This winter, a house about a mile from us exploded because of a gas leak in the house. The house was completely flattened, but fortunately, no one was hurt. A few days after the incident, I drove by the house with the kids in the car, and I pointed it out to them. The mess was shocking! The roof literally sat in the back yard surrounded by nothing but rubble. The kids asked questions about gas leaks for days, and I reassured them that our house was unlikely to explode, but also explained the importance of leaving the house immediately if someone smelled gas.
On the way home from preschool today, out of the blue, Ben asked, "Can we drive by that house that blew up again?" I told him that they had already cleaned up the house and it was just an empty lawn now. He asked me again what had happened, and I told them all about the gas leak and how important it is to get out of the house immediately if you smell gas.
When we got home, I winced at the strong odor of gas that met my nose as soon as I opened the door. I quickly told the kids to get out of the house, and I peeked inside one more time to see if I was imagining the odor after our conversation in the car. No, I could definitely smell it! So, I
shut the back door and brought the kids to the far side of our back lawn, which also happens to be our emergency meeting place in case of a fire. Grabbing the kids' extra jackets from the car, I spread them on the ground so they could sit while we waited.
Pulling out my cell phone, I called Josh and then the gas company. Josh got here first, and the kids started screaming at him to get away from the house. Because Hannah had to leave for preschool in less than 30 minutes, he watched the kids while I walked to the gas station to get lunch for everyone. Grateful for the warmer weather, Josh and the kids enjoyed their picnic lunch in the lawn while we waited for the gas company.
"What happens if there is gas in the house?" Hannah asked anxiously.
Ben cheerfully replied, "Then the house would BLOW UP and the wood and bricks would go ALL over!"
Hannah burst into tears. "I don't want my Magic Tree House books to burn up!" she wailed.
A man from the gas company arrived shortly, and his meter didn't detect any sort of gas leak. However, when he checked our furnace, the ignition coil never came on. He acknowledged that I may have smelled the puff of gas put off by the furnace while it was trying unsuccessfully to turn on. Before he left, he let a tiny bit of gas out of a valve so we could know definitively what it smells like, and the odor was unmistakable.
So, we are thankful that we did not have a gas leak, and we are all safe. The heater only needs a small $35 part that Josh can install himself, so the repair will not cost us too much, and the weather has been beautiful so we are not missing the heat while it is off until Josh can fix it later tonight. Additionally,the kids got a little lesson in what to do in case of an emergency, and Hannah was particularly excited because she would have a fun story to tell her class this afternoon...
Showing posts with label fire safety. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fire safety. Show all posts
Monday, March 16, 2009
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Field Trips
Today began with a field trip to our local fire station. The firemen were wonderful! The kids got to see a fireman in full gear,
meet Smokey the Bear, hear the sirens, and watch a video on fire safety. Hannah impressed me with how much she remembered from our fire safety lesson a couple months ago. I think she impressed the firemen too. She announced to them at the end that she wants to be a fireman when she grows up! Even Becca had a blast. She screamed excitedly when one of the fire engines drove up to the station while we were there. "Ruck! Ruck! Ruck!" she squealed over and over, pointing to the truck.
When we returned home, we ate a quick lunch, put Becca to bed, and dashed back outside to enjoy the beautiful spring day. After playing "Sharks and Minnows" with the soccer balls for a while, the kids began exploring the yard. We have an abundant crop of dandelions this year, which delights the kids. They cannot resist the cheery yellow blooms for long and usually come inside with yellow noses after picking and sniffing handfuls of the "weeds."
We had some visitors to our yard today, allowing us to have another impromptu "field trip," right in our own back yard. The bees and butterflies busily moved from flower to flower enjoying the dandelions as much as the kids! First, we talked about the bright colors of the flowers and how they attract bees and butterflies. Then, we discussed how bees' and butterflies' mouths are shaped like straws and how they slurp nectar from the flowers just like the kids slurp their milk from their cups. But Hannah became most excited when we learned about pollen.
I showed her the pollen, which had rubbed off the flowers onto her hands and nose, and I told her that the pollen sticks to bees and butterflies too and ends up falling off into other flowers. I explained that when pollen from one flower goes into another flower, then that flower can make seeds or fruit. We cannot have apples or peaches or any other food that contains seeds if some person or animal does not pollinate the flowers.
Well, Hannah loved this idea! She spent the rest of the time we were outside pretending that her hand was a bee. She rubbed her fingers in flower after flower, spreading the pollen around the yard. A few short moments in a field of dandelions taught her more about bees and flowers than she could have learned from an extensive lesson indoors using worksheets and pictures. She even created her own manipulative! Of course, I probably should have taught her to pollinate something other than weeds... but in a few days, at least we'll have a fresh crop of dandelion seeds to explore!
meet Smokey the Bear, hear the sirens, and watch a video on fire safety. Hannah impressed me with how much she remembered from our fire safety lesson a couple months ago. I think she impressed the firemen too. She announced to them at the end that she wants to be a fireman when she grows up! Even Becca had a blast. She screamed excitedly when one of the fire engines drove up to the station while we were there. "Ruck! Ruck! Ruck!" she squealed over and over, pointing to the truck.When we returned home, we ate a quick lunch, put Becca to bed, and dashed back outside to enjoy the beautiful spring day. After playing "Sharks and Minnows" with the soccer balls for a while, the kids began exploring the yard. We have an abundant crop of dandelions this year, which delights the kids. They cannot resist the cheery yellow blooms for long and usually come inside with yellow noses after picking and sniffing handfuls of the "weeds."
We had some visitors to our yard today, allowing us to have another impromptu "field trip," right in our own back yard. The bees and butterflies busily moved from flower to flower enjoying the dandelions as much as the kids! First, we talked about the bright colors of the flowers and how they attract bees and butterflies. Then, we discussed how bees' and butterflies' mouths are shaped like straws and how they slurp nectar from the flowers just like the kids slurp their milk from their cups. But Hannah became most excited when we learned about pollen.
I showed her the pollen, which had rubbed off the flowers onto her hands and nose, and I told her that the pollen sticks to bees and butterflies too and ends up falling off into other flowers. I explained that when pollen from one flower goes into another flower, then that flower can make seeds or fruit. We cannot have apples or peaches or any other food that contains seeds if some person or animal does not pollinate the flowers.
Well, Hannah loved this idea! She spent the rest of the time we were outside pretending that her hand was a bee. She rubbed her fingers in flower after flower, spreading the pollen around the yard. A few short moments in a field of dandelions taught her more about bees and flowers than she could have learned from an extensive lesson indoors using worksheets and pictures. She even created her own manipulative! Of course, I probably should have taught her to pollinate something other than weeds... but in a few days, at least we'll have a fresh crop of dandelion seeds to explore!
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Emergency!
What should you do in an emergency? How do you call for help? And, what is an emergency anyway? Those are the questions we answered on Friday, partly in preparation for a field trip to the fire station later this month.
We started out by figuring out how to identify an emergency and learning when NOT to call 911. Then, we learned the numbers 911, and Hannah practiced writing the numbers on paper.
While she wrote, I gathered together two toy phones, our cordless phone, and our cell phone, and we used them to practice dialing the correct way on different phones. (Don't worry - we didn't call for real!) I showed them how to wait for the dial tone on a land line and how to dial first and then push the send button on a cell phone.
Then, we rehearsed what to say when the dispatcher answered the phone. They practiced speaking loudly and clearly, answering questions, giving their address, and staying on the phone until the operator tells them to hang up.
Hannah spent half of yesterday running around the living room pressing the numbers "9-1-1" again and again on the toy phone! Thankfully, she also understands that she can't do that on the real phone unless there is an actual emergency.
As a side note, if you are looking for an easy way to teach your kids their address, this worked very well for us. Obviously, I won't share our real address online, but this is what we did (sung to the tune of Jingle Bells):
"House number, and our street, city, and our state. That is what my address is. It's what I need to know!"
After discussing 911, we talked about what to do in a fire. I found a ton of great fire safety tips online, and the kids colored various pages about firemen, smoke detectors, and how to get out and stay out of the house during a fire. Now, they know to check their doorknob for heat and how to crawl low to the ground if the house is smoky.
But, their favorite safety lesson, by far, was learning to stop, drop, and roll. They practiced again and again, especially when I played "Stop, Drop, and Roll" - a song on a Veggie Tales CD that uses a bit of humor to teach kids what to do if their clothes catch fire. They rolled around the house for about 10 minutes straight!
I know this can be a bit of a heavy topic, but I think the kids had a lot of fun. And, I feel better knowing that they at least have a basic idea of what to do in a real emergency, though I hope they never have to put their skills into practice.
We started out by figuring out how to identify an emergency and learning when NOT to call 911. Then, we learned the numbers 911, and Hannah practiced writing the numbers on paper.
While she wrote, I gathered together two toy phones, our cordless phone, and our cell phone, and we used them to practice dialing the correct way on different phones. (Don't worry - we didn't call for real!) I showed them how to wait for the dial tone on a land line and how to dial first and then push the send button on a cell phone.Then, we rehearsed what to say when the dispatcher answered the phone. They practiced speaking loudly and clearly, answering questions, giving their address, and staying on the phone until the operator tells them to hang up.
Hannah spent half of yesterday running around the living room pressing the numbers "9-1-1" again and again on the toy phone! Thankfully, she also understands that she can't do that on the real phone unless there is an actual emergency.
As a side note, if you are looking for an easy way to teach your kids their address, this worked very well for us. Obviously, I won't share our real address online, but this is what we did (sung to the tune of Jingle Bells):
"House number, and our street, city, and our state. That is what my address is. It's what I need to know!"
After discussing 911, we talked about what to do in a fire. I found a ton of great fire safety tips online, and the kids colored various pages about firemen, smoke detectors, and how to get out and stay out of the house during a fire. Now, they know to check their doorknob for heat and how to crawl low to the ground if the house is smoky.But, their favorite safety lesson, by far, was learning to stop, drop, and roll. They practiced again and again, especially when I played "Stop, Drop, and Roll" - a song on a Veggie Tales CD that uses a bit of humor to teach kids what to do if their clothes catch fire. They rolled around the house for about 10 minutes straight!
I know this can be a bit of a heavy topic, but I think the kids had a lot of fun. And, I feel better knowing that they at least have a basic idea of what to do in a real emergency, though I hope they never have to put their skills into practice.
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