Children who start a fire will often hide in a cupboard or under a bed because they know that they are in trouble. Teach them that you love them even when they are naughty or foolish; that if they do something bad, to hide is the worst thing that they can do.
Tips from the NGO ‘Children of Fire’:
• Don’t leave candles near a curtain or anything inflammable
• Don’t leave a “night light” or short fat candles on the edge of a bath – it could burn through the plastic
• Don’t leave candles (and matches) unattended or with children
• Turn off your stove and any other heating device
• Use torches
• Buy a fire extinguisher and get it serviced annually
• Buy a smoke alarm
• Have a fire drill and:
• Teach your family an escape route
• Identify the weakest family members (little ones and grandparents usually) and talk about how they would get out if there is a fire
• Agree where the keys are and make sure even young children learn how to use them, especially if you have burglar bars
• Teach the children to crawl low under smoke (the air is cleanest close to the ground)
• Teach children to get out, even if the grownups keep sleeping (maybe already overcome by smoke).
• 80 per cent of electrical compliance certificates (in South Africa) are false
• Contact the Electrical Contractors Association of South Africa and ask for advice on electrical safety
• If you have recently bought a house, the Department of Labour (applying the
• Occupational Health and Safety Act) can confirm if your Compliance Certificate is genuine or false.
• Keep little children out of the kitchen where there are boiling pots on the stove
• Make sure that handles are turned towards the wall
• Don’t drink hot tea with a small child on your lap in case you spill.
• Heater to dry clothes
• Stove as a heater.
