Fire Safety With Sparky the Fire Dog Videos

This is a post sponsored by the National Fire Protection Association and Sparky.org.

It’s Fire Prevention Week, October 9-15, 2016, so it’s a perfect time to make sure that your family discusses fire safety both at school and at home.  The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has a host of resources for parents and educators to make it easy to talk about fire prevention with kids of all ages. The latest video at SparkysSchoolhouse.org celebrates Firefighting’s weird history and fascinating future:

My 8-year-old son particularly enjoyed the firefighting historical fact about beards. Did you know that in the 1800s, firefighters dipped their then-fashionable long beards into water and then tucked them into their mouths to form a crude filters through which to breathe during fires? The animated video of an old-school firefighter with a wet beard cracked up my third grader, while my high-school freshman joked that given the current hipster trend toward long beards, this particular practice could be used again. Of course, nowadays firefighters have high-tech breathing equipment!

Watch the video:

In addition to the history video, the Digital Backpack at Sparky’s Schoolhouse features several videos, like songs by the kid favorite Steve, who reminds us to discuss our family fire plans and learn the four key steps to follow when you hear the sound of a smoke alarm. Recess Monkey and their pals brave Sparky’s flying smoke alarm to learn what it takes to stay fire safe, and there’s a clip specifically about the gear that firefighter’s use in the line of duty. But our favorite video is the following one that shows a conversation between best-selling “I Survived” author Lauren Tarshis about the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.

Our kids have all been big fans of the “I Survived” books, and Tarshis’ book about the Great Chicago Fire is an excellent, well-researched story that will teach kids about the milestone event. Tarshis’ conversation with the NFPA’s Casey Grant about the Great Chicago Fire is illuminating and debunks some of the myths about the Fire, setting the record straight about how it started and why it spread so quickly.

Lastly, the NFPA also shares grade-by-grade lessons that can be discussed at home. It can’t be said enough that it’s important for parents to discuss fire safety with their children, even very young preschoolers and kindergartners.

Keep up with the NFPA on social media:

@NFPA on Twitter

@Sparky_Fire_Dog on Twitter

@theNFPA on Facebook

@SparkyTheFireDog on Facebook

@NFPAdotorg & #SparkytheFireDog on Instagram

@NFPA on Pinterest

@NFPAdotorg on Google+

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