Fire, with children who aren't yours

1Watch

The alarm

It stops there. What she does in the next thirty seconds is this lesson.

2The idea

Get them out, count them, never go back

A house fills with smoke in a couple of minutes, and it is the smoke, not the flames, that hurts people. There is no time for anything except the children and the door. Out. Count. Call from outside. Never go back in: not for a pet, a phone, a toy, or a child you think might still be inside. You tell the fire crew, and they go.

With children who are not yours: they will be frightened, half asleep, and they hide, under beds and in wardrobes. That is why you plan the route while the parents are still in the house, and why you know exactly how many children are in it. The count is the count.

3The idea

The plan at handover. The exit when it happens

At handover: which door out, the second way out, where the keys are, because a locked door with no key is a wall. Where you meet outside: the front gate, the neighbour’s. Which room each child sleeps in.
The exit:
1. Alarm: go. Do not go and check.
2. Youngest first. Baby in your arms, toddler by the hand. Older kids: name, fire, come to me, hold on.
3. Shut doors behind you.
4. Smoke: get low, under it. Closed door: back of your hand on it. Hot, do not open, other route.
5. Out. Count. 911 from outside, address from the card.
6. Nobody goes back.

If the way out is blocked: a room with a door. Shut it. Something along the gap at the bottom. Window open. Shout. Ring 911 and tell them which room you are in. Then do what they say. They will come to you.

4The idea

Sana, two kids, one exit

Sana’s handover: front door, key in the lock; back door key on a hook; meet at the front gate; Ivy, two, in the box room; Max, six, next door. Nine o’clock, the alarm. Sana is up. Ivy out of the cot and into her arms. Max’s door: Max, fire, come now, hold my jumper. The landing is hazy, so low, and down. Front door, out, gate. Two.

She rings 911: fire at 9 Elm Road, two children out with me, nobody else inside. Max wants his dog. The firefighters get dogs. We stay here. She never checked where the fire was. That was never her job. Then the parents, from outside, with a child in each hand.

5Your turn

Two children, one exit

Run it until you are out with two on the count in under a minute. Then run it again with the front door blocked.

6Decide

You are at the gate with both kids. Max says the dog is still inside. What do you do?

7Say it

Name, fire, come, hold

Name, fire, come, hold. Nothing else. They cannot follow a paragraph at nine o’clock at night.

8Find them

Which of these are decided at handover, before you would ever need them?

Tap the ones that count.

9Do it

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