the head fire fighters at Van Nuys explains what A, B, and C mean when you see them on a fire extinguisher and gives a chilling example of why you need to be aware of dangers that might put you at risk when you’re trying to help.
Using a Fire Extinguisher
Never used a fire extinguisher before? Me neither. Until this trip! I actually did a pretty good job, but was thankful for these instructions before I got started. Take a look. You’ll be glad to know what you’re supposed to do should you ever need to put out a fire in your own home.
After I learned the proper way to use a fire extinguisher I had the chance to buddy up with a friend and put out a fire myself!
I got that fire out lickety split, thank you very much. One tip I’ll give you that I remember our instructor saying: Never turn your back on a fire. It can flare back up even when you think it’s out. Great advice!
Creating Your Family’s Emergency Preparedness Plan
This is actually not as hard as it sounds, but there might be some things you don’t think to do. And the moment when you’re frantic in an emergency is not when you want to be trying to remember these things. Do them now, be ready and keep your family safe. I was given a copy of this Emergency Survival Guide which you can print out and keep for yourself. Check out this video below to get the process started toward making your family’s disaster plan. There were a few things here I didn’t really think about a whole lot so I have some work to do, too!
Resources For More Info:
There are a lot of resources available online to help you create your emergency preparedness plan and stay safe in the event of a disaster. Be sure to check with your local fire companies for local resources, too. This list is a great place to start.
- Printable Emergency Survival Guide
- County of Los Angeles Fire Department Fire Safety Tips
- National Fire Prevention Association
- Building a Disaster Kit (Ready.gov)
- Creating an Emergency Communication Plan
- Some additional tips on fighting cabin fever and printables
One of the things I love about PLANES: FIRE AND RESCUE is that it’s not only entertaining and just an awesome, funny, feel-good movie for the whole family, but it’s also educational and a truly wonderful tribute to firefighters everywhere. It was awesome to visit the Van Nuys Tanker Base and get to meet some of the people that helped to bring this movie to life, and learn from experts how I can prepare for an emergency and how to react if the time comes when I need to put out a fire. Really excellent information for everyone. I hope you’ll take some of these resources and use them to keep your family safer, too!
Click on the image above to find some free printables for the kids to teach them about fire safety, too!
Disney PLANES: FIRE AND RESCUE will be out on Blu-Ray November 4 Stay tuned for me behind-the-scenes info including more pictures from Van Nuys of the aircrafts that inspired Dipper and Windlifter and interviews with the filmmakers!
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