U.S. Fire Administration
Acknowledgements

Preparation of this Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum was made possible 

thanks to the cooperation and hard work of numerous firefighters, public 

information officers, public education coordinators, and staff of local 

fire departments and state fire marshal’s offices throughout the United 

States who contributed countless hours to review, test, and critique this 

curriculum. The results of their feedback and dedication will help fire 

safety professionals nationwide develop fire safety education and prevention 

programs designed to reduce fire-related injury and mortality rates suffered 

throughout the country. 

Development of the curriculum was funded by the Centers for Disease 

Control and Prevention (CDC), National Center for Injury Prevention and 

Control (NCIPC) under Contract No. 200-2007-21025 to Information 

Ventures, Inc.
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum

INTRODUCTION i–1

What’s in This Curriculum? i–1

How to Use This Curriculum i–2

Before Your Fire Safety Trailer Event i–2

During Your Fire Safety Trailer Event i–3

After Your Fire Safety Trailer Event i–4

1 HOW TO GET FUNDING FOR A TRAILER 1–1

Fire Prevention And Safety (FP&S) Grant 1–1

Grant Writing Tips 1–2

Getting Organized To Write Your Grant Application 1–4

Preparing Your Fire Prevention and Safety Grant Application 1–5

Preparing The Budget 1–7

Submitting Your Fire Prevention and Safety Application 1–8

Other Sources Of Grant Funding 1–9

Beyond The Basics 1–10

Grant Planning Guide 1–10

More Information 1–13

Resources 1–14

2 MARKETING AND COLLABORATING WITH SITES 2–1

Marketing the Trailer in Your Community 2–1

Strategies for Collaboration 2–1

Promoting and Marketing the Fire Safety Trailer/House 2–2

3 GETTING READY FOR YOUR EVENT 3–1

Prepare the School for Your Event 3–1
Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Setting up a Fire Safety Trailer Tour 3–2

Learning Stations 3–2

Prepare to Teach the Lessons 3–6

Lesson Overview 3–6

Roles and Responsibilities During the Event 3–7

Preparing a Trailer Event for Audiences with Special Needs 3–7

Resources 3–8

4 TEACHING TOOLS 4–1

How To Use The Curriculum Teaching Tools 4–1

Grouping Students for Lesson 4–2

Trailer Set Up for Lessons 4–2

Personnel 4–3

Final Thoughts 4–3

Lesson: Pre-Kindergarten & Kindergarten 4–5

Learning Objective 4–5

Learning Areas 4–5

Key Fire Safety Messages for Use in the Trailer 4–6

Resources Needed for Lesson 4–7

Kitchen Script 4–8

Living Room Script 4–10

Bedroom Script 4–12

Additional Messages and Activities 4–13

Summary 4–14

Lesson: 1st & 2nd Grade 4–15

Learning Objective 4–15

Learning Areas 4–16

Key Fire Safety Messages for Use in the Trailer 4–16

Resources Needed for Lesson 4–17

Kitchen Script 4–18

Living Room Script 4–21

Bedroom Script 4–23
Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Additional Messages and Activities 4–24

Summary 4–27

Lesson: 3rd & 4th Grade 4–29

Learning Objective 4–29

Learning Areas 4–30

Key Fire Safety Messages for Use in the Trailer 4–30

Resources Needed for Lesson 4–31

Kitchen Script 4–32

Living Room Script 4–34

Bedroom Script 4–37

Additional Messages and Activities 4–40

Summary 4–43

Lesson: 5th & 6th Grade 4–45

Learning Objective 4–45

Learning Areas 4–45

Key Fire Safety Messages for Use in the Trailer 4–46

Resources Needed for Lesson 4–47

Kitchen Script 4–48

Living Room Script 4–50

Bedroom Script 4–53

Additional Messages and Activities 4–56

Summary 4–59

Lesson: Middle School 4–61

Learning Objective 4–61

Learning Areas 4–61

Key Fire Safety Messages for Use in the Trailer 4–62

Resources Needed for Lesson 4–63

Kitchen Script 4–64

Living Room Script 4–66

Bedroom Script 4–69

Additional Messages and Activities 4–72

Summary 4–75

Lesson: High School 4–77
Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum

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Learning Objective 4–77

Learning Areas 4–77

Key Fire Safety Messages for Use in the Trailer 4–78

Resources Needed for Lesson 4–79

Kitchen Script 4–80

Living Room Script 4–82

Bedroom Script 4–84

Additional Messages and Activities 4–84

Summary 4–89

Lesson: Adults 4–91

Learning Objective 4–91

Learning Areas 4–91

Key Fire Safety Messages for Use in the Trailer 4–92

Resources Needed for Lesson 4–93

Kitchen Script 4–94

Living Room Script 4–97

Bedroom Script 4–99

Additional Messages and Activities 4–100

Summary 4–103

Lesson: Older Adults 4–105

Learning Objective 4–105

Learning Areas 4–105

Key Fire Safety Messages for Use in the Trailer 4–106

Resources Needed for Lesson 4–107

Kitchen Script 4–108

Living Room Script 4–111

Bedroom Script 4–113

Additional Messages and Activities 4–114

Summary 4–118

5 REINFORCING MESSAGES 5–1

Tips to Reinforce Fire Safety Messages 5–1

Tips for Teachers 5–1
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Tips for Parents 5–2

Lesson Materials 5–3

Lesson Resources 5–3

Lesson Extenders 5–4

6 EVALUATE 6–1

Steps in Evaluations 6–1

Program Activities 6–2

Behavior Changes 6–2

Surveillance 6–2 

Beyond the Basics 6–3

CDC Evaluation Framework 6–3

Evaluation Steps 6–4

Reminders for Evaluation 6–15

More Information 6–15

Resources 6–16

7 RESOURCES 7–1

FINAL THOUGHTS
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INTRODUCTION

Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum i-1

Adding a fire safety trailer can take your education program to a whole new level 

by providing students with hands-on learning opportunities that build upon 

what they learn in the classroom. This curriculum offers you an “out-of-thebox” way to use a fire safety trailer to teach students of all ages about fire safety. 

What’s in This Curriculum?

The curriculum begins with a section that tells you how to raise the money to 

buy a fire safety trailer, if you don’t already have one. Next, you will find a brief 

section on how to work with community partners to get the word out about your 

fire safety education program and events where you will use the trailer. The next 

sections contain information that will help you get ready for your event, run 

your event, and then evaluate how successful it was. Specifically, the curriculum 

contains:

 Templates for scheduling trailer visits with schools and community 

groups. 

 A step-by-step guide for using the trailer at schools. 

 Lesson plans for age groups pre-K and K, 1st and 2nd grades, 3rd and 4th

grades, 5th and 6th grades, middle school, high school, adults, and older 

adults. Each lesson plan provides age-appropriate fire safety messages and 

a detailed script. 

 Materials to reinforce and extend fire safety messages.

 Tools to help you evaluate how well the program is working.

 Posters with identifiable hazards for use in the trailer and other smallgroup activities. 

 A resource section with Internet links to additional materials and 

programs.
i-2 Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum

INTRODUCTION

How to Use This Curriculum 

This curriculum provides you with tools and resources to help you use a fire 

safety trailer effectively in your community. It is broken out into three phases: 

Before Your Event, During Your Event, and After Your Event. Each phase and 

the associated sections illustrated in the graphic are outlined in the following 

overview. This overview is designed to give you a snapshot of the information 

contained in this curriculum.

In addition, the CDC’s Division of Unintentional Injury Prevention and the 

U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) have created a Fire Safety Program Toolkit to 

help people establish fire safety education programs in their communities. The 

Fire Safety Program Toolkit is a comprehensive guide to help you plan, fund, 

market, and execute a fire safety program from start to finish. 

Before Your Fire Safety Trailer Event

1. How to Get Funding for a Trailer

The first section of the curriculum guides you through the process of raising the 

money to pay for a fire safety trailer. It covers the basics of grant writing, the 

steps you need to take to apply for a grant, and provides samples and templates 

to assist you with the planning process. At the end of this section, you should be 

well on your way to getting a fire safety trailer for your department! 
Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum i-3

INTRODUCTION

2. Marketing and Collaborating with Sites

Once you have a fire safety trailer, the next step is to begin marketing your fire 

prevention program by working with local businesses, schools and community 

organizations. This section provides tips for getting the word out and additional 

resources that can be used to help recruit potential partners. It also refers you 

to the CDC and USFA’s Fire Safety Program Toolkit which has a detailed section on 

how to market your program.

3. Getting Ready for Your Event

After you have made connections within the community and you have started 

to schedule your fire safety trailer, you will need to prepare for your event. In 

this section, we cover the next steps for getting ready to use the fire safety trailer. 

Included are:

 templates to help you communicate with school event sites and 

 a step-by-step guide to help you set up the trailer and effectively deliver 

your presentation to your specific audience. 

The information in this section will assist you with preparing for your event to 

make sure you have everything you need to deliver a solid presentation. 

During Your Fire Safety Trailer Event

4. Teaching Tools for Your Trailer

Teaching tools are included for you to use with audiences of all ages. The 

section begins with an overview of the teaching tools, age-appropriate sample 

lessons and detailed scripts that have been developed to help you deliver a 

complete lesson. Following the overview, each grade-specific lesson is broken 

up into sections based on the fire safety message and location in the trailer. 

Specifically, the breakdown includes: 

 Lesson Objective

 Learning Areas

 Key Fire Safety Messages

 Lesson Length

 Script 

 Resources

5. Reinforcing Messages

This section includes support materials to help your students retain the lessons 

they have learned about fire safety. There are resources to accompany lessons 

found in Section 4, and additional materials that can be tailored to fit your 

needs. They include:
i-4 Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum

INTRODUCTION

 flashcards, 

 bookmarks,

 posters,

 worksheets, and

 classroom activities.

The materials are grouped into two sections: (1) reinforcing materials for lessons 

and (2) additional materials. Within each section, the materials are grouped into 

age ranges to make it easy to find and use them during your presentations.

After Your Fire Safety Trailer Event

6. Evaluate Your Program

After you host your trailer event, you will want to know how well the 

presentation was received by your audience. In this section, you will learn 

about developing evaluation tools to see if your program had an impact on your 

audience. Specifically, the evaluation section will cover:

 How to determine the effectiveness of your program.

 How to obtain feedback to improve future programs.

 How to collect data to justify future funding. 

This section of the curriculum will provide you with:

 a basic understanding of the different types of evaluation,

 tools to collect information on your program,

 instructions on how to analyze the information collected, and

 how to use audience feedback to improve future programs.

7. Additional Resources

This section includes a matrix of additional on-line resources for fire safety, 

program development, and sample materials. The matrix is an easy-to-read 

table that provides the name of the resource, a description, an Internet link to 

the information, and a list of the types of information that can be found on the 

website. 
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FOR A TRAILER

Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum 1-1

Now that you have made the decision to use a fire safety trailer for your 

prevention programs, you will need to secure funding if you do not have a 

budget for such purchases. This section of the curriculum will provide you with 

information and tools to help you prepare applications and apply for grants. 

These applications are typically submitted to federal agencies and other grantmaking organizations that provide financial assistance for the purchase of items 

relating to public education, such as fire safety trailers. Included in the following 

pages are:

 guidelines for preparing and submitting a Fire Prevention and Safety 

(FP&S) grant application,

 grant writing tips, 

 steps for completing a grant application, and

 sample checklists and templates.

Fire Prevention and Safety (FP&S) Grant

A major source of funding for fire safety programs is the Department of 

Homeland Security (DHS), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) 

Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) Program. FP&S grants are the AFG 

Program grants of most interest to fire safety educators. These grants support 

activities in two categories:

(1) activities designed to reach high-risk target groups and reduce deaths 

and injuries caused by fire and fire-related hazards (the “Fire Prevention and 

Safety Activity”); and

(2) research and development activities aimed at improving firefighter safety 

(the “Firefighter Safety Research and Development Activity”).

General categories of activities or projects funded by FP&S grants include:

 public education campaigns,

 arson prevention,

 prevention-related training,

 fire prevention activities, and

 risk assessments.
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Eligible projects in the public education campaign area include national and 

local programs that promote a decrease in injuries due to fire or other safety 

hazards.

Educational tools, such as model homes, safety trailers, or curriculum delivery 

tools are eligible for FP&S funding; these tools are required to be part of a 

comprehensive and detailed public safety education campaign. Grants under 

FP&S are awarded on a competitive basis.

Grant writing is a skill and it is often necessary to take the time to refine and 

resubmit a grant application several times before it gets funded. Comments from 

the people who review your grant application can be extremely useful for 

strengthening it for the next round of evaluation or for submission to a 

different granting agency.

Grant Writing Tips

Each funding source has its own procedures for submitting a grant application. 

Here are some general guidelines to help you to prepare an application to any 

potential funding source:

 Most grants have specific deadlines for submission. It is important to 

identify funding opportunities early enough to prepare a winning 

application and meet all submission deadlines.

 Grants have specific evaluation criteria and content requirements that 

must be addressed in an application.

z Prepare a checklist to ensure that you have met all the content 

requirements. 

z Evaluation criteria often represent minimum requirements your 

application must meet to be considered for an award. In your 

application, show that your need, plan, or qualifications exceed the 

minimum requirements and you may achieve a higher score. The 

higher your score, the greater your chances for an award.

 Pay attention to how reviewers will score different parts of the 

application, and give higher priority (proposal length, etc.) to areas that 

are more heavily weighted.

 Learn about the mission of the agency or foundation you are applying to 

and communicate how your program supports that mission in your 

grant application. 
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 Use clear and simple language. People who review grant applications 

usually have a large stack to go through, and they will favor applications 

that:

z capture their attention, 

z explain the approach clearly and completely, and 

z are brief and to the point.

 Grant applications usually include sections that describe key elements of 

the program you are requesting support for, such as the following:

zz Significance: A documented community need for the program;

zz Approach: How you will get your messages across and the techniques 

you will use;

zz Innovation: New concepts or approaches included in your program 

and how the program will be improved by the requested funding;

zz Qualifications: Experience and training of program staff members 

who will make sure that the program is well run and effective; and

zz Environment: Facilities and equipment that will be available to the 

program, where it will be held, and your partners in bringing it to the 

community.

 When writing your budget, justify and document all costs, keep the 

budget reasonable and within the range of a typical award from the 

granting agency.

z Be sure to request an amount 

that is sufficient to cover salaries 

and equipment needed to run the 

program you are proposing.

z Keep a detailed file of how you 

developed your costs so that you 

will be able to answer any budget questions the granting 

agency may have.

 Grant applications that include partners are often stronger.

z Include letters of support and participation from partners.

z Also include letters of commitment from any consultants and vendors 

you are including in your application.

 Grant applications that include measurable outcomes of success and 

demonstrate favorable evaluation of your existing programs are 

more likely to be funded.

Grant-making agencies and 

organizations need 

to show that grant 

money is well spent.
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Getting Organized to Write Your Grant Application

Obtaining funding from grant sources is a very competitive process. Take the 

time to thoughtfully plan your proposal so your application stands out from the 

other submissions. A successful grant proposal is concisely packaged and follows 

all the submission criteria to obtain the highest possible rating for funding.

In order to achieve a high score, your package needs to have solid evidence showing 

a need for the grant. Data and statistics can provide a strong argument for the 

program you wish to have funded. Additionally, they provide baseline statistics 

you can use later to demonstrate that the program has positively affected your 

community. Examples of information you can start collecting several months 

“ The first step in successful funding is developing a plan.”

—Fire Safety Educator

before application submission include:

 Demographic and Community Information

z a breakdown of community members by age, sex, race, ethnic 

background, and socioeconomic status;

z local economic information (unemployment rate, etc.);

z number of schools, community centers, retirement facilities, etc.;

z projected community growth; and

z number of people in your program’s target population.

 Fire Statistics

z number of fire calls;

z number of fire-related injuries and deaths;

z financial estimates of damage fire has caused to the community; and

z local statistics versus national statistics to show a need for the 

program.

 DUNS Number

z All Federal grant applicants must have a Dun & Bradstreet Data 

Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number.

z The DUNS number helps the Federal Government identify 

organizations that receive Federal funding and ensures consistent 
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Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum 1-5

name and address data for electronic grant applications. There is no 

charge to get a DUNS number.

z To apply for a DUNS number, call 1-866-705-5711 (U.S. and 

U.S Virgin Islands) or 1-800-234-3867 (Alaska and Puerto Rico), 

or visit the Dun & Bradstreet website at fedgov.dnb.com/webform/

displayHomePage.do

 Potential partners and their information as well as letters of endorsement 

and participation.

 How your project will be staffed—prepare resumes of key individuals for 

inclusion with your application.

Preparing Your Fire Prevention and Safety Grant Application

Application kits for AFG Fire Prevention and Safety (FP&S) grants are posted 

on the FEMA website at 

www.fema.gov/firegrants. You should visit this site often and monitor it for 

updated grant information and yearly guidance, release of grant application kits, 

and opening of grant application periods. Once the application kit is released, 

you should:

 Review the online tutorial available at www.fema.gov/firegrants.

 Read the FP&S Grant Guidance and Application Kit and note all 

application requirements and deadlines.

 Make a checklist of all items you need to include in your application 

and update the checklist as you complete items or identify additional 

materials to include.

 Develop an application timeline by working backwards from the 

submission date. Include dates and deadlines for completing each of the 

items on your checklist.

 Assign work and communicate clearly and often with those working on 

the application to stay on track and resolve any issues early in the process.

 Check your progress continuously to make sure that deadlines are met 

and application preparation is on schedule.

Applications for FP&S activity grants must include a written narrative describing 

your proposed project along with supporting budget information. For your 

application to be successful, your narrative must relate your project to the 

evaluation criteria listed in the application kit. Based on information from past 

years, the narrative for an FP&S activity grant generally needs to include the 

following elements:
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 Vulnerability/Risk Statement—A clear summary of the fire risk in your 

community that the project will address and details of the steps you took 

to determine the risk and identify the target audience.

 Implementation Plan—Defines project goals and objectives and provides 

details and specific steps that will be used to achieve the goals and 

objectives.

z Includes examples of marketing efforts to promote the project and 

information about how the program will be delivered to the target 

audience.

z Identifies any requests for resources (safety trailers, portable safety 

houses, puppets, robots, etc.).

z Discusses specific goals, measurable results, and details on how often 

the resources will be used.

z Indicates the various outreach efforts that will be conducted and/

or the number of people you expect to reach through the proposed 

project.

 Evaluation Plan—Provides details on how the project will be evaluated 

and what measurable goals will be used. For example, for awareness and 

education projects, you should identify how you intend to determine if 

there has been an increase in knowledge about fire safety or how you will 

measure a change in safety behaviors of the target audience. See Section 

6, Evaluate, for ideas on evaluating a fire safety education program.

 Cost-Benefit Analysis—Provides explanation of costs included in your 

budget and benefits expected to result from expenditures.

 Sustainability—Describes how the overall activity will be continued after 

the grant ends (12 months for FP&S). Sustainability can be shown by 

describing long-term benefits expected to be derived from the program, 

involvement of non-federal partners likely to continue to support the 

project, and your demonstrated long-term ability to continue the project.

 Financial Need—Details your need for financial assistance to carry out 

the project. This may include information on any unsuccessful attempts 

you have made to get funding elsewhere and examples of your budget.

 Performance—Describes your track record for timely project completion 

and performance on similar projects and demonstrates your experience 

and ability to carry out the proposed project.
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 Funding Priorities—Describes how well your proposed project meets 

the agency’s funding priorities as stated in the Grant Guidance and 

Application Kit.

Preparing the Budget

Your budget is one of the most important parts of your grant application. It 

requires careful planning and should be started early in the planning process. In 

writing your grant budget, keep it as simple as the guidelines allow and do not 

include detail not required by the guidelines.

1. The numbers you include in your budget should be specific.

 If you round at all, round to dollars, or tens at most. Grant reviewers 

expect you to do a lot of work planning all the details of the budget.

 There is no place in the budget for miscellaneous items. Your planning 

should allow for unexpected costs. If you plan to buy equipment, such as 

a fire safety trailer, contact the manufacturer or supplier to get a written 

quote to back up the amount you include in your budget. The amount of 

thought you give to preparing the budget will improve the program and 

increase your chances of receiving the grant.

2. Keep detailed file of how you developed your costs so that you will be able 

to answer any budget questions the granting agency may have. Keep copies 

of all quotes, price lists, or other backup materials you have gathered to 

support your costs.

3. Your budget should include all costs associated with carrying out the grant. 

Most grant applications include a form that the agency wants you to use to 

present your budget request. If the funder provides a budget form, follow it 

exactly. If none is offered, the following general format may be used.

 Direct Costs. While there are differences between and among agencies, 

most include the same major categories for direct costs:

Personnel—Staff costs, salary, hourly breakdown for each person proposed. 

Fringe Benefits—Taxes and benefits that an employer must pay for an employee. Fringe 

benefits that are required by law include FICA (Social Security and Medicare), FUTA (Federal 

Unemployment Taxes/Insurance), SUTA or SUI (State Unemployment Taxes/Insurance), 

and Worker’s Compensation (on-the-job accident insurance). Other benefits may include 

medical insurance and paid leave (sick, vacation, holiday, etc). Fringe benefits are generally 

based on a percentage of gross salary.
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Supplies and Materials—Supplies are expendable items that are non-durable in nature. 

Computer software, paper, pencils, etc. are examples of supplies and materials. 

Contractual Services—Direct payments for the services of experts who are hired for 

a brief duration. If you propose to use consultants, include their names and hourly rates. 

If work is to be performed by a subcontractor, include the subcontractor’s authorized 

proposal and budget. In the cost proposal, document the reason for choosing a particular 

consultant or subcontractor. 

Travel—The purpose of the trip, actual cost of accommodations, meals, and local 

transportation should be specified. Per diem rates for lodging and meals and incidental 

expenses for federally sponsored travel in the continental United States can be found on the 

U.S. General Services Administration website at www.gsa.gov/perdiem.

Equipment—Permanent equipment is defined as durable goods. The cost of purchasing 

a computer or fire safety trailer would be included in this category.

Other—This category is usually used for items that cannot easily be placed in any of the 

above categories such as telecommunications expenses, advertising, printing costs, etc. 

Any items included in this category should be described fully.

 Indirect Costs. Indirect costs are costs that are not directly a part of the 

grant proposal. Such costs include utilities, general and departmental 

administration, accounting, purchasing services, and physical plant. 

Indirect cost rates are often determined by the funding source. Some 

funders do not allow any indirect costs.

4. Budget Justification. Depending on the requirements of the grant, 

you may need to compose a separate budget explanation to justify your 

requests. Explain how you arrived at various figures in the budget and why 

particular items have been included. Be sure to read the requirements in the 

application kit and follow them carefully.

Submitting your Fire Prevention and Safety application

You are encouraged to submit your FP&S application using the electronic system 

available on the www.fema.gov/firegrants website. While paper applications are 

possible, they are discouraged. The electronic system provides the advantages of:

 built-in assistance with application completion,

 an automatic check that assures that an application has been accurately 

completed before it is submitted,
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Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum 1-9

 email confirmation of submission, and

 more timely processing of your application.

To submit your application electronically, you must authorize a representative of 

your organization to log on and create a user name and password. This can be 

done by going to www.fema.gov/firegrants and clicking on the E-Grant Application 

Access tab on the menu bar. If you already have a user name and password from 

a previous AFG, Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER), 

or FP&S application, you should use that to log on.

It is best to prepare your materials off-line using a word processor and then 

cut and paste your information electronically into the appropriate places in the 

application.

Other Sources of Grant Funding

Other sources of funding include major charitable foundations, state and local 

government agencies, major corporations, and local businesses. Foundation 

funding can be hard to locate and get. Most philanthropic and business 

foundations focus on a limited range of specific issues and may have specific 

requirements in their grant application process.

 The Foundation Center*, a nonprofit organization that connects grant 

seekers and grant makers, has a website that can help you find funding 

from foundations (foundationcenter.org). They maintain a searchable 

database of foundations that can help you locate those interested in 

supporting fire safety programs, but it requires a monthly or annual fee 

for access (fconline.foundationcenter.org).

 Another commercial resource is GrantSelect*, a database that provides 

information on funding opportunities (www.grantselect.com).

* Check your local library to see if they subscribe to either of these services 

If you want to seek foundation funding at the national level, you will probably 

need a skilled volunteer or a professional fundraiser to help you identify suitable 

foundations and guide your organization through the application process. 

However, many foundations have a specific range of programs that they will 

fund. Don’t overlook the importance of networking with your community 

partners and those running similar programs in your state or local area to find 

foundation sources that might not even be included in foundation databases. 

Local businesses or chain stores may provide modest funding for programs 

related to their business.

 Insurance companies may want to associate their name with a fire safety 

program.
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 Home centers that sell fire extinguishers and smoke alarms may be 

motivated to provide “in kind” donations to support a program that 

provides fire protective equipment to low-income households or the 

elderly.

 Major corporations with facilities in your area are also a potential source 

of funding. Many are committed to being “good neighbors” and provide 

support for worthy community causes.

The amount of monetary support you can obtain in this way may be small, but 

building relations with businesses in the community can also help in promoting 

your program and recruiting volunteers to keep it growing. 

Beyond the Basics

This section has some great planning tools that can assist you in organizing and 

writing your grant application. The following document is a grant planning 

guide that can serve as your overall planning tool. Additionally, at the end of 

this section, in the Resources table, there is a Grant Application Preparation 

Checklist, Budget Preparation Tips Worksheet, and a Logic Model Template

for your use.

Grant Planning Guide

This guide will serve as a planning tool to organize all the required information needed 

to submit your grant proposal. The items listed are general requirements for grants, so 

remember to research the specific requirements of the grant for which you are applying.

COVER LETTER: Basic information identifying your 

proposal

Owner Completion 

Date

Grant name

Grant period

Proposal name

Organization name

PROPOSAL SUMMARY: Clearly and concisely 

summarizes your project and request for funding

Owner Completion 

Date

Background of your organization

General objectives relating to grant agency’s funding 

priorities
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Summary of past achievements and projects, if 

applicable

Overview of project: to include the problem, mission & 

objectives, community capacity, methods, evaluation 

plan and sustainability plan (length usually 1 page)

Reasons for grant request and amount

Specific objectives

ORGANIZATION OVERVIEW: Describe your 

organization and its ability to carry out proposed 

project

Owner Completion 

Date

Description of your organization’s mission, 

accomplishments, and programs

Description of community members, staff and 

management team

Past achievements

NEEDS ASSESSMENT: Using statistics, facts and figures 

to make your case for funding

Owner Completion 

Date

Goal of your organization

Statistics and research supporting your claim for need

Endorsement by community agencies

Document the scope and impact

PROGRAM GOALS & OBJECTIVES: Measurable 

outcomes for each goal and objective

Owner Completion 

Date

Goals should be related to how the program will address 

the target population

Timeline for meeting desired short and long term goals

Specific and measurable goals that can be quantified

METHODOLOGY: How you are going to reach your 

goals with activities

Owner Completion 

Date

Target audience—how and when

How to overcome potential barriers

Activities relating to each problem/objective

Timeline for each activity
1

HOW TO GET FUNDING FOR A TRAILER

1-12 Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum

EVALUATION PLAN: How success of the program will 

be measured

Owner Completion 

Date

Description of how data will be gathered and analyzed

Measures of success

Instruments or questionnaires to be used

Details on how evaluation will be used for program 

improvement

Details of evaluation criteria: Indicators, behaviors, 

knowledge, etc.

BUDGET: Clearly outline cost of the project with 

descriptive text explaining the budget

Owner Completion 

Date

Follow general accounting principles

Make sure your budget is realistic and reflects your work 

plan

Detail all costs relating to the project

Provide narrative detailing costs and provide 

clarification where needed

SUSTAINABILITY PLAN: Ability to fund the project 

after the initial grant funding is exhausted

Owner Completion 

Date

Outline business plan to sustain the level of funding 

required

List funding action plan to include other sources

Outline future budget planning to anticipate future 

funding requirements

Include letters of intent from additional funding sources 

if applicable

APPENDICES: Supporting documentation Owner Completion 

Date

Support letters or endorsements

Supporting documentation requested in grant 

application

Resumes/biographies of team members if applicable

Once you have obtained your funding, either through department resources, 

community businesses or through grant funding, you can begin to market your 

program to the community. Even the best program, with more than enough 
1

HOW TO GET FUNDING FOR A TRAILER

Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum 1-13

funding, cannot help your community if you don’t take the time to spread the 

word and promote the program to your target audience. In the next section, you 

will learn the basics about social marketing and also have access to sample tools 

and templates you can modify for use with your program.

More Information:  USFA has developed the manual Funding Alternatives for Fire and 

Emergency Services. The manual includes financing alternatives for all 

types of fire and EMS departments. 

www.usfa.fema.gov

 Employer Identification Number (EIN)—also known as a Federal Tax 

Identification Number (TIN)

z The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) uses the number to identify 

taxpayers who are required to file various business tax returns.

z Apply for an EIN online at www.irs.gov. It may take up to 2-5 weeks 

before your EIN becomes active.

 Central Contractor Registration (CCR) 

z CCR registration is required to receive a grant award. Applicants who 

do not complete the CCR registration, or do not complete the required 

annual verification of their CCR data, will not receive an award. 

z Make sure to register your agency’s DUNS number in the CCR. 

Your DUNS number and EIN will be required to complete the CCR 

registration

z For CCR information, please visit: www.bpn.gov/ccr.
1

HOW TO GET FUNDING FOR A TRAILER

1-14 Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum

Resources

Print and Online Resources

Page # Name of Resource Purpose of Resource

1–15 Grant Application Preparation 

Checklist 

This checklist will help organize your 

planning efforts for writing your grant.

1–19 Budget Preparation Tips Worksheet The tip worksheet walks you through the 

various questions to consider when writing 

your budget to ensure it is complete.

1–23 Logic Model Template This template helps target your activities, 

tasks and outcomes for program 

evaluation. It is helpful for grant funders to 

see the overall picture in a table format like 

this one.

Online FEMA Assistance to Firefighter Grant 

Program

Provides an online tutorial for the process 

needed to submit a grant application. 

www.fema.gov/firegrants

Online The Idea Bank This link provides real grant proposals that 

have come from grant writers who are 

sharing their work as a way of assisting 

others. 

http://theideabank.com/onlinecourse/

samplegrant.php
1-15

Grant Application Preparation Checklist
Grant Application Preparation Checklist

1. Request for Applications (RFA)/Documents

q Obtain complete copy of RFA

q Distribute RFA to appropriate staff

q Prepare questions for submission to the grant-making agency

q Receive and review responses to questions

q Collect, distribute and review pertinent background documents

q Submit letter of intent, if required

q Make note of deadlines for submission 

2. Preparing for the Proposal

q Hold strategy meetings, if necessary

q Determine number and type of staff needed

q Identify equipment and/or supply needs

q Obtain specifications and costs of any equipment (e.g., fire safety trailer)

q Gather background data/statistics (community needs assessment)

q Prepare rough draft of budget

q Identify proposal writer

q Make sure organization meets mandatory criteria

3. Application

q Prepare draft outline of application narrative

q Establish document format (font, major/minor headings, etc.)

q Use bold or italics to emphasize key points

q Since you are probably limited on the number of pages, establish the number of 

pages to be included in each section

q Develop a schedule with due dates for draft sections

q Develop your review, feedback, and editing process for different stages of 

application preparation

q Review application for clarity and consistency. The application should read as if 

it were written by one writer

q Make sure everyone uses compatible software packages and versions

q Make sure everyone’s email can send to and receive from other team member’s 

emails

4. Gathering Appendices

q Collect resumes of all individuals participating in the project (if required)

q Obtain any additional information from participants, if necessary
q Obtain letters of support from partners

q Gather any special pages, charts, etc.

5. Finishing Touches

q Spell check all sections

q Make sure grant proposal is properly laid out and looks professional

q Prepare table of contents (if needed)

q Prepare cover letter (if needed)

q Have “outsider” read proposal

q Select cover design (if needed)

6. Packaging (for paper applications)

q Make required numbers of copies of proposal

q Check pages in each copy for legibility

q Make sure no pages are missing

q Determine how proposal will be packaged

q Ensure sufficient quantities of all packaging items are available
Page intentionally left blank
1-19

Budget Preparation Tips Worksheet
Budget Preparation Tips Worksheet

The budget translates your proposed work plan into dollars. As you develop your 

budget, consider the following.

1. How much effort and expertise is required to accomplish your specific objectives?

 How many people will be needed and for how many hours?

 Will your staffing needs change over the life of the grant?

In your budget justification, note each individual’s effort dedicated to the grant 

(in units requested in grant application instructions), and describe their roles and 

responsibilities. 

2. Do you need to travel to conduct the project, disseminate research progress and 

results, or meet with colleagues and sponsors? 

 Domestic or international travel. 

In the budget justification, describe the travel (destination, duration, purpose of the 

trip, and number of persons supported by the travel allotment). Include items such as 

air fare, ground transportation, lodging, meals, and incidental expenses in determining 

your costs. Some sponsors may limit per diem to federal government rates which can be 

found on the GSA website at www.gsa.gov. Foreign travel typically must be approved by 

program directors and has to be well justified.

3. Do you need equipment for the project (such as a fire safety trailer)?

 Itemize each essential item

In the budget justification, describe the need for the equipment and the consequences 

of not acquiring it. Some sponsors may want to see one or more quotes unless you must 

purchase from specific vendor. 

4. The supplies/consumables required to complete your project.

 Office supplies must be essential for your project and well justified as they are 

typically paid for out of organizational overhead funds.

5. What other kinds of expenses might be incurred on your project?

 Subcontracts—If subcontractors are proposed to perform work on the grant, 

you must include a budget and letter of intent to enter into an agreement in the 

event of an award from each subcontractor.

 Consultants

 Equipment service agreements

 Specialty software; software license fees

 Publication/copying costs 
 Communication expenses if essential for the project

 Advertising for promoting your program

 Mailing expenses specific and essential to the project

 Conference registration fees

 Other project-related fees

In the budget justification, describe the major categories of expenses and provide an 

estimated cost for each. Convey that you’ve thought of all appropriate expenditures 

and you have a realistic appreciation for the costs of your project. If you propose to 

use subcontractors, state why they were selected and what expertise or skill they bring 

to the project. If consultants are proposed, describe the services these individuals will 

provide.
Page intentionally left blank
1-23

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2

MARKETING & COLLABORATING 

WITH PROGRAM SITES

Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum 2-1

Getting the word out about your fire safety trailer and related fire safety 

education programs is just as important as obtaining the trailer itself. This 

section will provide some suggestions for how to get started on marketing your 

trailer. It also includes some resources and links to help you develop your own 

materials. 

Marketing the Trailer in Your Community

You can use your fire safety trailer almost anywhere in your community, but the 

most common places are: 

 schools,

 community fairs (health fairs, awareness events, etc.),

 at fire prevention week activities,

 senior community centers,

 new store grand openings,

 school carnivals,

 church carnivals, and

 college health fairs.

The fire safety trailer can be successful with any size group of individuals at any 

location, when the program is appropriately planned and marketed. 

Strategies for Collaboration

Working together with others in your community is a great way to get the most 

out of resources and increase the impact of your fire safety education efforts. 

The organizations and individuals that you might consider working with 

include:

 schools (kindergarten – post secondary);

 churches, synagogues, and mosques;

 non-profit organizations, such as the Red Cross and Salvation Army;

 public service organizations, such as the Lions Club and Rotary Club;

 worksites—large employers or your local chamber of commerce;

 libraries;
2

MARKETING & COLLABORATING 

WITH PROGRAM SITES

2-2 Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum

 senior community centers;

 youth organizations such as the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, local youth 

sports organizations; and

 key individuals such as local politicians and community leaders. 

Working together with others in your 

community is a great way to get the 

most out of resources and increase 

the impact of your fire safety 

education efforts. 

Once you have found a potential community partner, contact the individual or 

organization and explain the goal of the program (i.e., to increase knowledge and 

promote “fire safe” behavior) and why you think it would be mutually beneficial 

to join forces. For example, partnering with a senior center would: 

1. provide you with an opportunity to educate a group of older adults about 

fire safety; 

2. fit the mission of the senior center to provide services that address the 

health, well-being, and quality of life of older adults; and 

3. provide older adults served by the center with knowledge they can use to 

reduce their risk of fire and fire-related injury. 

As a result, your community could benefit from lower rates of home fires and 

fire-related injuries.

Promoting and Marketing the Fire Safety Trailer/

House

There are a number of ways to promote your fire safety trailer and let your 

community know about your fire safety education program. Below are some no 

or low cost ideas to get you started:

 Hold an open-house at the fire station and invite community leaders and 

potential community partners. 

 Prepare a one-page fact sheet explaining what the trailer is and its 

purpose, and give them out to community centers and organizations.

 Send press releases to local media (radio, newspapers, etc.).
2

MARKETING & COLLABORATING 

WITH PROGRAM SITES

Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum 2-3

 Post announcements to community bulletin boards.

 Use social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter to communicate 

information.

 Sponsor a poster contest for children to promote the trailer.

 If your department has a website, keep it up to date with information 

about the trailer and its schedule of appearances.

 Participate in local parades, celebrations, and other events.

 Publicize success stories of people who have used information learned in 

the trailer to escape a fire. When responding to a home fire, ask about 

how they escaped and how they knew what to do. 

For more information and resources on partnering with others in your 

community and marketing your fire safety trailer program, see CDC and USFA’s 

Fire Safety Program Toolkit. There you will find sample materials and templates 

you can use to develop marketing materials for your fire safety trailer. 

In the next section of the curriculum, you will learn how to interest your new 

community partners in hosting a fire safety trailer event. 

“ Networking helps to increase diversity in your 

partnerships, which can increase the availability 

of resources for your program.”

—Fire Safety Educator
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GETTING READY FOR YOUR EVENT

Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum 3-1

3

Once your fire safety trailer has been funded and you’ve gotten community 

support, it’s time to prepare a schedule and plan your events. In this section, 

you will find information and tools to help you conduct fire safety trailer visits 

to schools, but the information can also be adapted for use in other venues. It 

includes how to:

 communicate with schools before your event in order to prepare teachers, 

parents and students for your visit;

 prepare for your presentation; and 

 teach the sample lessons developed for use with the fire safety trailer. 

Prepare the School for Your Event

First, you will need to collect some basic information: 

 contact information for the school including phone numbers and e-mail 

addresses for your points of contact at the school, 

 grade level of the students you will be presenting to,

 any special student needs that would require advance preparation, and

 total number of expected students.

At the end of this section, we have included a Sample 

Fire Safety Trailer Request Form. You can use this 

form as an example of the information you might want 

to collect when scheduling your events to ensure you 

have all the information you’ll need for planning. 

After you have collected the basic information from 

the school and you have finalized a date and time for 

the event, you will want to provide the school with 

additional information for the teachers, parents, and 

students. Information you may want to supply in the 

form of a packet includes:

 short statement on the importance of teaching 

fire safety to students,

 what the students will learn from the presentation,

 the role/responsibility of the teacher,

 preparations to be made ahead of the event,
GETTING READY FOR YOUR EVENT

3-2 Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum

3

 overview of the schedule and what to expect, and 

 student permission forms for participation. 

Because of the possibility of respiratory reactions, it is 

very important to notify parents/guardians about the 

use of stage smoke in the trailer.

How you choose to supply the information to the 

school is up to you, but we have included a Sample

Fire Safety Trailer Packet you may wish to model 

when developing your own materials. The more 

information you can provide to the school and parents 

ahead of time, the smoother the event will go.

Setting up a Fire Safety Trailer Tour

On the day of the event, the safety of students and others who tour the fire 

safety trailer must be your primary concern. It is extremely important that 

you follow all safety and set-up instructions and guidelines provided by the 

manufacturer when setting up your trailer. You should carefully read the 

operator’s manual provided with the trailer and check that all trailer features are 

in good working order. If you have any questions regarding safety and/or set-up 

of the trailer, refer to your operator’s manual or contact the manufacturer. For 

set-up preparations for the trailer:

 Put up fire prevention and safety messages and posters in each area as 

guides for the presentation and set up the trailer as needed for the lesson 

plan to be used. Ensure that safety messages and posters are in locations 

that will be visible to all students participating in the activity. 

 Make sure that all items needed for demonstration, such as smoke alarms, 

matches, and lighters are available and in place. 

 Place arcs of red tape extending 3 feet from the stove and sink to visually 

define danger areas.

Learning Stations

There are four learning stations that make up the fire safety trailer presentation: 

(1) Tour of the fire safety trailer, (2) Demonstration activities, (3) Small group 

activity and (4) Reinforcing Messages. It is recommended that you have at least 

4 fire safety educators present for the event in order to cover all the information. 

Details for each learning station are listed below:
Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum 3-3

GETTING READY FOR YOUR EVENT

3

1. Trailer Tour 

Duration: 20 minutes 

Students will be taken through the fire safety trailer and immersed in an 

interactive, fire safety experience. The trailer should be set up according to the 

manufacturer’s instructions included with the trailer. Firefighter 1 will lead the 

students through the tour of the trailer using a lesson plan appropriate for the 

ages of the students and ensure that all students can see both the instructor and 

the education materials being used. Firefighter 2 will manage the control room 

of the trailer. Firefighter 3 will be at the exit ladder of the trailer ensuring that 

everyone exits the trailer safely. The layout of every fire safety trailer will vary, 

but for planning purposes we have included a sample:

2. Demonstration

Duration: 10–15 minutes 

While the first group of students is touring the trailer, a second group will go to 

the demonstration station where they will learn about the “friendly firefighter” 

and the Stop, Drop and Roll game. 

A fire safety educator will show students the equipment that firefighters use to 

protect themselves and how that equipment is used to help them put out fires. 

Firefighter 4 will also teach students what to do if their clothes catch on fire. 

 Equipment Demonstration - While equipment demonstration is intended 

to inform students, a more important goal is to make them realize that 

firefighters are “community helpers” who are here to protect and help 

us, even though their equipment can make them look scary. That is the 

main objective of the lesson. To help students overcome their fears, you 

may want to describe the equipment as “strange,” rather than “scary” and 

let them know that firefighters wear it to protect themselves from fires. 

The equipment demonstration covers: 
GETTING READY FOR YOUR EVENT

3-4 Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum

3

z What firefighting turnout gear looks like, 

z The purpose of the equipment, and 

z How firefighters “suit up” before going on a call. 

 “Stop, Drop and Roll” Game - The second 

half of this learning station teaches 

students what to do if fire gets on your 

clothes. The procedure taught is the 

traditional “Stop, Drop and Roll.” 

z Firefighter will ask if any students know 

what to do if fire gets on their clothes. 

z After students correctly respond—with 

or without prompting from Firefighter 

4—Firefighter 4 will have the kids 

make a big circle around him or her. 

z Firefighter 4 will then demonstrate how to properly “Stop, Drop and 

Roll.” 

 Instruct students that if they are on fire to freeze (stop). 

 The next step is to carefully and quickly lie on the ground (drop). 

 Then they are to roll over completely one way and then back the 

other way completely all while covering their faces. 

 Play the “Stop, Drop and Roll” game as follows: 

 Firefighter 4 will instruct students to walk in a circle around him 

or her. 

 At some point, Firefighter 4 will yell, “Fire!” 

 At that point he will instruct students to “STOP” walking, 

followed by “DROP” to the ground, and then “ROLL” as shown to 

put out the fire.

 Repeat as often as time will allow.

3. Small Group Activity 

Duration: 15 minutes per group (total of 45 minutes)

The small group activity is intended for students that are not currently involved 

with the tour of the fire safety trailer or interactive demonstration. This activity 

will be facilitated by the classroom teacher/instructor and focused on problem 
Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum 3-5

GETTING READY FOR YOUR EVENT

3

solving techniques. Problem solving will primarily focus on how to prevent or 

stop fires in given scenarios. Age-appropriate scenario posters are provided in 

Section 5: Reinforcing Messages. 

 Seat students together in front of a workspace (blackboard, whiteboard, 

easel, etc.). 

 The activity leader will present a specific scenario to students. 

 Once the scenario is shown, students will contribute suggestions 

regarding:

z what dangers are present and

z how a fire could be prevented. 

 Suggestions – regardless of validity – should be recorded on the 

workspace. 

 Once all suggestions are recorded for the scenario, they can be discussed 

by the class. 

 At the conclusion of each scenario, the activity leader will discuss the 

possible best approach to the scenario provided. 

 This activity will be repeated for each scenario.

 At the end of the activity, ensure that the tour and demonstration groups 

are also finished. The groups will now rotate to the next station. After 

the third rotation, all students will have been to all three stations and 

should return to their classroom. If time permits, firefighters can answer 

any additional questions that students may have. The Activity Leader/

Teacher should remain with the class to aid firefighters in any additional 

activities or questions from the students. 

4. Reinforcing Messages

Once students complete the tour and other learning 

stations, it is important to equip them with reinforcing 

material to extend the learning process. These 

“extenders” can be distributed in a handout that 

students can take home and refer back to in the future. 

Extenders can also be fire safety-related activities that 

the teacher adds to the existing school curriculum. To 

the right are thumbnails of several extenders that can 

be found in Section 5 of this curriculum. 
GETTING READY FOR YOUR EVENT

3-6 Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum

3

Prepare to Teach the Lessons

Before the day of your event, you will want to familiarize your fire safety 

educators with the lessons they will be teaching and rehearse the procedures 

in the trailer. The lessons and teaching scripts in Section 4 were designed to 

provide a flexible tool for use in conducting fire safety trailer visits to schools. 

They can be adapted and expanded based on the cultural needs and abilities of 

various groups you will be working with. The following overview breaks down 

the information contained within each lesson/script and further explains how to 

use it. 

Lesson Overview 

Each lesson has a standard format that makes it easy to follow when presenting. 

For each grade, the lesson begins with the following information:

 Lesson Objective: At the completion of the lesson, the students should 

have a better understanding of the information presented here.

 Learning Areas: These are the key fire safety topics that will be covered 

during the presentation. The key areas include:

z fire behavior and characteristics,

z fire prevention,

z fire protection systems and equipment, and

z survival procedures.

 Tips for Teaching: These boxes include teaching tips for the intended 

grade level to help you work with specific populations.

 Key Fire Safety Messages: The messages listed in this section are the 

specific fire safety messages that will be discussed in detail during the 

lesson. They are included to help the instructor remember the messages 

which are most important to teach at each grade level. 

 Resources: Sample materials that will be used during the lessons 

include: Pre/post-test, Tour Materials, Demonstration Materials, Lesson 

Extenders. The resources listed for each lesson can be found in 

Section 5. 

 Duration: Lesson length will vary by group and number of messages 

presented. However, the recommended amount of time for the trailer 

portion of your presentation is 20 minutes.

 Script: Following each grade-specific lesson is a detailed script that the 

fire safety educator can follow. Each script is matched with a room in the 

trailer for ease of use. 
Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum 3-7

GETTING READY FOR YOUR EVENT

3

Roles and Responsibilities During the Event

Firefighters will be responsible for the following:

 Setting up the trailer according to manufacturer’s instructions and 

ensuring that all safety precautions are followed.

 Conducting the trailer tour; operating trailer features, including smoke 

generator and heated door; and assisting students using the escape ladder.

 Maintaining a safe environment while students are touring the trailer.

 Supervising students and maintaining order and discipline during the 

tour.

 Demonstrating Stop, Drop and Roll and a firefighter in turnout gear.

Teachers will be responsible for the following:

 Coordinating parent volunteers and assigning them to learning stations 

where additional help may be needed.

 Coordinating with firefighters to divide the class into three groups and 

assigning groups to one of three learning stations. 

 Staying in the classroom with one group and conducting a small group 

activity.

Parent Volunteers (if available) will be responsible for the following:

 Escorting students to and from learning stations.

 Helping to maintain order and discipline during program activities.

Preparing a Trailer Event for Audiences with 

Special Needs 

Section 7 of the curriculum contains additional resources and links to websites 

that can assist you in preparing programs and activities for populations with 

special needs. If you make any changes, however, you should maintain the 

focus on essential messages of fire prevention, burn and injury prevention, and 

fire escape planning. Adaptations could include modifying the language to aid 

groups whose primary language is not English or modifying activities such as 

“Stop, Drop and Roll” for those with mobility limitations. It is important to 

discuss and address any cultural or ability issues of the group prior to presenting 

the lessons. The companion document Fire Safety Program Toolkit contains 

teaching resources that can be used for developing materials for groups with 

special needs. 
GETTING READY FOR YOUR EVENT

3-8 Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum

3

In the next section of the curriculum, you will find teaching tips, sample lesson 

plans and scripts for delivering fire safety education programs using your fire safety 

trailer. The materials will help prepare you for delivery of your program with a 

variety of audiences within your community.

Resources

Print and Online Resources

Page # Name of Resource Purpose of Resource

3–9 Sample Trailer Request Form Fire departments can use this sample as a 

guide to develop a form that community 

groups or schools can complete in order to 

request the fire safety trailer for an event.

3–11 Sample Fire Safety Trailer Packet Packet that fire departments can use to 

send out to schools hosting a trailer event. 

Packet contains preparatory information 

for students, parents and teacher.
3-9

Sample Fire Safety Trailer Request Form
Sample Fire Safety Trailer Request Form

Booking Information

Thank you for your interest in the ___________________________________Fire 

Department’s Fire Safety Trailer program. In order to facilitate accurate bookings and 

attempt to satisfy the needs of all groups, a formal program request is required. You can 

submit a request by completing the form below and sending it to the address indicated. 

The trailers do book up fast, so please plan early and return this form as soon as 

possible to reserve your date. After we confirm your date and time, we will send out 

a packet including detailed information on how to prepare for the event and parental 

permission forms required for participation. Please feel free to contact us if you have 

any questions.

Site Requirements

 The fire safety house is not designed to be towed or demonstrated during 

inclement weather conditions, so alternate dates are highly recommended.

 The site must be level and provide good supports for the Fire Safety House and 

its tow vehicle. The overall length of the tow vehicle and the Fire Safety House 

is approximately 60 feet.

 The site must have access to electrical power within 75 feet.

Fire Safety Trailer Contact Information:

[INSERT YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION HERE]

School/Group Contact Information

School/Group Name(s)___________________________________________________

School/Group Address ___________________________________________________

Contact Person____________________________Phone ______________________________

E-Mail Address _________________________________________________________

Please indicate any

special student needs ____________________________________________________

Type of School/Group (check all that apply):

q Public School District q 1st & 2nd Grade q High School

q Private School q 3rd & 4th Grade q Adults

q Community Group q 5th & 6th Grade q Older Adults

q Pre-K & Kindergarten q Middle School q Other ______________

Reason(s) for Scheduling the Fire Safety Education Program:

______________________________________________________________________

# participants _______ (# students _______, age/grade _______ / # volunteers ______ ) 
3-11

Sample Information Packet for Schools
Sample Fire Safety Trailer Packet

Letter to Teacher/Administrator Instructions

Dear Teacher/Administrator:

Congratulations on taking fire safety education to the next level by scheduling the fire 

safety trailer experience for your students. Fire is the second major cause of accidental 

death and injury to children, with the vast majority of these injuries and fatalities 

occurring in the home. This program will provide students with fire safety information 

and skills, while also allowing students a chance to practice those skills in a realistic, 

controlled environment under the guidance of your local fire department.

The fire safety trailer is a mobile travel trailer in which your students will be able to: 

 walk through a kitchen, living room, and bedroom and spot fire hazards, 

 practice simple methods of eliminating potentially dangerous situations, 

 feel a "Hot Door" and locate an emergency escape route, and

 exit using a ladder as the Fire Safety House fills with a non-toxic smoke. 

While one group is touring the fire safety trailer, the others will be participating in 

demonstrations of fire department equipment or involved with several other educational 

activities planned for the group.

Your role, as the classroom teacher, is to collect pre-visit questions from your students 

and send them to me prior to the event, send home and collect parental consent forms, 

lead small group classroom activities during the visit, and perform follow-up activities 

with the students to see how well they retain information from the lessons.

This program can only be a success with your help. Our ultimate goal is to provide 

students with the knowledge and skills to be able to keep safe during an emergency 

situation and to learn how to prevent such tragedies from occurring at all. Thank you 

for your commitment to the safety and well-being of your students.

Sincerely,

Contact Information:
Ensuring sufficient support for the Fire Safety Trailer visit

Additional help may be needed on the day of the fire safety trailer visit to assist 

firefighters in keeping order and to escort students to and from learning stations. 

To ensure that adequate support is available, secure the agreement of several parent 

volunteers to help on the day of the visit.

Preparing your students for the Fire Safety Trailer visit

Use the information included in this letter to discuss the upcoming visit with your 

class. 

1. Have your class develop a list of fire safety questions they have for the firefighter 

and send them to me in advance.

2. You may want to incorporate fire safety topics, such as common fire hazards, 

cooling a burn, smoke alarms, home escape plans, calling 9-1-1, and the fire 

tetrahedron, into some of your existing science, language arts, or social studies 

classes.

3. Send home the enclosed parental consent form.

4. Advise students to wear comfortable athletic clothing, such as sweatpants and 

t-shirts, for touring the fire safety trailer.

5. The fire safety trailer visit is an excellent public relations experience for your school. 

You may want to contact the local TV stations and newspapers to see if they would 

be interested in covering the event.

6. Take time to discuss with your class proper behavior during the fire safety trailer 

demonstration. Safety is very important and the directions given by the firefighter 

must be followed to ensure no students get hurt during the event. 

7. Identify a safe, soft area (e.g., gym with gym mats, grassy area, etc.) that can be 

used for the demonstration portion (i.e., Stop, Drop and Roll) of the tour.

8. Please contact the fire department if you have any questions about the trailer or 

visit. It is best to discuss any concerns or issues regarding your students prior to the 

event.

The Fire Safety Trailer tour overview

Objective: The students will participate in the fire safety trailer tour and 

demonstration conducted by local firefighters. The tour will provide students with the 

opportunity to practice the skills they learn from the lesson plans in the trailer.

Time: 45–60 minutes (varies depending on size of group)

Procedures:

 Review rules for proper behavior and safety during the tour and demonstration.
 Work with the firefighter to divide your class into groups of 5–8, so there will 

be 3 groups total. One group will tour the fire safety trailer, one group will 

participate in the equipment demonstration and Stop, Drop and Roll, and one 

group will remain in the classroom and work on a small group activity. The 

groups will rotate through the activities until each student has participated in 

each activity.

Follow-up extender activities

1. Discuss the fire safety trailer visit and what they learned. Encourage creative 

writing experiences.

2. Cover the walls, halls and any other exposed areas with fire safety posters, drawings, 

and artwork done by your students. Compile any stories and drawings done by your 

students into a class fire safety book.

3. Write thank-you cards or letters to the firefighters.

4. Invite parents to give feedback on whether or not there was family involvement or 

participation in any of the activities that were sent home.

5. Have your students help to prepare another class for their tour of the fire safety 

trailer.

6. Several weeks after the tour, test your students on fire safety. 

7. Encourage the students to recall the experience of the fire safety trailer and what 

they learned either orally or through a writing activity.

8. As you go through your science and social studies curriculum, refer back to the fire 

safety program whenever appropriate. Examples are: lessons on community helpers, 

how to respond to emergencies, properties of matter, electricity as related to causing 

fires, operating smoke alarms, etc.

___________________________________________________________________
Dear Parent/Guardian(s):

Imagine you are a young child and you wake up one night to find your bedroom full 

of smoke. Your house is on fire! What would you do? To help your child learn what 

to do, we will be teaching burn prevention and fire safety in class. This will include a 

tour of a Fire Safety Trailer on [INSERT EVENT DATE HERE].

The Fire Safety Trailer is a mobile classroom that teaches children burn prevention and 

fire safety in a fun and safe way. The trailer is equipped with a kitchen, bedroom, and 

living room. It fills with a nontoxic water-based smoke to teach children to “crawl low” 

to safety. A heated door helps children choose the right exit. An escape ladder is used 

to exit from the bedroom.

If your child suffers from asthma, other respiratory conditions or allergies that may be 

irritated by the nontoxic smoke, please indicate that below before allowing him/her to 

tour the trailer.

Note: All participants should wear pants/shorts and no-heeled shoes the day of 

the tour.

Cut off bottom portion of permission slip and return to your child’s teacher by 

[ _____________________________________ ].

______ My child, _____________________ MAY tour the Fire Safety Trailer

______ My child, _____________________ MAY NOT tour the Fire Safety Trailer

______ My child, _____________________ HAS ASTHMA, an allergy or 

respiratory condition that may be irritated by the nontoxic smoke and should not be in 

the Trailer during that part of the program.

_________________________________ _____________________________

 Parent/Guardian’s Signature Date
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4

TEACHING TOOLS

Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum 4-1

How to Use the Curriculum Teaching Tools 

Section 4 teaching tools are broken out by grade level. As discussed in Section 3, 

each grade-specific lesson follows a standard format that contains the following 

information:

 Learning Objective  Lesson Length

 Learning Areas  Script

 Key Fire Safety Messages  Resources

The lessons were developed to provide a visual teaching aid for fire safety 

educators that can be used for the kitchen, living room, and bedroom of the fire 

safety trailer. The scripts that follow each grade level were designed to provide 

an out-of-the-box teaching solution for fire safety educators who may need 

assistance when presenting educational material to different grade levels. Key 

fire safety messages taught in each lesson can be modified to suit your needs. 

The lesson plans in the following pages by grade include:
TEACHING TOOLS

4-2 Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum

4

 Pre-Kindergarten/Kindergarten  Middle School

 1st-2nd Grade  High School

 3rd-4th Grade  Adults

 5th-6th Grade  Older Adults

Grouping Students for Lesson:

For optimal learning, it is better to have small groups of students for each lesson (e.g., 

5–8 students). Work with the teacher to break students up into small groups and 

run them through learning “centers” or “stations” that focus on specific fire safety 

messages if you have enough time and personnel to do so. 

Trailer Set Up for Lessons

Place appropriate items in each area before lesson:

Kitchen

 Set up common fire hazards: 

 turn stove on when students are present 

 rotate pot handle until facing outward

 place matches, lighters, and/or paper towels near stove

 Ensure message posters for Pre-K & K students are on wall

Living Room

 Ensure smoke alarm is on and ready for demonstration

 Ensure message posters for target audience students are on 

wall

Bedroom

 Ensure FF2 is ready to assist with trailer features

 Ensure FF3 is ready to assist students to exit trailer at exit door 

at end of lesson
TEACHING TOOLS

Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum 4-3

4

Personnel:

 Firefighter 1 FF1—Activity Leader. Instructor for lesson.

 Firefighter 2 FF2—Control Room. Operates trailer equipment.

 Firefighter 3 FF3—Entrance/Exit. Assists with students entering and 

exiting trailer. Provides handouts to students as they exit trailer. Ideally, 

there will be a fourth firefighter who can assist with the presentation, but 

lessons are developed with three firefighters in mind.

Final Thoughts:

Use the activities in the kitchen, living room, and bedroom/bathroom as written 

in the scripts to provide students with a basic fire safety education lesson. If you 

have more time to spend with them, you can provide additional information by 

adding one or more of the messages under Additional Messages to your lesson. 

Current educational messages can be found online at www.nfpa.org. You can also 

make the lesson more effective by demonstrating a desired behavior (for example, 

saying “Crawl low under smoke” and demonstrating how this is done), and then 

have two or three students repeat what you’ve demonstrated. If time permits, 

have all the students repeat what you’ve demonstrated.
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4

TEACHING TOOLS

LESSON PLANS

Pre-Kindergarten 

& Kindergarten

Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum 4-5

Teaching to a pre-kindergarten and kindergarten

audience can be very fun and exciting, but it will take 

preparation and a lot of patience. Kids at this age are 

very energetic and curious, but also need to feel a sense 

of security. Keep in mind the following teaching tips for 

this age group:

Lesson Length: 20 minutes

DO... DO NOT...

Start with an attention-getter video clip, 

song, or a prop to get buy-in from the kids. 

Assure the video clip is not too frightening 

and is appropriate for the age group.

Tell students that fires can “hurt” them or 

“destroy” things in their homes. These 

messages can create fear.

Keep students engaged by changing your 

tone or activity. 

Frighten children with: explicit stories about 

a home fire; images of burned clothing; 

images of burned toys or household items; 

or talk about burned pets.

Use simple words with students. Say “fire 

truck” not “apparatus.”

Use words that students may not 

understand. 

Use bold colors and sounds.

Make your talk interactive and ask them 

questions.

Give breaks if needed, as young kids have 

very short attention spans.

Learning Objective

To understand and appropriately respond to home fire dangers covered here; and 

correctly describe and/or behaviorally respond to targeted fire safety messages by 

end of lesson. 

Learning Areas

 Fire prevention

 Burn/injury prevention

 Fire escape planning
4

TEACHING TOOLS

4-6 Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum

Pre-K–K

LESSON PLANS 

Key Fire Safety Messages for Use in the Trailer 

Kitchen

 Hot things hurt.

Living Room

 What a smoke alarm looks like and sounds like.

 Never touch matches or lighters.

Bedroom

 Get Out and Stay Out.

Additional Messages (to be taught in living room, bedroom, or outside trailer)

 Firefighters are your friends.
TEACHING TOOLS

Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum 4-7

Pre-K–K

LESSON PLANS

4

Resources Needed for Lesson

Kitchen and Living Room Posters

Flash Cards: 

 Hot and Cold Objects Cards

 Matches and Lighter Cards

 Tell a Grown-up Sequence Cards

Extenders:

 Fire Escape Map

 9-1-1 Poster

 Greeting Cards

 My Phone/Address Worksheet

 Sesame Street Booklet

 Bookmarks
TEACHING TOOLS

4-8 Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum

Pre-K–K

LESSON PLANS—SCRIPT

4

Kitchen Script

Before entering trailer, FF3 GATHERS students into groups of 5–8. When FF1

indicates he/she is ready to begin lesson, FF3 assists students into trailer and into 

kitchen. 

FF1 ASK students to carefully step into the kitchen and to quietly be seated 

at the end opposite the stove area (provides more room to move between 

students and stove during kitchen activity). 

REMIND the students to be quiet and to listen carefully because what you 

are saying is VERY IMPORTANT!

ASK the following questions:

“What do you know about fire safety?” Allow as many students to answer 

as possible. Allow two minutes to respond. 

Hot things hurt

FF1 SHOW students picture flash cards of hot and cold objects. ASK students 

to call out if the picture is of something hot or cold. Allow two minutes 

for activity.

 “I Spy Hot things that hurt.” The kitchen will 

be set up with various common fire hazards. 

The objective of this section of the tour is to 

have students identify all of the hazards found in 

the kitchen that could cause a burn. 

− [FF1]: SAY “Now we will play the ‘I Spy’

game.”

− [FF1]: SAY “Raise your hand if you know 

any hot things that hurt.” Allow two minutes to respond.

− [FF1]: POINT to ‘I Spy’ kitchen message poster and ASK: “Can 

you see any hot things that hurt in the poster?” Allow the students 

to point at hazards while raising their hands, and ask them to 

DESCRIBE the hazards one at a time. Allow two minutes to 

respond.

 POINT around the kitchen and ASK: “Can you see any hot things that 

hurt in this kitchen?” Allow two minutes to respond.

 ASK students other questions about kitchen fire safety, including:

− Do you think the stove is hot? (point to the glowing burners)

− Should we ever touch that (burner, stove, oven)? Why not? (It 

is hot and can burn us. Stay away from hot things that hurt. 
TEACHING TOOLS

4-9 Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum

Pre-K–K

LESSON PLANS—SCRIPT

4

Remember that a burner doesn’t always glow red when it’s hot.)

 Should we ever touch the pots that sit on the stove or that are in the 

oven? Why not? (They are hot and can burn us). Who touches the 

pots and pans? (Adults)

 Who cooks on the stove and oven? (Adults)

− Make sure students identify all fire hazards in the kitchen.

− Make sure students understand and are paying attention. Stop and 

ask students to repeat messages if necessary to make sure messages 

are understood. Point out whenever students are listening and are 

behaving properly and praise them.

− ASK if there are any more questions before moving on to the living 

room.

− ASK students to quietly move to the living room.
TEACHING TOOLS

4-10 Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum

Pre-K–K

LESSON PLANS—SCRIPT

4

Living Room Script

What a smoke alarm looks like and sounds like

FF1 Hold up a real smoke alarm (or points to one installed in the living room) 

and ASK the following questions:

 Does anybody know what this is called? What does the smoke alarm do?

 What does it sound like? (It beeps loudly.)

 Have you ever heard a smoke alarm?

 Where have you heard one?

 Why do we need smoke alarms? (To tell us if there is smoke or fire, so we 

can get out.)

Never touch matches or lighters 

FF1 ASK what the students know about matches and lighters. 

EXPLAIN that matches and lighters are only for grown-ups to use and are 

not safe for children to use. 

EXPLAIN that they should tell a grown-up if 

they find matches or lighters. Never touch!

 SHOW students Matches and Lighter Cards.

 SHOW students Tell a Grown-up Sequence 

Cards.

 “I Spy: Things that can cause fire.” The 

living room will be set up with various 

common fire hazards. The objective of this section of the tour is to 

have students be able to identify all of the hazards found in the living 

room, and propose what could be done to eliminate or prevent such 

hazards. 

− POINT to ‘I Spy’ living room message poster and ASK: “Can you 

see any hot things that hurt in the poster?” Allow the students 

to point at hazards while raising their hands, and ask them to 

DESCRIBE the hazards one student at a time. Allow two minutes 

to respond.

− POINT around the living room and ASK: “Can you see any hot 

things that hurt in this living room?” ASK students how these 

hazards could be prevented or removed. Allow two minutes to 

respond.
TEACHING TOOLS

Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum 4-11

Pre-K–K

LESSON PLANS—SCRIPT

4

− DISCUSS hot things and how to stay away from them because they 

can burn. 

− ASK if there are any more questions before moving on to the 

bedroom. ASK students to quietly move to the bedroom.
TEACHING TOOLS

4-12 Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum

Pre-K–K

LESSON PLANS—SCRIPT

4

Bedroom Script

Get out and stay out

FF1 TELL students that they should never hide from a fire but should instead 

(SAY with EMPHASIS!) Get Out and Stay Out! EXPLAIN that they 

shouldn’t stop for any reason but should go outside as quickly as they can 

and stay out!

 TELL students to repeat these five words to themselves whenever they 

think about fire: “Get Out and Stay Out!” SAY the words while 

clapping your hands. REPEAT several times until all students join in.
TEACHING TOOLS

Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum 4-13

Pre-K–K

LESSON PLANS—SCRIPT

4

Additional Messages and Activities

Use activities in the kitchen, living room, and bedroom/bathroom as written to 

provide students with a basic fire safety education lesson. If you have more time 

to spend with them, you can provide additional information by adding one or 

more of the messages listed here to your lesson. You can also make the lesson 

more effective by:

 Pointing out a burn hazard, such as a stove in the kitchen and saying “the 

stove is a hot thing that hurts” and then have two or three students point 

out other burn hazards. 

 Having all of the students identify common fire hazards.

Firefighters are your friends

DO NOT SHOW UP IN FULL TURNOUT GEAR! THIS COULD 

FRIGHTEN THE CHILDREN.

While students are still inside trailer (15 minutes after lesson begins inside 

trailer), FF3 puts on turnout gear except for coat and helmet.

FF3 GREET students at the selected meeting place once they have exited 

trailer.

FF1 FF1 with the assistance of FF3 

 EXPLAIN that firefighters help people stay safe and that firefighters 

wear special clothes to keep them safe when they fight a fire. As FF1 

talks about the clothing, FF3 begins to put on the remainder of his gear.

 EMPHASIZE that although FF3 looks different with his/her gear 

on, he is still the same person inside, that he is a friend and is here to 

protect the students in case of an emergency.

Activities

You can also add other activities to the tour, including the following:

 Discovery through play. Examples include “Red Light Green Light” to 

talk about safe and unsafe objects they come across in the trailer; role 

play skit for “What would you do if...”; coloring books; and additional “I 

Spy” games.

 Ask the students if they can remember the sound a smoke alarm makes 

and ask them to make it.

 Show a video (for example, “I Spot Something Hot.” See Section 7 - 

Resources for recommendations and links to online videos).
TEACHING TOOLS

4-14 Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum

Pre-K–K

LESSON PLANS—SCRIPT

4

Summary: Fire Safety Trailer

FF1 ASK if there are any more questions regarding the students’ experience in 

the fire safety trailer. RESPOND as needed (time permitting).

 REVIEW the messages in the Pre-K & K lesson and ask probing 

questions to ensure comprehension. Sample questions include:

− What should you do if you find matches?

− Why do we need smoke alarms?

− What should you do if you see smoke or fire?

FF3 HAND OUT extenders:

 Fire Escape Map

 9-1-1 Poster

 Greeting Cards

 My Phone/Address Worksheet

 Sesame Street Booklet

 Bookmarks
TEACHING TOOLS

LESSON PLANS

1st & 2nd Grade

Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum 4-15

4

Lesson Length: 20 minutes

Students in 1st and 2nd grade have boundless energy 

and typically like to be the center of attention. Kids in 

these grades should be able to add basic numbers, read, 

and may begin to reason and concentrate on tasks. 

Keep in mind the following teaching tips for this age 

group:

DO... DO NOT...

Start with an attention-getter video clip, 

song, or a prop to get buy-in from the kids. 

Assure the video is age appropriate with no 

fire and damage shown.

Tell students that fires can “hurt” them 

or “destroy” things in their homes. These 

messages can create fear.

Keep students engaged by changing your 

tone or activity. 

Frighten children with: explicit stories 

about a home fire; images of burned 

clothing; images of burned toys or 

household items; or talk about burned 

pets.

Use simple words with students. Say “fire 

truck” not “apparatus.”

Use words that students may not 

understand. 

Use bold colors and sounds.

Make your talk interactive and ask them 

questions.

Give breaks if needed, as young kids have 

very short attention spans.

Learning Objective

Understand and respond appropriately to home fire dangers covered in lesson 

by correctly describing and/or behaviorally responding to fire safety messages 

targeting 1st and 2nd grade students by end of lesson. If students have 

previously toured the fire safety trailer, they should be able to recall what they 

learned and respond more quickly to questions they are asked (in comparison to 

first-time students).
TEACHING TOOLS

4-16 Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum LESSON PLANS 

1st & 2nd Grades

4

Learning Areas

 Fire prevention

 Burn/injury prevention

 Fire escape planning

Key Fire Safety Messages for Use in the Trailer 

Kitchen

 Stay away from hot things.

 Cool a burn with cool water.

 Stay three feet away from oven/stove.

Living Room

 What a smoke alarm looks like and sounds like.

 Tell a grown-up if you find matches or lighters and 

never touch.

Bedroom

 Get out and stay out. Go to your family’s meeting 

place.

 Get low and go, go, go to your exit.
TEACHING TOOLS

Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum 4-17LESSON PLANS

1st & 2nd Grades

4

Additional Messages (to be taught in living room, bedroom, or outside trailer)

 Practice a fire drill using your escape map.

 Remember firefighters are helpers and friends.

 Know your address and phone number.

 Call 9-1-1 when you are outside your home at your family meeting spot.

 Stop, Drop and Roll if fire gets on your clothes.

Resources Needed for Lesson

Kitchen and Living Room Posters

Flash Cards: 

 Hot and Cold Objects Cards

 Burn Treatment Cards

 Smoke Alarm Cards

 Matches and Lighter Cards

 Tell a Grown-up Sequence Cards

 Crawl Low Under Smoke Cards

Extenders:

 Fire Escape Map

 9-1-1 Poster

 Greeting Cards

 My Phone/Address Worksheet

 Sesame Street Booklet

 Take Home Inspection Checklist

 Bookmarks
TEACHING TOOLS

4-18 Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum LESSON PLANS—SCRIPT

1st & 2nd Grades

4

Kitchen Script

Before entering trailer, FF3 GATHERS students into groups of 5–8. When FF1 

indicates he/she is ready to begin lesson, FF3 assists students into trailer and into 

kitchen. 

FF1 ASK students to carefully step into the kitchen and to quietly sit down 

opposite the stove area (provides more room to move between students and 

stove during kitchen activity). REMIND the students to be quiet and to 

listen carefully because what you are saying is VERY IMPORTANT!

ASK the following questions:

“Please raise your hand if you have been in a fire safety trailer before.” Tell 

the students raising their hands ‘Welcome Back’ and that they will be 

hearing some things they’ve heard before but will also be hearing some new 

things on this tour.

“What do you know about fire safety?” Allow as many students to answer as 

possible. Allow two minutes to respond.

Stay away from hot things that hurt

In addition to the stove itself, the kitchen will be set up 

with various items found around the kitchen that can 

burn or cause a fire. The objectives of this section of 

the tour are to have students identify all of the hazards 

found in the kitchen, and for them to suggest what 

could be done to eliminate or prevent such hazards. 

FF1 SHOW students picture flash cards of hot and 

cold objects. ASK students to call out if the picture is of something hot or 

cold. Allow two minutes for activity.

 “I Spy something hot.” The kitchen will be set up with various 

common fire hazards. The objective of this section of the tour is to 

have students identify all of the hazards found in the kitchen that could 

cause a burn and to understand that they need to stay away from these 

hazards. 

− SAY “Now we will play the ‘I Spy’ game.”

− SAY “Raise your hand if you know any hot things in the kitchen.” 

Allow two minutes to respond.

 POINT to ‘I Spy’ kitchen message poster and ASK: “Can you see any 

hot things that hurt in the poster?” FF1 SAYS “I Spy...” and identify 
TEACHING TOOLS

Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum 4-19LESSON PLANS—SCRIPT

1st & 2nd Grades

4

one hazard to get the students started. Allow the students to point at 

hazards while raising their hands, and ask them to DESCRIBE the 

hazards one at a time. Allow two minutes to respond.

− Next, POINT around the kitchen and ASK: “Can you see any hot 

things in THIS kitchen?” Again, allow the students to point at 

hazards while raising their hands, and ask them to DESCRIBE the 

hazards one at a time. Allow two minutes to respond.

 ASK students how they can stay away from hot things in the kitchen. 

Allow two minutes to respond. ASK students:

− Do you think the stove is hot? (Point to the glowing burners.)

− Should we ever touch that (burner, stove, oven)? Why not? (It is hot, 

it can burn us. Stay three steps away from hot things. Remember 

that a burner doesn’t always glow red when it’s hot.)

 Should we ever touch the pots that sit on the stove or that are in the 

oven? Why not? (They are hot and can burn us.) Who touches the 

pots and pans? (Adults)

 Who cooks on the stove and oven? (Adults)

− Make sure students identify all fire hazards in kitchen (include the 

sink as a burn hazard).

Stay three feet away from oven/stove

FF1 SAY “I want you all to remember to stay away from the stove, since it may be 

turned on and very hot.” You can ask an adult at home to put tape on the 

floor that will mark a boundary line 3 feet away from the stove to remind 

you to stay away. And make sure that younger children know to stay 3 feet 

away from areas of the kitchen where they can get hurt—that area includes 

both stove and sink. 

Cool a burn with cool water (for at least 3 to 5 minutes)

FF1 If you or someone at home is burned, cool the burn right away with cool 

water. 

 SHOW students Burn Treatment Cards.

− Make sure students understand and are paying attention. Stop and 

ask students to repeat messages if necessary to make sure messages 

are understood. Point out whenever students are listening and are 

behaving properly to acknowledge good behavior.
TEACHING TOOLS

4-20 Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum LESSON PLANS—SCRIPT

1st & 2nd Grades

4

− ASK if there are any more questions before moving on to the Living 

Room.

− [FF1]: ASK students to quietly move to the Living Room.
TEACHING TOOLS

Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum 4-21LESSON PLANS—SCRIPT

1st & 2nd Grades

4

Living Room Script

What a smoke alarm looks like and sounds like

FF1 SHOW Smoke Alarm Cards, hold up a real smoke alarm, or point to one 

installed in the living room. ASK the following questions:

 Does anybody know what this is called? What does the smoke alarm do?

 What does it sound like? (It beeps loudly.)

 Have you ever heard a smoke alarm?

 Where have you heard one?

 Why do we need smoke alarms? (To tell us if there is smoke or fire, so we 

can get out.)

 [FF1]: TELL the students that you are now going to push the smoke 

alarm button and to be prepared for the sound the alarm makes so 

they are not surprised. Suggest that the students cover their ears if 

they want. REMIND them that the sound will be loud. Push the test 

button on the smoke alarm to demonstrate the sound. TELL them 

that the smoke alarm is loud so that people will hear it when they 

need to get out and away from the fire or smoke so they can stay safe. 

EMPHASIZE that they need to get out when they hear the alarm, not 

just cover their ears. TELL them that if they hear the alarm at home or 

school they need to get out and stay out. Remind the students that if 

they smell or see smoke or fire they should just get out. 

 [FF1]: ASK the following questions after the smoke alarm 

demonstration:

− Why does it need to be so loud? (So we can hear it to tell us to get 

out. To tell us there is smoke or fire.)

− What should we do if we hear the smoke alarm? (Get low and go to 

your exit. Get out and stay out.)

− If you see or smell smoke or fire, what should you do? (Get low and go 

to your exit. Get out and stay out.)

− Are smoke alarms good to have in your home?

− Do they help keep us safe? How do they help keep us safe?

− How many of you have a smoke alarm in your home?
TEACHING TOOLS

4-22 Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum LESSON PLANS—SCRIPT

1st & 2nd Grades

4

Never touch matches or lighters. They are tools for grown ups 

only

The living room will be set up with various common fire hazards. The 

objectives of this section are to have students identify hazards that they might 

find in the living room—matches and lighters—and to tell an adult if they find 

them so that the adult can remove them. 

FF1 ASK what the students know about matches and lighters. EXPLAIN 

that matches and lighters are only for grown-ups to use and are not safe 

for children to use. EXPLAIN that they should tell a grown-up if they 

find matches or lighters or if they see another child touching matches or 

lighters. Never touch! 

 SHOW students Matches and Lighter Cards.

 SHOW students Tell a Grown-up Sequence Cards.

 “I Spy: Matches and lighters.”

 POINT to ‘I Spy’ living room message poster and ASK: “Can you see 

any matches or lighters in the poster?” Allow the students to point at 

hazards while raising their hands, and ask them to DESCRIBE the 

hazards one student at a time. Allow two minutes to respond.

 POINT around the living room and ASK: “Can you see any matches 

or lighters in this living room?” ASK students how these hazards could 

be prevented or removed. (Tell a grown-up!) Allow two minutes to 

respond.

 ASK if there are any more questions before moving on to the bedroom. 

ASK students to quietly move to the bedroom.
TEACHING TOOLS

Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum 4-23LESSON PLANS—SCRIPT

1st & 2nd Grades

4

Bedroom Script

Get out and stay out. Go to your family’s meeting place

FF1 TELL students that they should never hide from a fire. “If there is a fire in 

your house, remember to get out of your house as quickly as you can and stay 

out.” TELL students to repeat these five words to themselves whenever 

they think about fire: “Get Out and Stay Out!” SAY the words while 

clapping your hands. REPEAT several times until all students join in.

 TELL students that as part of a family escape plan, there should be a 

meeting place outside in front of their home where they and all other 

members of their family can wait for the fire department.

 TELL students: “Call 9-1-1 once you are away from your house with a 

cell phone or from a neighbor’s house.”

Crawl low under smoke

FF1 TELL students that if they are ever in a building or home and they see 

or smell smoke, they are to get down on their hands and knees and crawl 

to the exit. EXPLAIN that they will be able to breathe and see better 

through smoke when they are close to the floor. 

 SHOW students Crawl Low under Smoke Cards. 

Exiting trailer.

FF1 TELL students that in some fires, people need to use the window to get out 

of their house. OFFER students the choice of leaving the trailer through 

the window or the door. 

 Assist students who choose to go through window in bedroom. FF3 

assists students down ladder and directs them to nearby meeting place.

 Direct any children who are too frightened to exit by the window to 

the side of the room. Once all the students who have exited through 

the window are out of the trailer, direct the students who remain to 

the bedroom exit door where FF3 will assist them down the step and 

outside to the meeting place.

 If weather is bad, FF1 will direct students to use the bedroom exit door.
TEACHING TOOLS

4-24 Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum LESSON PLANS—SCRIPT

1st & 2nd Grades

4

Additional Messages and Activities

Use activities in the kitchen, living room, and bedroom/bathroom as written 

to provide students with a basic fire safety education lesson. If you have time, 

you can provide additional information by adding one or more of these to your 

lesson. You can also make the lesson more effective by pointing out a burn 

hazard in the kitchen and saying “that’s hot—stay away from that,” and then 

have two or three students point out the other burn hazards. Even better, if you 

have time, would be to have all of the students identify common fire hazards.

Practice your fire drill using your escape map

FF1 If you have a fire in your house, will you know what to do? Make a home 

fire escape map with your parents and practice it. This will help you and 

your family escape from your home. If you practice your escape plan, you 

and your family will know what to do if you have a fire. 

 To help you to remember your escape plan, draw an escape map that 

includes your family’s plan for getting out of the house if you have a 

fire. It’s best if you can draw the map with your family. As you draw 

the map, remember to have two ways to get out of each room.

 When making your escape plan, talk to your parents about making sure 

that the doors and windows you plan to use can be opened quickly in 

an emergency.

 Include a family meeting place (something permanent like a tree, street 

light, or mailbox) a safe distance in front of your home where you and 

your family can wait for the fire department.

 Once you have an escape plan for your house on a map, practice a fire 

drill! Practice your fire drill at least twice a year.

Recognize the firefighter as a helper and friend

While students are still inside trailer (15 minutes after lesson begins inside 

trailer), FF3 puts on turnout gear except for coat and helmet.
TEACHING TOOLS

Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum 4-25LESSON PLANS—SCRIPT

1st & 2nd Grades

4

FF3 GREET students at the selected meeting place once they have exited trailer 

and called 9-1-1.

FF1 FF1 with the assistance of FF3: 

 EXPLAIN that firefighters are here to help protect the community 

(briefly discuss involvement with house fires, traffic accidents, etc.).

 EXPLAIN that firefighters wear special clothing to prevent injury. As 

FF1 talks about the clothing, FF3 begins to put on the remainder of his 

gear.

 EMPHASIZE that although FF3 looks different with his/her gear on, 

he is still the same person. He is a friend and is here to protect the 

students in case of fire.

When to call 9-1-1

FF1 TALK about and DISCUSS the following 9-1-1 topics with students:

 ASK students if they know what telephone number to use if there is an 

emergency. ASK them if they should call 9-1-1 for a house or building 

fire.

 In case of a fire, remember to call 9-1-1 (or the local fire department 

number) after YOU get out.

 9-1-1 is for emergencies only (fire, someone is very sick, burglar, etc.).

 Explain what is not an emergency (minor problems at home like fights 

with brothers or sisters, small bumps or bruises, etc.). 

 Never call 9-1-1 “just for fun.”

 If adults are present, they should be told about the emergency before 

YOU dial 9-1-1. 

 ASK students what they would tell a 9-1-1 operator if they needed to 

call them.

 TELL the dispatcher what is happening or what the emergency is (helps 

dispatcher to know who to send).

 TELL the dispatcher where you are (street address).

 Optional: Using the fire safety trailer’s 9-1-1 system. The fire safety 

trailer’s 9-1-1 system provides students with a realistic 9-1-1-call 

experience. When the student picks up the phone, a dial tone sound 

is heard, and after a 6-second delay, the dispatcher’s phone (FF2 in the 

control room) will ring. The red light on the phone blinks to signify 

to the operator to answer in the manner trained. If the caller hangs up 

before the call is complete, the dispatcher can ‘ring back’ the caller’s 
TEACHING TOOLS

4-26 Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum LESSON PLANS—SCRIPT

1st & 2nd Grades

4

phone and complete the exercise. Remember to tell the students they 

should only call 9-1-1 AFTER they exit the building/house.

Stop, Drop and Roll if fire gets on your clothes

FF1 TELL students that they will now talk about how to “Stop, Drop and Roll 

if fire gets on your clothes.” EMPHASIZE this is done if fire gets on your 

clothes. Stop, Drop and Roll involves the following steps:

 Stop where you are.

 Drop your body to the ground and cover your face with your hands.

 Roll back and forth over and over until the fire is gone.

 SHOW students Stop, Drop and Roll Sequence Cards and demonstrate.

 ASK for one volunteer to explain and demonstrate “Stop, Drop and Roll 

if fire gets on your clothes.” Next, have each student demonstrate Stop, 

Drop and Roll. 

 SUPERVISE this activity closely to avoid injuries.

 REMIND the children together that they have all been learning about 

things to do to keep people safe. TELL them that knowing how to 

Stop, Drop and Roll is a good way to stay safe if fire gets on your 

clothes, but that running makes the fire bigger.

Activities

You can also add other activities to the tour, including the following:

 Show students a smoke alarm and demonstrate the sound it makes.

 Practice exiting the fire safety trailer (crawling low, touching the door, 

getting out and staying out, calling 9-1-1).

 Have children make a fire escape plan with their parents at home.

 Students should demonstrate and practice Stop, Drop and Roll.

 If your local fire department has a smoke alarm installation program or 

free/low cost alarms, distribute the information to those indicating they 

do not have working smoke alarms.

 Show a video (see Section 7—Resources for recommendations of online 

videos).
TEACHING TOOLS

Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum 4-27LESSON PLANS—SCRIPT

1st & 2nd Grades

4

Summary: Fire Safety Trailer

FF1 ASK if there are any more questions regarding the students’ experience in 

the fire safety trailer. RESPOND as needed (time permitting).

 REVIEW the messages in the 1st and 2nd grade lesson and ask probing 

questions to ensure comprehension. Sample questions include:

− What should you do if you burn your finger?

− Where should you go after you get outside from a fire?

− What should you do if fire gets on your clothes?

FF3 HAND OUT extenders:

 Fire Escape Map

 9-1-1 Poster

 Greeting Cards

 My Phone/Address Worksheet

 Sesame Street Booklet

 Take Home Inspection Checklist

 Bookmarks
Page intentionally left blank
TEACHING TOOLS

LESSON PLANS

3rd & 4th Grades

Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum 4-29

4

Lesson Length: 20 minutes

By the time students reach 3rd and 4th grade, they 

may ask a lot of questions and be very excitable. Most 

students this age will be able to think independently 

and can look up information on their own on the 

computer or in a library. At this age, students are 

also used to having homework assignments sent home 

so lesson extenders should be recommended for the 

teacher. Keep in mind the following teaching tips for 

this age group:

DO... DO NOT...

Start with an attention-getter video clip, 

song, or a prop to get buy-in from the kids.

Assume they are paying attention. Keep 

checking by engaging questions to the 

group.

Keep students engaged by changing your 

tone or activity. 

Frighten children with: explicit stories 

about a home fire; images of burned 

clothing; images of burned toys or 

household items; or talk about burned 

pets.

Use simple words with students. Say “fire 

truck” not “apparatus.”

Use words that students may not 

understand. 

Use bold colors and sounds.

Make your talk interactive and ask them 

questions.

Give breaks if needed, as kids have short 

attention spans.

Learning Objective

Understand and respond appropriately to home fire dangers covered in lesson 

by correctly describing and/or behaviorally responding to fire safety messages 

targeting 3rd and 4th Grade students by end of lesson. If students previously 

toured the fire safety trailer, they should be able to recall what they learned and 

respond more quickly to questions they are asked (in comparison to first-time 

students).
TEACHING TOOLS

4-30 Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum LESSON PLANS 

3rd & 4th Grades

4

Learning Areas

 Fire prevention

 Burn/injury prevention

 Fire escape planning

Key Fire Safety Messages for Use in the Trailer 

Kitchen

 Stay three feet away from oven/stove.

 Cool a burn with cool water (for at least 3 to 5 

minutes).

Living Room

 What a smoke alarm looks like and sounds like.

 Don’t play with matches or lighters.

 Talk to your parents about testing and changing the 

batteries in your smoke alarms.

Bedroom

 Get Out and Stay Out.

 Crawl low under smoke to your exit.

 Touch the door with the back of your hand before 

opening.
TEACHING TOOLS

Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum 4-31LESSON PLANS

3rd & 4th Grades

4

Additional Messages (to be taught in living room, bedroom, or outside trailer)

 Practice a fire drill using your escape map.

 When to call 9-1-1.

 Stop, Drop and Roll if fire gets on your clothes.

Resources Needed for Lesson

Kitchen and Living Room Posters

Flash Cards: 

 Burn Treatment Cards

 Smoke Alarm Cards

 Matches and Lighter Cards

 Tell a Grown-up Sequence Cards

 Crawl Low Under Smoke Cards

 Stop, Drop and Roll Sequence Cards

Extenders:

 Fire Escape Map

 9-1-1 Poster

 Greeting Cards

 My Phone/Address Worksheet

 Take Home Inspection Checklist

 Bookmarks
4

TEACHING TOOLS

4-32 Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum LESSON PLANS—SCRIPT

3rd & 4th Grades

Kitchen Script

Before entering trailer, FF3 GATHERS students into groups of 5–8. When FF1 

indicates he/she is ready to begin lesson, FF3 assists students into trailer and into 

kitchen. 

FF1 ASK students to carefully step into the kitchen and to quietly be seated 

at the end opposite the stove area (provides more room to move between 

students and stove during kitchen activity). REMIND the students to 

be quiet and to listen carefully because what you are saying is VERY 

IMPORTANT!

 ASK the following questions:

 “Please raise your hand if you have been in a fire safety trailer before.” Tell 

the students raising their hands ‘Welcome Back’ and that they will be 

hearing some things they’ve heard before but will also be hearing some 

new things on this tour.

 “What do you know about fire safety?” Allow as many students to answer 

as possible. Allow two minutes to respond.

Stay three feet away from oven/stove

FF1 SAY “The first thing I want you all to remember about being safe in the 

kitchen is to stay away from the stove, since it may be turned on and very 

hot. You can ask an adult at home to put tape on the floor to mark a 

boundary line three feet away from the stove. Make sure that younger 

children, like your little brothers and sisters know to stay three feet away 

from areas in the kitchen where they can get hurt. 

 SAY “Does anyone remember what a fire danger is?” (Something that 

can cause a fire to start or cause someone to get burned). Allow two 

minutes to respond.

 POINT to the kitchen message poster and ASK: “Can you see any fire 

dangers in the poster?” Allow the students to point at hazards while 

raising their hands, and ask them to DESCRIBE the hazard one student 

at a time. Allow two minutes to respond.

 POINT around the kitchen and ASK: “Can you see any fire dangers in 

this kitchen?” FF1 then ASK students how fire hazards can be prevented 

or removed. Allow two minutes to respond.

 ASK students other questions about kitchen fire safety, including:

− How do you know if the stove is on or hot? Allow for response; point 

to the glowing burners once correct response is given. Remind them 
4

TEACHING TOOLS

4-33 Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum LESSON PLANS—SCRIPT

3rd & 4th Grades

that, even if the stove was turned off after cooking, it could still be 

hot even though it is not glowing red.

− Should we ever touch that (burner, stove, oven)? (Only if adults are 

teaching them to cook or supervising should you get close to a stove; 

it is hot and can burn us. Remember to stay away from hot things 

that hurt.)

− Should we ever touch the pots or pans that sit on the stove or that are 

in the oven? (Only if adults are supervising should you get close to a 

stove; pots and the stove are hot and can burn us.) Who touches the 

pots and pans? (adults).

− With pot handle facing outward, ASK students if there is anything 

wrong with the pot. TELL them about the ‘safety zone’ for pot 

handles (over the stove) and then ASK “Is the pot handle in the safety 

zone?” (No!) FF1 asks students to tell him how to turn the handle 

to a “safe” position. REMIND students that they DO NOT touch 

pot handles, but can tell an adult at home if they see a pot handle 

that is NOT in the safety zone.

− Who cooks on the stove and oven? (Grown-ups; students are only to 

help if adult is there and teaching them about cooking.)

 Make sure students identify all fire hazards in the kitchen.

 Make sure students understand and are paying attention. Stop and 

ask students to repeat messages if necessary to make sure messages are 

understood. Point out whenever students are listening and are behaving 

properly and praise them. 

Cool a burn with cool water (for at least 3 to 5 minutes)

FF1 If you or someone at home is burned, cool the burn immediately with cool 

water. Use cool water on the burn for at least 3 to 5 minutes to prevent 

further injury. Afterwards, put a clean, dry cloth on the burn. Don’t use 

ice-cold water and ice cubes; this could cause further damage to burned 

skin. Never put ointment, grease, or butter on the burn. 

 SHOW students Burn Treatment Cards.

 Does anyone have any questions about these topics before we move on to the 

living room?

− Answer any questions and go over again any of the above messages if 

there seems to be anything that is unclear. If there are no questions, 

go to the living room.
4

TEACHING TOOLS

4-34 Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum LESSON PLANS—SCRIPT

3rd & 4th Grades

Living Room Script

What a smoke alarm looks like and sounds like

FF1 Hold up a real smoke alarm (or points to one installed in the living room) 

and ASK the following questions:

 Does anybody know what this is called? What does the smoke alarm do?

 What does it sound like? (It beeps loudly.)

 Have you ever heard a smoke alarm?

 Where have you heard one?

 Why do we need smoke alarms? (To tell us if there is smoke or fire, so we 

can get out.)

 TELL students that you are now going to push the smoke alarm button 

and to be prepared for the sound the alarm makes so they are not 

surprised. Suggest that the students can cover their ears if they want. 

REMIND them that the sound will be loud. Push the test button on 

the smoke alarm to demonstrate the sound. TELL them that the smoke 

alarm is loud so that people will hear it and that they need to get out 

and away from the fire or smoke so they can stay safe. EMPHASIZE 

that they need to get out when they hear the alarm, not just cover their 

ears. TELL them that if they hear the alarm at home or school they 

need to get out and stay out. Sometimes they may smell smoke, but not 

hear the smoke alarm—if that happens, they should not wait for the 

smoke alarm to sound. They should just get out. 

 ASK the following questions after the smoke alarm demonstration:

− Why does it need to be so loud? (So we can hear it to tell us to get 

out. To tell us there is smoke or fire.)

− What should we do if we hear the smoke alarm? (Get out and stay 

out.)

− If you see or smell smoke or fire, should you wait for the smoke alarm to 

sound? (No! Get out and stay out.)

− Are smoke alarms good to have in your home?

− Do they help keep us safe? How do they help keep us safe?
TEACHING TOOLS

Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum 4-35LESSON PLANS—SCRIPT

3rd & 4th Grades

4

Talk to your parents about testing and changing the batteries 

in your smoke alarms

FF1 Let’s have a show of hands. 

 If you have smoke alarms installed in your home, raise your hand.

 Raise your hand if you have smoke alarms on each level of your home 

and outside each sleeping area.

 [FF1]: Having working smoke alarms makes your house a lot safer and 

gives you a warning so that you and your family can escape from a fire 

without getting hurt. You should have a smoke alarm in every bedroom, 

outside each separate sleeping area, and on every level of your home, 

including the basement. As you know, when a smoke alarm detects 

smoke from a fire, it sounds a loud, piercing alarm which alerts you to 

the danger of a fire, even if you are asleep. [FF1]: Talk to your parents 

about testing the smoke alarms in your home once each month and 

replacing the batteries each year.

− Does anyone have any questions about smoke alarms?

Don’t play with matches or lighters

The objective of this section of the tour is to IDENTIFY fire hazards found 

around the house. At this age, students should be able to immediately identify 

fire hazards and offer suggestions for what can be done to eliminate or prevent 

such hazards. 

FF1 SHOW students Matches and Lighter Cards.

 POINT around the room and ASK: “Are there any fire dangers in this 

room?” For each response, FF1 ASKS a follow-up question: “How 

can this danger be prevented or removed. Allow two-four minutes to 

respond.

 DISCUSS hot things and how to stay away from them because they 

can burn. ASK what the children know about matches and lighters. 

EXPLAIN that matches and lighters are only for adults to use and are 

not safe for children to use. EXPLAIN that they should tell an adult if 

they find matches or lighters. REMIND them that children sometimes 

play with matches without thinking how dangerous they are—matches 

or lighters can burn a house down!

 Smoking is the number one cause of home fire deaths in the United 

States. No one should smoke for health reasons, but smoking in the 

house is more dangerous because of the risk of fire. If you have smokers 

at your home, ask them to smoke outside.
4

TEACHING TOOLS

4-36 Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum LESSON PLANS—SCRIPT

3rd & 4th Grades

 (Optional) TELL a story about a fire you helped put out or heard 

about that was set by matches/lighters, smoking, or a similar hazard to 

EMPHASIZE the danger.
TEACHING TOOLS

Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum 4-37LESSON PLANS—SCRIPT

3rd & 4th Grades

4

Bedroom Script

This activity emphasizes first and foremost that students should not hide from 

a house fire but should get outside! The activity includes the following steps to 

get outside: crawling low under smoke to the exits, touching doors for heat, and 

knowing two ways to get out of every room.

FF1 ASK students what they know about escape maps, exiting places when 

smoke alarms beep, and outside meeting places. ASK if they have ever 

had a fire drill at home (and ask if they had a fire drill at home after their 

last visit to the fire safety trailer). ASK if they know about touching doors 

to check for heat before opening them, and if they know two ways to exit 

their bedroom at home. EXPLAIN that escape maps show how to get out 

of buildings when the smoke alarm goes off, and that having an escape 

map and practicing fire drills with the map can keep them safe. 

 Begin by telling students, before they play “The Survivor Game” that 

they should remember FOUR things if they are ever in a house that 

catches fire:

Get out and stay out, go to your family’s meeting place and call 

9-1-1

FF1 TELL students that they should never hide from a fire. If there is a fire in 

a house, remember to get out of the house as quickly as possible and stay 

out. TELL students to repeat these five words to themselves whenever they 

think about fire: “Get Out and Stay Out!” SAY the words while clapping 

your hands. REPEAT several times until all students join in.

 As part of your family escape plan, there should be a meeting place 

outside in front of your home where you and all other members of your 

family can wait for the fire department.

 Call 9-1-1 once you are away from your house with a cell phone or from 

a neighbor’s house.

Crawl low under smoke

FF1 TELL students that if they are ever in a building or home and they see or 

smell smoke, they should get down on their hands and knees and crawl 

to the exit. EXPLAIN that they will be able to breathe and see better 

through smoke when they are close to the floor. 

 SHOW students Crawl Low Under Smoke Cards.
4

TEACHING TOOLS

4-38 Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum LESSON PLANS—SCRIPT

3rd & 4th Grades

Touch the door with the back of your hand before opening

FF1 TELL students that, in a house fire, they shouldn’t try to open a door until 

they are sure it’s safe on the other side—because there could be fire on 

the other side of the door! Touch the door with the back of their hand to 

check if it is safe or not. If the door is warm, they will know that the door 

is not safe to open. 

Know two ways out of every room

FF1 EXPLAIN to students that every room at home should have two exits. For 

example, if you feel the door to the next room and it is warm, you’ll need 

to exit the room through another door or window. Usually, the first exit is 

a door and the second is a window. 

 ASK the students to touch the warm bedroom door one-by-one and 

EXPLAIN to them that a warm or hot door means it is not safe on the 

other side of the door because of fire. EXPLAIN that the door is warm 

to teach them what it feels like when there is a fire.

 ASK how many have a home escape plan and a place to meet outside if 

there is a fire.

 EXPLAIN that the “meeting place” is the place where everyone goes 

when they get out of a building. Explain how important it is that 

they all know where to meet when they get out of the building so that 

firefighters know everyone is safe and away from the smoke or fire. 

Tell them that the meeting place for the Fire Safety Trailer is outside 

and FF3 will direct them to where it is (direct students to look out the 

window for FF3). 

 SAY “Now we’ ll play the ‘Survivor Game.’” This will be the signal to 

FF2 to be READY to turn the smoke machine on; the vents should also 

be set up to direct the stream of smoke to the bedroom. 

 EXPLAIN to the students that the game will include smoke that looks 

real but is safe. TELL them that the smoke is made by a small machine 

in the trailer and that the smoke will come into the bedroom through 

the vents (POINT to the vents).

 TELL the students that if they are ever in a building or home and they 

see or smell smoke, they are to get down on their hands and knees and 

crawl to the exit. EXPLAIN that smoke rises and that they will be 

able to breathe and see better through smoke when they are close to the 

floor. 

 TELL the students that they will first PRACTICE getting down on 

their hands and knees and crawling to the exit (the window) before the 
TEACHING TOOLS

Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum 4-39LESSON PLANS—SCRIPT

3rd & 4th Grades

4

smoke appears. Have the students form a line, and ask them one-by-one 

to begin crawling toward the window. Tell them that once they get to 

the window that they should stand and walk in line back to the starting 

point. 

 CALMLY TELL the students that smoke will soon begin to fill the 

bedroom (this will be the cue for FF2 to start the smoke machine and 

smoke should be coming into the bedroom). TELL them that when 

they hear the smoke alarm, they will crawl as they did before to the 

window, but this time they will be helped through the window by you, 

and that FF3 will be on the other side to help them down the ladder. 

 CALMLY TELL the students that smoke has begun to come into the 

bedroom and ASK “What should we do?” (Students should say they 

should leave the trailer/building.) EXPLAIN that since the bedroom 

door is warm, it will be necessary to exit the bedroom through a 

“second” exit; ASK “Where is the second exit?” (Out the window or the 

exit door.) FF1 activates the smoke alarm.

 CALMLY ASK “What should you do now?” (Students should respond 

by getting down on their hands and knees and forming a line to the 

window where they will exit.) FF1 REMINDS the students that FF3 

will help them through the window and down the ladder.

 Assist students through the bedroom window. FF3 assists students 

down a ladder and directs them to a nearby meeting place.

 Direct any children who are too frightened to exit by the window to 

the side of the room. Once all the students who have exited through 

the window are out of the trailer, direct the students who remain to 

the bedroom exit door where FF3 will assist them down the step and 

outside to the meeting place.

 If weather is bad, FF1 will tell students where their indoor meeting 

place will be (e.g., students’ classroom).
4

TEACHING TOOLS

4-40 Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum LESSON PLANS—SCRIPT

3rd & 4th Grades

Additional Messages and Activities

Use the activities in the kitchen, living room, and bedroom/bathroom as written 

to provide students with a basic fire safety education lesson. If you have more 

time to spend with them, you can provide additional information by adding one 

or more of these messages to your lesson. You can also make the lesson more 

effective by demonstrating a desired behavior (for example, saying “Crawl low 

under smoke” and demonstrating how this is done), and then have two or three 

students repeat what you’ve demonstrated. Even better, if you have time, would 

be to have all of the students repeat what you’ve demonstrated.

Practice your fire drill using your escape map

FF1 If fire breaks out in your house, will you know what to do? If you develop 

a fire escape plan with your parents at home and practice it, you and your 

family are much more likely to escape from a fire. Practicing your escape 

plan with a home fire drill will prepare you and your family to get out 

much faster if a fire should ever happen in your house. 

 To help you to remember your escape plan, draw an escape map that 

includes your family’s plan for getting out of the house in the event of 

fire. It’s best if you can draw the map along with your family. As you 

draw the map, remember to have two ways to get out of each room.

 When you make up your escape plan, talk to your parents about making 

sure that no windows are painted or locked shut; that no furniture 

blocks any exit door; and that there are no deadbolt locks that are too 

hard to open quickly. You should be able to unlock doors and windows 

quickly and easily so they can’t trap you or your family inside. Practice 

doing it when you do your family fire drill. In a real emergency, 

you won’t have time to struggle with a stuck window or move heavy 

furniture to clear your escape path, so get rid of these problems 

BEFORE you have a fire. Also, if your home has security bars on the 

doors and windows, have your parents show you the emergency release 

devices inside so that you can open them quickly in an emergency.

 Make sure you have a family meeting place (something permanent like 

a tree, street light, or mailbox) a safe distance in front of your home 

where you and all other members of your family can wait for the fire 

department.

 During your planning, think about any young children, older adults, or 

family members who have difficulty moving or may need help getting 

out. Assign someone to assist them in the fire drill and in the event of 
TEACHING TOOLS

Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum 4-41LESSON PLANS—SCRIPT

3rd & 4th Grades

4

an emergency. Assign a backup person too, in case the primary person 

is not home during the emergency.

 Once you have drawn a map of your escape plan, have your family 

practice your fire drill! Remember to do it at least twice a year.

 If you need help making up an escape plan, call your fire department’s 

non-emergency number, they should be able to help you. Remember: 

PLAN AHEAD AND STAY ALIVE!

When to call 9-1-1

FF1 TALK about and DISCUSS the following 9-1-1 topics with students:

 ASK students if they know what telephone number to use if there is an 

emergency. ASK them if they should call 9-1-1 for a house or building 

fire.

 In case of a fire, remember to call 9-1-1 (or the local fire department 

number) AFTER you get out.

 9-1-1 is for emergencies only (fire, someone is very sick, burglar, etc.).

 Explain what is not an emergency (minor problems at home like fights 

with brothers or sisters, small bumps or bruises, etc.). 

 Never call 9-1-1 “just for fun.”

 If adults are at home, you should tell them about the emergency before 

YOU dial 9-1-1. 

 [FF1]: ASK students what they would tell a 9-1-1 operator if they 

needed to call them.

 TELL the dispatcher what is happening or what the emergency is (helps 

dispatcher to know who to send).

 TELL the dispatcher where you are (street address).

 Optional: Using the fire safety trailer’s 9-1-1 system. The fire safety 

trailer’s 9-1-1 system provides students with a realistic 9-1-1-call 

experience. When the student picks up the phone, a dial tone sound 

is heard, and after a 6-second delay, the dispatcher’s phone (FF2 in the 

control room) will ring. The red light on the phone blinks to signify 

to the operator to answer in the manner trained. If the caller hangs up 

before the call is complete, the dispatcher can ‘ring back’ the caller’s 

phone and complete the exercise. Remember to tell the students that 

they should only call 9-1-1 AFTER they leave the building or house and 

are in a safe area. 
4

TEACHING TOOLS

4-42 Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum LESSON PLANS—SCRIPT

3rd & 4th Grades

Stop, Drop and Roll if fire gets on your clothes

FF1 TELL students that they will now learn (or review) how to “Stop, Drop 

and Roll if fire gets on your clothes.” EMPHASIZE that this is done if fire 

gets on your clothes. Stop, Drop and Roll involves the following steps:

 Stop immediately where you are.

 Drop your body to the ground and cover your face with your hands.

 Roll back and forth over and over until the fire is gone.

 SHOW students Stop, Drop and Roll Sequence Cards and demonstrate. 

 ASK for one volunteer to explain and demonstrate “Stop, Drop and Roll 

if fire gets on your clothes.” Next, have each student demonstrate Stop, 

Drop and Roll. 

 SUPERVISE this activity closely to avoid injuries.

 REMIND the children together that they have all been learning about 

things to do to keep people safe. TELL them that knowing how to 

Stop, Drop and Roll is a good way to stay safe if fire gets on your 

clothes, that running makes the fire bigger.

Activities

You can also add activities to the tour, including the following:

 Practice exiting the fire safety trailer (crawling low, touching the door, 

getting out and staying out, calling 9-1-1).

 Have children plan a fire drill using their escape maps.

 Have students demonstrate and practice Stop, Drop and Roll.

 Distribute information to those indicating they do not have working 

smoke alarms, if your local fire department has a smoke alarm 

installation program or free/low cost alarms.

 Show a video (see Section 7 - Resources for recommendations of online 

videos).
TEACHING TOOLS

Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum 4-43LESSON PLANS—SCRIPT

3rd & 4th Grades

4

Summary: Fire Safety Trailer

FF1 ASK if there are any more questions regarding the students’ experience in 

the fire safety trailer. RESPOND as needed (time permitting).

 REVIEW messages in the 3rd & 4th Grade lesson and ask probing 

questions to ensure comprehension. Sample questions include:

− What should you do if you see or smell smoke or fire?

− How often should a smoke alarm be tested?

− What information should you tell the 9-1-1 operator in an 

emergency?

FF3 HAND OUT extenders:

 Fire Escape Map

 9-1-1 Poster

 Greeting Cards

 My Phone/Address Worksheet

 Take Home Inspection Checklist

 Bookmarks
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TEACHING TOOLS

LESSON PLANS

5th & 6th Grades

Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum 4-45

4

Lesson Length: 20 minutes

The typical 5th or 6th grader is becoming more 

independent and responsible. They want to excel and 

tend to have good relationships with teachers and 

adults. Keep in mind the following teaching tips for 

this age group:

DO... DO NOT...

Keep students engaged by changing your 

tone or activity.

Assume they are paying attention. Keep 

checking by addressing questions to the 

group.

Make your talk interactive and ask them 

questions.

Frighten children with: explicit stories 

about a home fire; images of burned 

clothing; images of burned toys or 

household items; or talk about burned 

pets.

Give breaks if needed, as kids have short 

attention spans.

Complicate messages. Simple messages 

are still best, like “Get out and stay out!”

Learning Objective

Understand and respond appropriately to home fire dangers by correctly 

describing and/or behaviorally responding to fire safety messages targeting 5th 

and 6th grade students. If students previously toured the fire safety trailer, 

they should be able to recall what they learned and can respond more quickly to 

questions than first-time students. 

Learning Areas

 Fire prevention

 Burn/injury prevention

 Fire escape planning
TEACHING TOOLS

4-46 Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum LESSON PLANS 

5th & 6th Grades

4

Key Fire Safety Messages for Use in the Trailer

Kitchen

 Stay in the kitchen when you are cooking at high 

temperatures.

 Keep younger children 3 feet away.

 Use microwave ovens safely (be careful of steam, don’t 

pull out a container above your head).

 Cool a burn with cool water (for at least 3 to 5 

minutes).

Living Room

 Don’t play with matches or lighters.

 Talk to your parents about testing smoke alarm 

batteries monthly, and changing batteries at least 

once a year.

 If you notice dangerous things in your home, such as 

frayed cords, overloaded outlets, space heaters near 

things that burn, tell an adult.

Bedroom

 Crawl low under smoke.

 Touch the door with the back of your hand before 

opening.

 Know two ways out of every room.

Additional Messages (to be taught in living room, bedroom, or outside trailer)

 Get out and stay out. Go to your family’s meeting place.

 Develop a fire escape plan with your parents at home and practice it.

 Stop, Drop and Roll if fire gets on your clothes.
TEACHING TOOLS

Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum 4-47LESSON PLANS

5th & 6th Grades

4

Resources Needed for Lesson

Extenders:

 Microwave Safety

 Take Home Inspection Checklist

 Smoke Alarm Checklist

 Escape Map

 Bookmarks
TEACHING TOOLS

4-48 Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum LESSON PLANS—SCRIPT

5th & 6th Grades

4

Kitchen Script

Before entering trailer, FF3 gathers students into groups of 5–8. When FF1 

indicates he/she is ready to begin lesson, FF3 guides students into trailer and into 

kitchen. 

FF1 ASK students to carefully step into the kitchen and to quietly be seated 

at the end opposite the stove area (provides more room to move between 

students and stove during kitchen activity). REMIND the students to be 

quiet and to listen carefully during the tour.

 ASK the following questions:

 “Please raise your hand if you toured the trailer before.” Tell the students 

raising their hands ‘Welcome Back’ and that they will be hearing some 

things they’ve heard before but will also be hearing some new things on 

this tour.

 “What do you know about fire safety up to now?” Encourage as many 

students to answer as possible. Allow two to four minutes to respond.

Stay in the kitchen when you are cooking at high temperatures.

The kitchen will be set up with various fire hazards found around the kitchen, 

some obvious and some not so obvious. The objective of this section of the tour 

is to have students identify all of the hazards found in the kitchen, and propose 

what could be done to eliminate or prevent such hazards. 

FF1 How many are cooking at home (ask for a show of hands)? There are two 

things we want you to remember:

 Only cook with an adult’s supervision. Cooking is the number one 

cause of home fires in America. Make sure an adult is there to help you 

with the stove or oven.

 Many fires happen when people are cooking and leave the stove to 

do something else. So, stay in the kitchen while you cook and pay 

attention to what you are doing. If you have to leave the kitchen, tell an 

adult and remember to turn off the stove and whatever other cooking 

appliances you are using (like the toaster oven).

Keep younger children 3 feet away

FF1 Make sure that younger children, like your little brothers and sisters, know 

to stay 3 feet away from areas of the kitchen where they can get hurt. The 

areas they should stay away from include stove and sink areas. 
TEACHING TOOLS

Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum 4-49LESSON PLANS—SCRIPT

5th & 6th Grades

4

Use microwave ovens safely

FF1 Microwave ovens should be placed at a safe height, within easy reach of all 

users. You should never pull a container out of the microwave if it is over 

your head; hot food or liquid can spill onto your face or body from above.

 Hot steam escaping from a microwave-heated container or food can 

burn you. Open heated food containers slowly and don’t put your 

fingers or face in the way of the steam when it comes out. That way 

you won’t get burned or scalded. 

Cool a burn with cool water (for at least 3 to 5 minutes)

FF1 If you or someone at home is burned, cool the burn immediately with cool 

water. Use cool water on the burn for at least 3 to 5 minutes to prevent 

further injury. Afterwards, put a clean, dry cloth on the burn. Don’t use 

ice-cold water and ice cubes; this could cause further damage to burned 

skin. Don’t put ointment, grease, or butter on the burn. Things like that 

will seal the heat into the skin so that it can’t release the heat and cool off. 

 Does anyone have any questions about these topics before we move on to the 

living room?

 Answer any questions and go over again any of the above messages if 

there seems to be anything that is unclear. If there are no questions, go 

to the living room.
TEACHING TOOLS

4-50 Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum LESSON PLANS—SCRIPT

5th & 6th Grades

4

Living Room Script

Don’t play with matches or lighters

The objective of this section of the tour is to REVIEW fire hazards found 

around the house. At this age, students should be able to immediately identify 

fire hazards and offer suggestions for what can be done to eliminate or prevent 

such hazards. 

FF1 POINT around the room and ASK: “Are there any fire hazards in this 

room?” For each response, FF1 ASKS a follow-up question: “How can this 

hazard be prevented or removed?” Allow two to four minutes to respond.

 DISCUSS hot things and how to stay away from them because they 

can burn. ASK what the children know about matches and lighters. 

EXPLAIN that matches and lighters are only for adults to use and are 

not safe for children to use. EXPLAIN that if they find matches or a 

lighter, tell an adult that they were left out and need to be moved up 

and away so younger children cannot reach them. REMIND them that 

younger children sometimes play with matches without thinking how 

dangerous they are—matches or lighters can burn a house down!

 Smoking is the number one cause of home fire deaths in the United 

States. No one should smoke for health reasons, but smoking in the 

home is more dangerous because of the risk of fire. If you have smokers 

at your home, ask them to smoke outside.

 (Optional) TELL a story about a fire you helped put out or heard 

about that was set by matches/lighters, smoking, or similar hazard to 

EMPHASIZE the danger.

Talk to your parents about testing smoke alarm batteries 

monthly, and changing batteries at least once a year

FF1 We’re now going to talk about smoke alarms. Let’s have a show of hands. 

 If you have smoke alarms installed in your home, raise your hand.

 Raise your hand if you have smoke alarms on each level of your home 

and outside each sleeping area.

 How many of you have carbon monoxide detectors or combined smoke/

carbon monoxide detector alarms in your home?

 Having working smoke alarms in your house doubles your chances 
TEACHING TOOLS

Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum 4-51LESSON PLANS—SCRIPT

5th & 6th Grades

4

of surviving an accidental fire. You should have a smoke alarm in 

every bedroom, outside each separate sleeping area, and on every level 

of your home, including the basement. As you know, when a smoke 

alarm detects smoke from a fire, it sounds a loud, piercing alarm which 

alerts you to the danger of a fire, even if you are asleep. The smoke 

alarm can provide you with an early warning and give you extra time 

to escape. Many people believe that if they ever had a fire, they would 

be awakened by the smell of smoke in time to escape. THIS IS NOT 

TRUE! Smoke from a fire contains carbon monoxide, which disorients 

people, dulls their senses, and makes them lose consciousness. If you 

are already asleep, it puts you into a DEEPER sleep, and can eventually 

kill you! This is one reason why most people die of smoke inhalation in 

home fires rather than from burns. 

 Talk to your parents about testing smoke alarms in your home once 

each month and replacing batteries at least once a year.

− Does anyone have any questions about smoke alarms?

If you notice dangerous things in your home, such as frayed 

cords, overloaded outlets, space heaters near things that burn, 

tell an adult

FF1 Remember to plug only one appliance into each electrical outlet. Plugging 

additional appliances or devices into one outlet can overload the outlet. 

Outlets become overloaded when the appliances connected to them are 

drawing more electrical current than they can handle. When this happens, 

wiring can get hot and put out enough heat into walls, paneling, and other 

materials to cause a fire. One good example is during the holidays, when 

many people plug in lots of extra lights.

 Many older homes have only a few electrical outlets, or outlets in 

inconvenient places. This situation can create home fire hazards because 

people with this problem solve it by using extension cords. If you see any 

electrical cords or extension cords at home that are frayed or cracked, tell 

an adult at once! Electrical cords can fray, crack and wear out, and when 

they do, they become fire and electrical shock hazards. If any of your 

extension cords have these problems, throw them out! NEVER RUN 

EXTENSION CORDS UNDER RUGS OR CARPETS. When extension 

cords are run under a carpet, walking over the rug may wear away the 

cord’s insulation, expose the wires, and possibly set fire to the rug.

 ASK if there are any more questions before moving on to the bedroom. 

When questions are answered, ASK students to quietly move to the 

bedroom.
Page intentionally left blank
TEACHING TOOLS

Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum 4-53LESSON PLANS—SCRIPT

5th & 6th Grades

4

Bedroom Script

Crawl low under smoke

FF1 TELL students that if they are ever in a building or home and they see or 

smell smoke, they are to get down on their hands and knees and crawl to 

the exit. EXPLAIN that smoke rises, so they will be able to breathe and 

see better through smoke when they are close to the floor.

Touch the door with the back of your hand before opening

FF1 TELL students that, in a house fire, they shouldn’t try to open a door until 

they are sure it’s safe on the other side—because there could be fire on the 

other side of the door! So to check if it is safe or not, touch the door with 

the back of their hand. If the door is warm, they will know that the door is 

not safe to open. 

Know two ways out of every room

FF1 EXPLAIN to students that every room at home should have two exits. For 

example, if you felt the door to the next room and it was warm, you’ll need 

to exit the room through another door or window. Usually, the first exit is 

a door and the second is a window.

 This activity emphasizes crawling low under smoke to the exits, 

touching doors for heat, and getting out and staying out of buildings 

that are on fire.

 ASK students what they know about escape maps, exiting places when 

smoke alarms sound, and outside meeting places. ASK if they have ever 

had a fire drill at home (and ask if they had a fire drill at home after their 

last visit to the fire safety trailer!). ASK if they know of two ways to exit 

their bedroom at home. EXPLAIN that escape maps show how to get out 

of buildings when the smoke alarm goes off, and that having an escape 

map and practicing fire drills with the map can keep them safe. 

 EXPLAIN that every room at home should have two exits. The first 

exit is usually the door and the second is usually a window. 

 EXPLAIN that the “meeting place” is the place where everyone goes 

when they get out of a building. Explain how important it is that 

they all know where to meet when they get out of the building so that 

firefighters know everyone is safe and away from the smoke or fire. 

Tell them that the meeting place for the Fire Safety Trailer is outside 

and FF3 will direct them to where it is (direct students to look out the 

window for FF3).
TEACHING TOOLS

4-54 Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum LESSON PLANS—SCRIPT

5th & 6th Grades

4

 SAY “Now we’ll play the ‘Survivor Game.’” This will be the signal 

to FF2 to turn the heated door on, and be READY to turn the smoke 

machine on; the vents should also be set up to direct a stream of smoke 

to the bedroom. 

 ASK the students to touch the bedroom door one-by-one and 

EXPLAIN/REMIND them that a warm or hot door means it is not 

safe on the other side of the door. EXPLAIN that the door is warm so 

they’ll know what it feels like if there was a fire on the other side of the 

door.

 EXPLAIN to the students that the game includes smoke that looks real 

but is safe. TELL them that the smoke is made by a small machine 

in the trailer and that the smoke will come into the bedroom through 

vents (POINT to the vents).

 TELL the students that if they are ever in a smoke-filled building or 

room, they should get down on their hands and knees and crawl to an 

exit. EXPLAIN that they will be able to breathe and see better through 

smoke when they are close to the floor. 

 TELL the students that smoke will soon begin to fill the bedroom (this 

will be the cue for FF2 to start the smoke machine and allow smoke 

to come into the bedroom). TELL the students that when FF1 gives 

the signal to begin, they will go to the first exit (the bedroom door) 

and touch the door with the back of their hand. Since the door will 

be warm, they will know that it is not safe to open. They should then 

crawl under the smoke to the window to get out. FF1 and FF3 will be 

at the window to give any help students might need getting through the 

window and down the ladder.

 TELL the students that smoke has begun to come into the bedroom 

and ASK “What should we do?” (Students should say they should leave 

the trailer/building.) TELL them to check the first exit and then ASK 

“Where is the second exit (out the window or the exit door)?”

 ASK “What should you do now?” Students should respond by getting 

down on their hands and knees and form a line to the window/exit door 

where they will exit. FF1 REMINDS the students that FF3 will help 

them through the window and down the ladder.

 Consider the weight limit of the trailer ladder. Be sensitive to the 

weight limit issue with students—SAY “Use the exit door if you would 

rather go that way.”

 ASSIST students through the window in the bedroom. FF3 assists 

students down ladder and directs them to a nearby meeting place.
TEACHING TOOLS

Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum 4-55LESSON PLANS—SCRIPT

5th & 6th Grades

4

 Direct any children who do not want to exit by the window to the 

side of the room. Once all the students who have exited through the 

window are out of the trailer, direct the students who remain to the 

bedroom exit door where FF3 will assist them down the step and outside 

to the meeting place.

 If weather is bad, FF1 will tell students where their indoor meeting 

place will be (e.g., students’ classroom).
TEACHING TOOLS

4-56 Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum LESSON PLANS—SCRIPT

5th & 6th Grades

4

Additional Messages and Activities

Use the activities in the kitchen, living room, and bedroom/bathroom as written 

to provide students with a basic fire safety education lesson. If you have more 

time to spend with them, you can provide additional information by adding one 

or more of these messages to your lesson. You can also make the lesson more 

effective by demonstrating the desired behavior (for example, saying “Crawl low 

under smoke” and demonstrating how this is done) and then have two or three 

students repeat what you’ve demonstrated. Even better, if you have time, would 

be to have all of the students repeat what you’ve demonstrated.

Get out and stay out, and go to your family’s meeting place

FF1 If there is a fire, get out of your house and call 9-1-1 from a neighbor’s 

house or a cell phone. Do not stay in your house to call 9-1-1. Get out as 

quickly as you can and stay out. 

 ASK students to practice calling 9-1-1 with the trailer’s 9-1-1 system.

Develop a fire escape plan with your parents at home and 

practice it with a fire drill

FF1 If fire breaks out in your house, will you know what to do? If you develop 

a fire escape plan with your parents at home and practice it, you and your 

family are much more likely to escape from a fire. Practicing your escape 

plan with a home fire drill will prepare you and your family to get out 

much faster if a fire should ever happen in your house. 

 To help you to remember your escape plan, draw an escape map that 

includes your family’s plan for getting out of the house in the event of 

fire. It’s best if you can draw the map along with your family. As you 

draw the map, remember to have two ways to get out of each room.

 When you make up your escape plan, talk to your parents about making 

sure that no windows are painted or locked shut; that no furniture 

blocks any exit door; and that there are no deadbolt locks that are too 

hard to open quickly. You should be able to unlock doors and windows 

quickly and easily so they can’t trap you or your family inside. Practice 

doing it when you do your family fire drill. In a real emergency, 

you won’t have time to struggle with a stuck window or move heavy 

furniture to clear your escape path, so get rid of these problems 

BEFORE you have a fire. Also, if your home has security bars on the 

doors and windows, have your parents show you the emergency release 

devices inside so that you can open them quickly in an emergency.
TEACHING TOOLS

Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum 4-57LESSON PLANS—SCRIPT

5th & 6th Grades

4

 Make sure you have a family meeting place (something permanent like 

a tree, street light, or mailbox) a safe distance in front of your home 

where you and all other members of your family can wait for the fire 

department.

 During your planning, think about any young children, older adults, or 

family members who have difficulty moving or may need help getting 

out of the home. Assign someone to assist them in the fire drill and 

in the event of an emergency. Assign a backup person too, in case the 

primary person is not home during the emergency.

 Once you have drawn a map of your escape plan, have your family 

practice your fire drill! Remember to do it at least twice a year.

 If you need help making up an escape plan, call your fire department’s 

non-emergency number, they should be able to help you. Remember: 

PLAN AHEAD AND STAY ALIVE!

Stop, Drop and Roll if fire gets on your clothes

FF1 TELL students that they will now learn (or review) how to “Stop, Drop 

and Roll if fire gets on your clothes.” EMPHASIZE that this is done if fire 

gets on your clothes. Stop, Drop and Roll involves the following steps:

 Stop immediately where you are.

 Drop your body to the ground and cover your face with your hands.

 Roll back and forth over and over until the fire is gone.

 ASK for one volunteer to explain and demonstrate “Stop, Drop and Roll 

if fire gets on your clothes.” Next, have each student demonstrate Stop, 

Drop and Roll. 

 SUPERVISE this activity closely to avoid injuries.

 REMIND the students that they have all been learning about things to 

do to keep people safe. TELL them that knowing how to Stop, Drop 

and Roll is a good way to stay safe if fire gets on your clothes, but that 

running can spread the fire on their clothing.

Activities

You can also add other activities to the tour, including the following:

 Have students identify fire hazards (pot handles turned out, missing 

fireplace screens, etc.).

 Practice exiting the trailer and Stop, Drop and Roll.
TEACHING TOOLS

4-58 Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum LESSON PLANS—SCRIPT

5th & 6th Grades

4

 If your local fire department has a smoke alarm installation program or 

free/low cost alarms, distribute information to those indicating they do 

not have working smoke alarms.

 Show a video (see Section 7—Existing Resources for recommendations 

of online videos).
TEACHING TOOLS

Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum 4-59LESSON PLANS—SCRIPT

5th & 6th Grades

4

Summary: Fire Safety Trailer

FF1 ASK if there are any more questions regarding the students’ experience in 

the fire safety trailer. RESPOND as needed (time permitting).

 REVIEW the messages in the 5th & 6th Grade lesson and ask probing 

questions to ensure comprehension. Sample questions include:

− How can you avoid steam burns when opening hot foods from a 

microwave?

− How often should a smoke alarm be tested?

− What should you do if you find yourself in a smoke filled room?

FF3 HAND OUT extenders:

 Microwave Safety

 Take Home Inspection Checklist

 Smoke Alarm Checklist

 Fire Escape Map

 Bookmarks
Page intentionally left blank
TEACHING TOOLS

LESSON PLANS

Middle School

6th – 8th Grades

Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum 4-61

4

Lesson Length: 20 minutes

Typical middle school students are very independent, 

have strong feelings, and have turbulent emotions. 

With that in mind, you should try to focus the 

discussion and keep the students engaged using science 

and technology. Keep in mind the following teaching 

tips for this age group:

DO... DO NOT...

Keep students engaged by frequently 

changing your tone or activity.

Allow students to interrupt your lesson 

with their behavior. 

Make your talk interactive and ask them 

questions.

Simply talk to students. 

Ask them to demonstrate what they have 

learned.

Encourage questions and discussion about 

careers in firefighting. Interest in career 

choices is high at this age.

Speak in a childish tone to students. You 

will lose their attention. 

Talk to the students like adults—you are 

more likely to get a positive response.

Learning Objective

Understand and respond appropriately to home fire dangers by correctly 

describing and/or behaviorally responding to fire safety messages targeting 

middle school students by end of lesson. If students previously toured the fire 

safety trailer, they should be able to recall what they learned and respond more 

quickly to questions they are asked (in comparison to first-time students).

Learning Areas

 Fire prevention

 Burn/injury prevention

 Fire escape planning
TEACHING TOOLS

4-62 Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum LESSON PLANS 

6th – 8th Grades

4

Key Fire Safety Messages for Use in the Trailer

Kitchen

 Keep an eye on what you fry. Never leave the kitchen 

when you are cooking at high temperatures.

 Keep pot handles turned in.

 Keep younger children 3 feet away.

 Use microwave ovens safely.

 Cool a burn with cool water (for at least 3 to 5 minutes).

Living Room

 Don’t play with matches or lighters.

 Talk to your parents about testing smoke alarm 

batteries monthly, and changing batteries at least once 

a year.

 If you notice dangerous things in your home, such as 

frayed cords, overloaded outlets, space heaters near 

things that can burn, tell an adult.

Bedroom

 Crawl low under smoke.

 Touch the door with the back of your hand before 

opening.

 Know two ways out of every room.
TEACHING TOOLS

Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum 4-63LESSON PLANS

6th – 8th Grades

4

Additional Messages (to be taught in living room, bedroom, or outside trailer)

 Get out and stay out, and go to your family’s meeting place.

 Develop a home fire escape plan with your parents at home and practice it with a fire 

drill.

 Stop, Drop and Roll if fire gets on your clothes.

 Firefighters are your friends.

 Hazards of household chemicals.

Resources Needed for Lesson

Extenders:

 Microwave Safety Handout

 Take Home Inspection Checklist

 Fire Safety Babysitter Handout

 Smoke Alarm Checklist

 Bookmarks
TEACHING TOOLS

4-64 Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum LESSON PLANS—SCRIPT

6th – 8th Grades

4

Kitchen Script

Before entering trailer, FF3 GATHERS students into groups of 5–8. When FF1 

indicates he/she is ready to begin lesson, FF3 asks students to enter trailer and go 

into the kitchen. 

FF1 ASK students to carefully step into the kitchen and to quietly be seated 

at the end opposite the stove area (provides more room to move between 

students and stove during kitchen activity). REMIND the students to be 

quiet and to listen carefully during the tour.

 ASK the following questions:

 “Please raise your hand if you toured the trailer before.” (The number of 

hands raised will give an idea of the time needed to spend reviewing 

what has been covered in previous tours of the trailer.) Tell the students 

raising their hands ‘Welcome Back’ and that they will be hearing some 

things they’ve heard before, but they will also be hearing some new 

things on this tour.

 “What do you know about fire safety?” Encourage as many students to 

answer as possible. Allow two–four minutes to respond.

Stay in the kitchen when you are frying, grilling, or broiling 

food. If you leave the kitchen for even a short period of time, 

turn off the stove.

FF1 How many are cooking at home (ask for a show of hands)? There are two 

things we want you to remember:

 Many fires happen when people are cooking and leave the stove to 

do something else. So, stay in the kitchen while you cook and pay 

attention to what you are doing. Avoid talking on the phone or texting. 

If you have to leave the kitchen, tell an adult and remember to turn off 

the stove and whatever other cooking appliances you are using (like the 

toaster oven.)

Keep pot handles turned in

FF1 When using pots and pans, turn their handles inward, toward the center 

of the stove, so it’s less likely that anyone will pull or accidentally knock 

them over. [FF1: demonstrates technique] The contents of a hot pan or 

a falling piece of hot cookware can easily result in painful burns, so turn 

handles inward, away from danger. You should also keep hot foods and 

liquids away from the edges of tables and counters where they can be easily 

knocked over.
TEACHING TOOLS

Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum 4-65LESSON PLANS—SCRIPT

6th – 8th Grades

4

Keep younger children 3 feet away

FF1 Establish and enforce a 3-foot zone in the kitchen for keeping younger 

children away. The zone should include both stove and sink areas. Keeping 

younger children out of these areas will prevent them from getting hurt.

Use microwave ovens safely

FF1 Microwave ovens should be placed at a safe height, within easy reach of all 

users. You should never pull a container out of the microwave if it is over 

your head; hot food or liquid can spill onto your face or body from above.

 Hot steam escaping from a microwave-heated container or food can 

scald or burn you. Open heated food containers slowly and don’t put 

your fingers or face in the way of the steam when it comes out. That 

way you won’t get burned. 

Cool a burn with cool water (for at least 3 to 5 minutes)

FF1 If you or someone at home is burned, cool the burn immediately with cool 

water. Use cool water on the burn for at least 3 to 5 minutes to prevent 

further injury. Afterwards, put a clean, dry cloth on the burn. Don’t use 

ice-cold water and ice cubes; this could cause further damage to burned 

skin. Don’t put ointment, grease, or butter on the burn. Things like that 

will seal the heat into the skin so that it can’t release the heat and cool off.

 Does anyone have any questions about these topics before we move on to the 

living room?

 Answer any questions and go over the above messages if there seems to 

be anything that is unclear. If there are no questions, go to the living 

room.
TEACHING TOOLS

4-66 Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum LESSON PLANS—SCRIPT

6th – 8th Grades

4

Living Room Script

Don’t play with matches or lighters

The objective of this section of the tour is to REVIEW fire hazards found 

around the house. At this age, students should be able to immediately identify 

fire hazards and offer suggestions for what can be done to eliminate or prevent 

such hazards. A discussion of smoking hazards is included.

FF1 POINT around the room and ASK: “Are there any fire hazards in this 

room?” For each response, FF1 ASKS a follow-up question: “How can this 

hazard be prevented or removed?” Allow two to four minutes to respond.

 DISCUSS that younger children sometimes play with matches without 

thinking how dangerous they are—so keep matches and lighters up and 

away, out of the reach of young children.

 Smoking is the number one cause of home fire deaths in the United 

States. No one should smoke for health reasons, but smoking in the 

home is more dangerous because of the risk of fire. If you have smokers 

at your home, ask them to smoke outside.

 (Optional) TELL a story about a fire you helped put out or heard 

about that was set by matches/lighters, smoking, or similar hazard to 

EMPHASIZE the danger.

Talk to your parents about testing smoke alarm batteries 

monthly

FF1 We’re now going to talk about smoke alarms. Let’s have a show of hands. 

 If you have smoke alarms installed in your home, raise your hand.

 Raise your hand if you have smoke alarms on each level of your home 

and outside each sleeping area.

 How many of you have carbon monoxide detectors or combined smoke/

carbon monoxide detector alarms in your home?

 Having properly installed and maintained smoke alarms considerably 

lowers your chances of dying in a fire. You should have a smoke alarm 

in every bedroom, outside each separate sleeping area, and on every level 

of your home, including the basement. As you know, when a smoke 

alarm detects smoke from a fire, it sounds a loud, piercing alarm which 

alerts you to the danger of a fire, even if you are asleep. The smoke 

alarm can provide you with an early warning and give you extra time 
TEACHING TOOLS

Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum 4-67LESSON PLANS—SCRIPT

6th – 8th Grades

4

to escape. Many people believe that if they ever had a fire, they would 

be awakened by the smell of smoke in time to escape. THIS IS NOT 

TRUE! Smoke from a fire contains carbon monoxide, which disorients 

people, dulls their senses, and makes them lose consciousness. If you 

are already asleep, it puts you into a DEEPER sleep, and can eventually 

kill you! This is one reason why most people die of smoke inhalation in 

home fires rather than from burns. 

 Talk to your parents about testing smoke alarms in your home once 

each month and replacing batteries once a year.

− Does anyone have any questions about smoke alarms?

If you notice dangerous things in your home, such as frayed 

cords, overloaded outlets, space heaters near things that can 

burn, tell an adult

FF1 Remember to plug only one appliance into each electrical outlet. Plugging 

additional appliances or devices into one outlet can overload the outlet

 Outlets become overloaded when the appliances connected to them 

are drawing more electrical current than they can handle. When 

this happens, wiring can get hot and put out enough heat into walls, 

paneling, and other materials to cause a fire. One good example is 

during the holidays, when many people plug in lots of extra lights.

 Many older homes have only a few electrical outlets, or outlets in 

inconvenient places. This situation can create home fire hazards 

because people with this problem solve it by using extension cords. If 

you see any electrical cords or extension cords at home that are frayed or 

cracked, tell an adult at once! Electrical cords can fray, crack and wear 

out, and when they do, they become fire and electrical shock hazards. 

If any of your extension cords have these problems, throw them out! 

NEVER RUN EXTENSION CORDS UNDER RUGS OR CARPETS. 

When extension cords are run under a carpet, walking over the rug may 

wear away the cord’s insulation, expose the wires, and possibly set fire to 

the rug.

 ASK if there are any more questions before moving on to the bedroom. 

When questions are answered, ASK students to quietly move to the 

bedroom.
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TEACHING TOOLS

Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum 4-69LESSON PLANS—SCRIPT

6th – 8th Grades

4

Bedroom Script

Crawl low under smoke

FF1 TELL students that if they are ever in a building or home and they see or 

smell smoke, they are to get down on their hands and knees and crawl to 

the exit. EXPLAIN that smoke rises and they will be able to breathe and 

see better through smoke when they are close to the floor.

Touch the door with the back of your hand before opening

FF1 TELL students that, in a house fire, they shouldn’t try to open a door until 

they are sure it’s safe on the other side—because there could be fire on the 

other side of the door! So to check if it is safe or not, touch the door with 

the back of their hand. If the door is warm, they will know that the door is 

not safe to open. 

Know two ways out of every room

FF1 EXPLAIN to students that every room at home should have two exits. For 

example, if you felt the door to the next room and it was warm, you’ll need 

to exit the room through another door or window. Usually, the first exit is 

a door and the second is a window.

 This activity emphasizes crawling low under smoke to the exits, 

touching doors for heat, and getting out and staying out of buildings 

that are on fire.

 ASK students what they know about escape maps, exiting places when 

smoke alarms sound, and outside meeting places. ASK if they have ever 

had a fire drill at home (and ask if they had a fire drill at home after 

their last visit to the fire safety trailer!). ASK if they know of two ways 

to exit their bedroom at home. EXPLAIN that escape maps show how 

to get out of buildings when the smoke alarm goes off, and that having 

an escape map and practicing fire drills with the map can keep them 

safe. 

 EXPLAIN that the “meeting place” is the place where everyone goes 

when they get out of a building. Explain how important it is that 

they all know where to meet when they get out of the building so that 

firefighters know everyone is safe and away from the smoke or fire. 

Tell them that the meeting place for the Fire Safety Trailer is outside 

and FF3 will direct them to where it is (direct students to look out the 

window for FF3).
TEACHING TOOLS

4-70 Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum LESSON PLANS—SCRIPT

6th – 8th Grades

4

 SAY “Now we’ll play the ‘Survivor Game.’” This will be the signal 

to FF2 to turn the heated door on, and be READY to turn the smoke 

machine on; the vents should be set up to direct the stream of smoke to 

the bedroom. 

 ASK the students to touch the bedroom door one-by-one and 

EXPLAIN/REMIND them that a warm or hot door means it is not 

safe on the other side of the door. EXPLAIN that the door is warm so 

they’ll know what it feels like if there was a fire on the other side of the 

door.

 EXPLAIN to students that the game includes smoke that looks real but 

is safe. TELL them that the smoke is made by a small machine in the 

trailer and that the smoke will come into the bedroom through vents 

(POINT to the vents).

 TELL students that if they are ever in a smoke-filled building or room, 

they should get down on their hands and knees and crawl to an exit. 

EXPLAIN that they will be able to breathe and see better through 

smoke when they are close to the floor. 

 TELL students that smoke will soon begin to fill the bedroom (this 

will be the cue for FF2 to start the smoke machine and smoke should 

then come into the bedroom). TELL the students that when FF1 gives 

the signal to begin, they will go to the first exit (the bedroom door) 

and touch the door with the back of their hand. Since the door will 

be warm, they will know that it is not safe to open. They should then 

crawl under the smoke to the window to get out. You and FF3 will be 

at the window to give any help they might need getting through the 

window and down the ladder.

 TELL students that smoke has begun to come into the bedroom and 

ASK “What should we do?” (Students should say they should leave the 

trailer/building). TELL them to check the first exit and then ASK 

“Where is the second exit?” (Out the window or the exit door).

 ASK “What should you do now?” (Students should respond by getting 

down on their hands and knees and form a line to the window/exit door 

where they will exit. FF1 REMINDS the students that FF3 will help 

them through the window and down the ladder.

 Consider the weight limit of the trailer ladder. Be sensitive to weight 

limit issues with students—SAY “Use the exit door if you would rather 

go that way.”

 ASSIST students through the window in the bedroom. FF3 assists 

students down ladder and directs them to a nearby meeting place.
TEACHING TOOLS

Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum 4-71LESSON PLANS—SCRIPT

6th – 8th Grades

4

 Direct any children who are unable to exit by the window to the side of 

the room. Once all the students who have exited through the window 

are out of the trailer, direct the students who remain to the bedroom 

exit door where FF3 will assist them down the step and outside to the 

meeting place.

 If the weather is bad, FF1 will tell students where their indoor meeting 

place will be (e.g., students’ classroom).
TEACHING TOOLS

4-72 Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum LESSON PLANS—SCRIPT

6th – 8th Grades

4

Additional Messages and Activities

Use activities in the kitchen, living room, and bedroom/bathroom as written 

to provide students with a basic fire safety education lesson. If you have more 

time to spend with them, you can provide additional information by adding one 

or more of these messages to your lesson. You can also make the lesson more 

effective by demonstrating the desired behavior (for example, saying “Crawl low 

under smoke” and demonstrating how this is done) and then have two or three 

students repeat what you’ve demonstrated. Even better, if you have time, would 

be to have all of the students repeat what you’ve demonstrated.

Get out and stay out, and go to your family’s meeting place

FF1 If there is a fire, get out of your house and call 9-1-1 from a neighbor’s 

house or a cell phone. Do not stay in your house to call 9-1-1. Get out as 

quickly as you can and stay out. 

 (optional) ASK students to practice calling 9-1-1 with the trailer’s 9-1-1 

system.

Develop a fire escape plan with your parents at home and 

practice it with a fire drill

FF1 If fire breaks out in your house, will you know what to do? If you develop 

a fire escape plan with your parents at home and practice it, you and your 

family can increase your chances of escaping from a fire without injury. 

Practicing your escape before a fire strikes will prepare you and your family 

to get out faster. Remember to have two ways to get out of each room. 

And remember to practice your fire drill at least twice a year.

 In developing your escape plan, talk to your parents about making 

sure that no windows are painted or locked shut; that no furniture 

blocks any exit door; and that there are no deadbolt locks that are 

too difficult to open quickly. Doors and windows should be able to 

be unlocked quickly and easily so they can’t trap you or your family 

inside. You won’t have time to struggle with a stuck window or move 

heavy furniture to clear your escape path in a real emergency, so get 

rid of these obstacles BEFORE you have a fire. Also, if your home has 

security bars on the doors and windows, talk to your parents about 

making sure that they have emergency release devices inside so that they 

can be opened quickly in an emergency.
TEACHING TOOLS

Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum 4-73LESSON PLANS—SCRIPT

6th – 8th Grades

4

 Make sure to include a family meeting place as a part of your escape 

plan (something permanent like a street lamp, tree, street light, or 

mailbox) a safe distance away in front of your home.

 During your planning, think about any young children, older adults, 

or family members with mobility limitations in your household and 

assign someone to assist them in the fire drill and in the event of an 

emergency. Assign a backup person too, in case the primary person is 

not home during the emergency.

 If you need help developing an escape plan, call your fire department’s 

non-emergency number, they should be able to help you. Remember: 

PLAN AHEAD AND STAY ALIVE!

Stop, Drop and Roll

FF1 TELL students that they will now learn (or review) how to “Stop, Drop 

and Roll if fire gets on their clothes.” EMPHASIZE that this is done if 

fire gets on their clothes. Stop, Drop and Roll involves the following steps:

 Stop immediately where you are.

 Drop your body to the ground and cover your face with your hands.

 Roll back and forth over and over until the fire is gone.

 ASK for one volunteer to explain and demonstrate “Stop, Drop and Roll 

if fire gets on their clothes.” Next, have each student demonstrate Stop, 

Drop and Roll. 

 SUPERVISE this activity closely to avoid injuries.

 REMIND the children together that they have all been learning about 

things to do to keep people safe. TELL them that knowing how to 

Stop, Drop and Roll is a good way to stay safe if fire gets on their 

clothes, but that running can spread the fire on their clothing.

Hazards of Household Chemicals

FF1 Dangerous chemicals are not just found in factories and labs. Every home 

has dangerous chemicals. These include pesticides, fertilizer, old car 

batteries, anti-freeze, oil and gasoline, paints and solvents and ordinary 

household cleaning supplies that are usually kept under the sink in the 

kitchen or bathroom. A leak or spill can create a dangerous health hazard. 

Spilled or leaked chemicals can also mix together and create toxic fumes, 

or even start a fire. Firefighters and emergency responders have to take 

special precautions and wear protective equipment (respirators and eye 

protection) when dealing with chemical fumes in confined spaces. It’s the 

same in your house or garage.
TEACHING TOOLS

4-74 Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum LESSON PLANS—SCRIPT

6th – 8th Grades

4

 Talk to your parents and ask them to help you look for dangerous 

chemicals in your house and garage. Make sure that they are stored 

safely, up and away, out of the reach of young children and pets. Your 

parents should keep them in their original container, make sure that the 

containers have child resistant caps and are not leaking. These should 

never be allowed to mix because some can create deadly gases or fires.

Activities

You can also add other activities to the tour, including the following:

 Have students identify fire hazards (pot handles turned out, missing 

fireplace screens, etc).

 Talk about how someone trains to have a career as a firefighter.

 Have students review fire escape plans with parents at home.

 If your fire department has a smoke alarm installation program or free/

low cost alarms, distribute information to those who indicate that they 

do not have working smoke alarms.

 Show students how to teach younger grades (K–3) activities like Stop, 

Drop and Roll and the “I Spy” game. Show a video (see Section 7—

Resources for recommendations of online videos).
TEACHING TOOLS

Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum 4-75LESSON PLANS—SCRIPT

6th – 8th Grades

4

Summary: Fire Safety Trailer

FF1 ASK if there are any more questions regarding the students’ experience in 

the fire safety trailer. RESPOND as needed (time permitting).

 REVIEW messages for the Middle School Grades

FF3 HAND OUT extenders:

 Microwave Safety

 Take Home Inspection Checklist

 Babysitter Handout

 Smoke Alarm Checklist

 Bookmarks
Page intentionally left blank
TEACHING TOOLS

LESSON PLANS

High School

9th – 12th Grades

Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum 4-77

4

Lesson Length: 20 minutes

High school students can range from being very 

mature to being very immature. Many students at this 

age may think learning about fire safety is a childish 

subject so it is important to be able to make students 

relate to the topic. Keep in mind the following 

teaching tips for this age group:

DO... DO NOT...

Keep students engaged by using real life 

examples of fires involving kids close to 

their age.

Allow students to interrupt your lesson 

with their behavior. 

Make your talk interactive and ask them 

questions.

Simply talk to students. Instead, ask them 

to demonstrate what they have learned 

and challenge them with higher level 

questions.

Encourage questions and discussion about 

topics such as living in dorms and being 

away from home in the event of a fire.

Talk in a childish tone to students. You will 

lose their attention. Talk to the students 

like adults and you are more likely to get a 

positive response.

Learning Objective

Understand and respond appropriately to home fire dangers by correctly 

describing and/or behaviorally responding to fire safety messages targeting high 

school students by end of lesson. If students previously toured the fire safety 

trailer, they should be able to recall what they learned and can respond more 

quickly to questions they are asked (in comparison to first-time students).

Learning Areas

 Fire prevention

 Burn/injury prevention

 Fire escape planning
TEACHING TOOLS

4-78 Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum LESSON PLANS 

9th – 12th Grades

4

Key Fire Safety Messages for Use in the Trailer

Kitchen

 Keep an eye on what you fry. Never leave the kitchen 

when you are cooking at high temperatures.

 Put a grease fire out by sliding the lid over the pan.

 Keep pot handles turned in.

 Keep younger children 3 feet away.

 Use a microwave oven safely.

 Cool a burn with cool water (for at least 3 to 5 minutes).

Living Room

 Smoke alarm batteries should be tested monthly, and 

batteries replaced at least once a year.

 If you notice dangerous things in your home, such as 

frayed cords, overloaded outlets, or space heaters near 

things that can catch fire, talk to an adult about fixing 

the hazard.

Bedroom

 Crawl low under smoke.

 Know two ways out of every room.

 Touch the door with the back of your hand before 

entering.
TEACHING TOOLS

Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum 4-79LESSON PLANS

9th – 12th Grades

4

Additional Messages (to be taught in living room, bedroom, or outside trailer)

 Get out and stay out. Go to your family’s meeting place.

 Have a home fire escape plan and practice it with a fire drill.

 Stop, Drop and Roll if fire gets on your clothes.

 Science of fire.

 Hazards of household chemicals.

Resources Needed for Lesson

Extenders:

 Take Home Inspection Checklist

 Fire Safety Babysitter Handout

 Smoke Alarm Checklist

 Bookmarks
TEACHING TOOLS

4-80 Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum LESSON PLANS—SCRIPT

9th – 12th Grades

4

Kitchen Script

Other Kitchen Safety Tips

Keep area rugs out of the kitchen.

Don’t carry, eat or drink hot items when holding children.

Test hot foods and liquids before serving them to children

FF1 Today, we are going to talk about some things you can do to protect 

yourself and those you care about from fires and burns. The general areas 

we will cover are fire prevention, burn and injury prevention, and fire 

escape planning. 

 In the kitchen, we will talk about avoiding burns and cooking safety.

 In the living room, we will talk about smoking and smoke alarms. 

 And, in the bedroom, we will talk about escape planning.

 As young adults you probably have more responsibilities at home. If 

your parents work, you may be responsible for getting dinner started or 

caring for younger brothers and sisters, so we are going to cover some 

basic things you should know about cooking safety.

Keep an eye on what you fry. Never leave the kitchen when 

you are cooking at high temperatures

FF1 Cooking fires area leading cause of property loss and cause many injuries 

each year. One of the main reasons for this is that people leave the stove 

while they are cooking, or do not pay attention to what they are doing. 

Stay in the kitchen when you are frying, grilling, or broiling food. Avoid 

talking on the phone or texting. If you have to leave the kitchen, even for 

a short period of time, turn off the stove and all cooking appliances, like 

the toaster oven.

Put a grease fire out by sliding the lid over the pan

FF1 If you have a grease fire in a pot or pan, turn off the burner and use a 

large lid or cookie sheet to smother the fire. Don’t plop the lid on from 

above; instead, carefully slide the lid onto the pan from one side. [FF1 

demonstrates how to correctly slide the lid on to the pot to extinguish the 

flame.] Make sure to wear an oven mitt or use a potholder to protect your 

hand when you do this. NEVER pour water on an oil or grease fire.
TEACHING TOOLS

Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum 4-81LESSON PLANS—SCRIPT

9th – 12th Grades

4

Keep pot handles turned in

FF1 When using pots and pans, turn handles inward, toward the center of the 

stove, so it’s less likely that anyone will pull or accidentally knock them 

over. [FF1: demonstrates technique] The contents of a hot pan or a 

falling piece of hot cookware can easily result in painful burns, so turn 

handles inward, away from danger. You should also keep hot foods and 

liquids away from the edges of tables and counters where they can be easily 

knocked over.

Keep younger children 3 feet away

FF1 Establish and enforce a no-kids-zone in the kitchen that includes the stove 

and sink areas. Keep children out of these areas where they can get hurt.

Use microwave ovens safely

FF1 All adults and teens who take care of babies and little children need to 

know that foods and liquids are heated unevenly in a microwave. Because 

of this uneven heating, hot spots can develop in the food and scald a baby’s 

mouth. If you do microwave baby food and formula, or food for young 

children, be sure to stir the food, shake the bottles, and test for lukewarm 

temperature before you give them the food or bottle. 

Cool a burn with cool water (for at least 3 to 5 minutes)

FF1 If you or someone at home is burned, cool the burn immediately with cool 

water for at least 3 to 5 minutes to prevent further injury. Afterwards, put 

a clean, dry cloth on the burn. Avoid using ice-cold water and ice cubes; 

this could cause further damage to burned skin. Never apply ointment, 

grease, or butter to the burned area. These materials will confine the heat 

of the burn to the skin and the skin cannot cool.

 Does anyone have any questions about these topics before we move on to the 

living room?

 Answer any questions and go over any of the above messages if there 

seems to be anything that is unclear. If there are no questions, go to the 

living room.
TEACHING TOOLS

4-82 Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum LESSON PLANS—SCRIPT

9th – 12th Grades

4

Living Room Script

Smoke alarm batteries should be tested monthly, and batteries 

replaced at least once a year

FF1 We’re now going to talk about smoke alarms. Let’s have a show of hands. 

 If you have smoke alarms installed in your home, raise your hand.

 Raise your hand if you have smoke alarms on each level of your home 

and outside each sleeping area.

 How many of you have carbon monoxide detectors or combined smoke/

carbon monoxide detector alarms in your home?

FF1 Having properly installed and maintained smoke alarms considerably 

lowers your chances of dying in a fire. You should have a smoke alarm in 

every bedroom, outside each separate sleeping area, and on every level of 

your home, including the basement. As you know, when a smoke alarm 

detects smoke from a fire, it sounds a loud, piercing alarm which alerts 

you to the danger of a fire, even if you are asleep. The smoke alarm can 

provide you with an early warning and give you extra time to escape. 

Many people believe that if they ever had a fire, they would be able to 

smell the smoke and have time to escape. THIS IS NOT TRUE! Smoke 

from a fire contains carbon monoxide, which disorients people, dulls their 

senses, and makes them lose consciousness. If you are already asleep, it 

puts you into a DEEPER sleep, and can eventually kill you! This is one 

reason why most people die of smoke inhalation in home fires rather than 

from burns. 

 You should test your smoke alarms once a month and change the 

batteries at least once a year. Smoke alarms do not last forever. Replace 

smoke alarms every ten years.

− Does anyone have any questions about smoke alarms?

 If you notice dangerous things in your home, such as frayed cords, 

overloaded outlets, space heaters near things that can burn, talk to an 

adult about fixing the hazard.

 Regarding electricity-related fire hazards, DON’T overload your 

electrical outlets. Plug only one appliance into each electrical 

receptacle. Many older homes have few electrical outlets, or outlets 

at inconvenient places. This situation can create home fire hazards 

by encouraging the use of extension cords and overloaded outlets. An 
TEACHING TOOLS

Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum 4-83LESSON PLANS—SCRIPT

9th – 12th Grades

4

outlet becomes overloaded when the appliances connected to them are 

drawing more electrical current than the outlet can handle. When this 

happens, wiring can get hot and radiate enough heat to walls, paneling, 

etc. to cause a fire. 

 Examine electrical cords on appliances regularly for signs of wear. If 

cords are frayed or cracked, tell an adult immediately. Extension cords 

can also fray, crack and wear out, and when they do, they become fire 

and electrical shock hazards. If any of your extension cords have these 

problems, throw them out! NEVER RUN EXTENSION CORDS 

UNDER RUGS OR CARPETS. When extension cords are under 

a carpet, walking over the rug may wear away the cord’s insulation, 

expose the wires, and possibly set fire to the rug.

 If you use a portable space heater, keep it at least three feet from walls, 

furniture, curtains, or anything that might catch on fire. Remember: 

IF IT HEATS, 3 FEET! Also remember to turn off the heater when you 

leave the room or go to sleep.
TEACHING TOOLS

4-84 Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum LESSON PLANS—SCRIPT

9th – 12th Grades

4

Bedroom Script

Crawl low under smoke

FF1 A smoke filled home is a very dangerous situation and you will need to act 

quickly. It can cause dizziness, confusion and disorient you in your own 

home after a very small dose. Even a small flame can quickly spread out 

of control in as little as 30 seconds. Always take the safest exit route, but 

if you must escape through smoke, crawl low under smoke. Remember: 

STAY LOW AND GO TO YOUR EXIT!

Know two ways out of every room

FF1 Always remember that every room at home should have two exits. 

The first exit is usually a door and the second is usually a window. 

EMPHASIZE: If your home has two floors, consider getting an escape 

ladder that can be used from a second story room in case the other exits are 

blocked.

Touch the door with the back of your hand before entering

FF1 When you come to a closed door, use the back of your hand to feel the top 

of the door, the door knob, and the crack between the door and door frame 

to make sure that fire is not on the other side. If it feels hot, use your 

second escape route. Even if the door feels cool, open it carefully. Brace 

your shoulder against the door and open slowly. If heat and smoke come 

in, close the door and use your other escape route.
TEACHING TOOLS

Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum 4-85LESSON PLANS—SCRIPT

9th – 12th Grades

4

Additional Messages and Activities

Use activities in the kitchen, living room, and bedroom/bathroom as written 

to provide students with a basic fire safety education lesson. If you have more 

time to spend with them, you can provide additional information by adding one 

or more of these messages to your lesson. You can also make the lesson more 

effective by demonstrating the desired behavior (for example, saying “Crawl low 

under smoke” and demonstrating how this is done) and then have two or three 

students repeat what you’ve demonstrated. Even better, if you have time, would 

be to have all of the students repeat what you’ve demonstrated.

Get out and stay out! Go to your family’s meeting place

FF1 If there is a fire, get out of your house and call 9-1-1 from a neighbor’s 

house or a cell phone. Do not stay in your house to call 9-1-1. Get out as 

quickly as you can and stay out. 

Have a home fire escape plan and practice it with a fire drill

FF1 If fire breaks out in your house, will you know what to do? If you develop 

a home escape plan and practice a fire drill, you can increase your chances 

of escaping from a fire without injury. Practicing your escape before a fire 

strikes will prepare you to get out. Remember to have two ways to get out 

of each room. And remember to practice your fire drill at least twice a 

year.

 In developing your escape plan, check to make sure that no windows 

are painted or locked shut; that no furniture blocks any exit door; and 

that there are no deadbolt locks that are too difficult to open quickly. 

Doors and windows should be able to be unlocked quickly and easily 

so they can’t trap you inside. You won’t have time to struggle with a 

stuck window or move heavy furniture to clear your escape path in a 

real emergency, so get rid of these obstacles BEFORE you have a fire. 

Also, if you have security bars on your doors and windows, make sure 

they have emergency release devices inside so that they can be opened 

quickly in an emergency.

 Make sure to include a family meeting place as part of your escape 

plan (something permanent like a street light, tree, or mailbox) a safe 

distance away in front of your home where you and all other members of 

your family can wait for the fire department.

 During your planning, think about any young children, older adults, or 

family members who have difficulty moving or may need help getting 
TEACHING TOOLS

4-86 Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum LESSON PLANS—SCRIPT

9th – 12th Grades

4

out of the home. Assign someone to assist them in the fire drill and 

in the event of an emergency. Assign a backup person too, in case the 

primary person is not home during the emergency.

 If you need help developing an escape plan, call your fire department’s 

non-emergency number, they should be able to help you. Remember: 

PLAN AHEAD AND STAY ALIVE!

Stop, Drop and Roll if fire gets on your clothes

FF1 TELL students that they will now learn (or review) how to “Stop, Drop 

and Roll if fire gets on their clothes.” EMPHASIZE that this is done if 

fire gets on your clothes. Stop, Drop and Roll involves the following steps:

 Stop immediately where you are.

 Drop your body to the ground and cover your face with your hands.

 Roll back and forth over and over until the fire is gone.

 ASK for one volunteer to explain and demonstrate “Stop, Drop and 

Roll if your clothes catch on fire.” Next, have each student demonstrate 

Stop, Drop and Roll. 

 SUPERVISE this activity closely to avoid injuries.

 REMIND students that they have all been learning about things to 

do to keep people safe. TELL them that knowing how to Stop, Drop 

and Roll is a good way to stay safe if fire gets on their clothes, but that 

running can spread the fire on their clothing.

Science of fire

FF1 To better understand fire, you need to understand the “science” of fire. 

Fire has been used and feared by mankind since the beginning of time. 

The recipe—Heat, Fuel and Oxygen—is one of the few things in nature 

that never changes. While fire can be a friend to us, for example, by 

heating our homes in winter, it can be a deadly enemy, destroying what we 

hold dear. 

 Fuel, heat, oxygen, and a chemical chain reaction are all needed 

in the right combination to produce fire. These four things in 

combination are called the fire tetrahedron. Take away any one of these 

components—the chemical chain reaction, fuel, heat, or oxygen—and 

the fire goes out. Firefighters have studied the chemistry of fire and 

know if they remove just one of these components, a fire cannot burn. 

The goal of a firefighter is to do just that—remove one of the main 

ingredients in the recipe of fire. 

 The most common property to be removed is heat. Heat is commonly 
TEACHING TOOLS

Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum 4-87LESSON PLANS—SCRIPT

9th – 12th Grades

4

eliminated by using water. Water is used because it absorbs heat 

extremely well and is cost efficient. Fuel in the form of trees or brush 

is removed when firefighters dig a trench around a forest fire. Fire 

retardant (that bright, orange-red, substance dropped from planes that 

we see on the news during fire season) coats fuels and blocks them from 

oxygen. Finally, the last property is the chemical chain reaction. This 

can be considered the reaction of the reducing agent (fuel) with the 

oxidizing agent (oxygen). An example of an extinguishment method 

by hindering the chemical chain reaction is the use of Halon fire 

extinguishers. If we think of fighting fire as a means of breaking the 

fire tetrahedron, then it is easier to understand why firefighters do what 

they do. 

 As a fire is burning, the harmful smoke that it generates can be 

extremely dangerous and even deadly. Statistics show that in the U.S. 

most fire victims die from smoke inhalation, not the flames of the fire. 

The danger of smoke is the toxic gases generated from the materials 

being burned, the ventilation in the room, and the length of exposure a 

person has to the smoke. Additionally, individuals who have decreased 

lung function or other health issues can have reactions even faster than 

an otherwise healthy individual. It is important to understand that 

when exposed to fire smoke, the level of carbon dioxide in your body 

increases and the amount of oxygen in your body decreases. This can 

cause you to become dizzy, confused and make it difficult to breathe, 

which all can hamper your efforts to escape the fire. The take-home 

message here is to get out of a burning building and away from the 

smoke as quickly as possible because no one knows how long your body 

can function before it succumbs to the toxic smoke.

Hazards of Household Chemicals

FF1 Dangerous chemicals are not just found in factories and labs. Every home 

has dangerous chemicals. These include pesticides, fertilizer, old car 

batteries, anti-freeze, oil and gasoline, paints and solvents and ordinary 

household cleaning supplies that are usually kept under the sink in the 

kitchen or bathroom. A leak or spill can create a dangerous health hazard. 

Spilled or leaked chemicals can also mix together and create toxic fumes, 

or even start a fire. Firefighters and emergency responders have to take 

special precautions and wear protective equipment (respirators and eye 

protection) when dealing with chemical fumes in confined spaces. It’s the 

same in your house or garage.

 Talk to your parents and ask them to help you look for dangerous 
TEACHING TOOLS

4-88 Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum LESSON PLANS—SCRIPT

9th – 12th Grades

4

chemicals in your house and garage. Make sure that they are stored 

safely, up and away, out of the reach of young children and pets. Your 

parents should keep them in their original container, make sure that the 

containers have child resistant caps and are not leaking. These should 

never be allowed to mix because some can create deadly gases or fires.

Activities

You can also add activities to the tour, including the following:

 Lecture, question and answer.

 Game show with fire safety messages (i.e., Jeopardy, Wheel of Fortune, 

etc.).

 If your fire department has a smoke alarm installation program or free/

low cost alarms, distribute the information to those who indicate they 

do not have working smoke alarms.

 Show a video (see Section 7—Existing Resources for recommendations 

of online videos).

 Develop a lesson on the basics of fire, forensics, and fire investigation.

 Use stories and video clips of real-life fire victims to give a personal 

perspective to the high school audience. Local stories featuring 

adolescents in the same age bracket can have an impact. 
TEACHING TOOLS

Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum 4-89LESSON PLANS—SCRIPT

9th – 12th Grades

4

Summary: Fire Safety Trailer

FF1 ASK if anyone has any questions about what was covered or other fire 

safety issues. Provide clarification or reinforcement of messages as needed. 

When finished, thank the students for touring the fire safety trailer and 

ask them to meet up with FF3 when they exit the trailer.

 REVIEW messages for the High School Grades.

FF3 HAND OUT extenders:

 Take Home Inspection Checklist

 Fire Safety Babysitter Handout

 Smoke Alarm Checklist

 Bookmarks
Page intentionally left blank
TEACHING TOOLS

LESSON PLANS

Adults

Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum 4-91

4

Lesson Length: 20 minutes

When presenting to adults, you may have a wide 

range of participants so it is important to know your 

audience. Try to make it personal for each participant 

and use real life examples of what can happen. Keep 

in mind the following teaching tips for this age group:

DO... DO NOT...

Use storytelling - encourage sharing 

experiences & introduce some of your own.

Allow participants to interrupt your lesson 

with their behavior. 

Make your talk interactive and ask them 

questions.

Assume adults have prior knowledge. 

Assess your group to find out what they 

know.

Encourage questions and discussion to 

make sure they understand “why” they 

should practice these behaviors.

Talk down to adults.

Learning Objective

Adult visitors to the trailer will learn fire safety behaviors that can reduce their 

risks of having a fire or suffering a fire-related injury or fatality.

Learning Areas

 Fire prevention

 Burn/injury prevention

 Fire escape planning
TEACHING TOOLS

4-92 Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum LESSON PLANS 

Adults

4

Key Fire Safety Messages for Use in the Trailer 

Kitchen

 Put a grease fire out by sliding the lid over the pan.

 Keep an eye on what you fry. Never leave the kitchen 

when you are cooking at high temperatures.

 Keep pot handles turned in.

 Wear short sleeves or tight fitting sleeves when 

cooking.

 Kid free zone: 3 feet away from stove/oven at all times.

 Use microwave ovens safely.

 Cool a burn with cool water (for at least 3 to 5 minutes).

Living Room

 Smoke alarm batteries should be tested monthly, and 

batteries replaced at least once a year.

 Identify and fix hazards in the home—frayed cords, 

overloaded outlets, space heaters near things that can 

burn, cords under rugs.

Bedroom

 Know two ways out of every room, have escape ladders 

for bedrooms on upper levels.

 Working smoke alarms should be present on every level 

of home, including the basement, and outside sleeping 

areas and in each bedroom.
TEACHING TOOLS

Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum 4-93LESSON PLANS

Adults

4

Additional Messages (to be taught in living room, bedroom, or outside trailer)

 Have a home fire escape plan and practice it with your family at least twice a year.

 Temperature of your home’s water should not be above 120 degrees.

 Sleep with bedroom door closed (optional—decision to teach this topic should be 

made at the local level, as there is no standard messaging in place).

 Hazards of household chemicals.

 Have a specific plan for how to evacuate older family members and what you will do 

about pets. EMPHASIZE that you should never go back into a burning house to get 

pets.

Resources Needed for Lesson

Extenders:

 Smoke Alarm Guide

 Babysitter Handout

 Bookmarks

 Take Home Inspection Checklist
TEACHING TOOLS

4-94 Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum LESSON PLANS—SCRIPT

Adults

4

Kitchen Script

Other Kitchen Safety Tips

Keep area rugs out of the kitchen.

Don’t carry, eat or drink hot items when holding children.

Test hot foods and liquids before serving them to children.

FF1 Welcome everybody. Today, we are going to talk about some things you 

can do to protect yourself and those you care about from fires and burns. 

The general areas we will cover are fire prevention, burn and injury 

prevention, and fire escape planning. Some of the things we will talk 

about are cooking safety, smoke alarms, space heaters, and electrical safety.

 Can you tell me what precautions you can take to be safer and protect 

yourself from fire and burns while cooking?

 Allow visitors to respond, and then go over key points below.

Keep an eye on what you fry. Never leave the kitchen when 

you are cooking at high temperatures

FF1 Cooking fires area leading cause of property loss and cause many injuries 

each year. One of the main reasons for this is that people leave the stove 

while they are cooking, or do not pay attention to what they are doing. 

Stay in the kitchen when you are frying, grilling, or broiling food. Avoid 

talking on the phone or texting. If you have to leave the kitchen, even for 

a short period of time, turn off the stove and all cooking appliances, like 

the toaster oven.

 Put a grease fire out by sliding the lid over the pan

 If you have a grease fire in a pot or pan, turn off the burner and use 

a large lid or cookie sheet to smother the fire. Don’t plop the lid on 

from above; instead, carefully slide the lid onto the pan from one side. 

[FF1 demonstrates how to correctly slide the lid on to the pot to extinguish 

the flame.] Make sure to wear an oven mitt or use a potholder to 

protect your hand when you do this. NEVER pour water on an oil or 

grease fire.
TEACHING TOOLS

Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum 4-95LESSON PLANS

Adults

4

Turn pot handles in. Wear short sleeves or close fitting sleeves 

when cooking

FF1 When using pots and pans, turn handles inward, toward the center of 

the stove, so it’s less likely that anyone will pull or accidentally knock 

them over. [FF1: demonstrates technique] The contents of a hot pan or 

a falling piece of hot cookware can easily result in painful burns, so turn 

handles inward, away from danger. You should also keep hot foods and 

liquids away from the edges of tables and counters where they can be easily 

knocked over.

 Wear short sleeves or close fitting sleeves when cooking. Loose clothing 

is far more likely to catch fire if it comes in contact with a gas flame 

or hot burner. Instead, wear short sleeves or sleeves that fit snugly 

around your arms. If your clothing does catch fire, don’t panic—stop 

where you are, lower yourself to the ground, and cover your face and 

roll to put out the fire. If you can, cool the burn area with cool water 

immediately for 3-5 minutes or longer. Call for help if the burn is larger 

than the size of your fist or looks bad.

Kid free zone: 3 feet away from stove/oven

FF1 Establish and enforce a no-kids-zone in the kitchen that includes the stove 

and sink areas. Keep children out of these areas where they could get hurt.

Use microwave ovens safely

FF1 All parents, grandparents, and others who take care of babies and little 

children need to know that foods and liquids are heated unevenly in a 

microwave. Because of this uneven heating, hot spots can develop in 

the food and scald a baby’s mouth. If you do microwave baby food and 

formula and food for young children, be sure to stir the food, shake the 

bottles, and test for lukewarm temperature.

Cool a burn with cool water (for at least 3 to 5 minutes)

FF1 If you or someone at home is burned, cool the burn immediately with cool 

water for at least 3 to 5 minutes to prevent further injury. Afterwards, put 

a clean, dry cloth on the burn. Avoid using ice-cold water and ice cubes; 

this could cause further damage to burned skin. Never apply ointment, 

grease, or butter to the burned area. These materials will confine the heat 

of the burn to the skin and the skin cannot cool.
TEACHING TOOLS

4-96 Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum LESSON PLANS—SCRIPT

Adults

4

 Does anyone have any questions about these topics before we move on to the 

living room?

 Answer any questions and go over again any of the above messages if 

there seems to be anything that is unclear. If there are no questions, go 

to the living room.
TEACHING TOOLS

4-97 Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum LESSON PLANS—SCRIPT

Adults

4

Living Room Script

Smoke alarms should be tested monthly, and batteries replaced 

at least once a year

FF1 We’re now going to talk about smoke alarms. Let’s have a show of hands. 

 If you have smoke alarms installed in your home, raise your hand.

 Raise your hand if you have smoke alarms on each level of your home 

and inside and outside each sleeping area.

 How many of you test your smoke alarms once each month? 

 How many of you have carbon monoxide detectors or combined smoke/

carbon monoxide detector alarms in your home?

 Having properly installed and maintained smoke alarms considerably 

lowers your chances of dying in a fire. You should have a smoke alarm 

in every bedroom, outside each separate sleeping area, and on every 

level of the home, including the basement. As you know, when a smoke 

alarm detects smoke from a fire, it sounds a loud, piercing alarm which 

alerts you to the danger of a fire, even if you are asleep. The smoke 

alarm can provide you with an early warning and give you extra time to 

escape. 

 You should test your smoke alarms once each month and change the 

batteries at least once a year. Smoke alarms do not last forever. Replace 

smoke alarms every 10 years.

 If anyone in your household has hearing loss, consider installing a 

smoke alarm that uses a flashing light, vibration and/or sound to 

alert them to a fire. The majority of fatal fires occur when people are 

sleeping, and, because smoke can put people into a deeper sleep, it is 

important to have the necessary early warning of a fire to ensure that 

they wake up.

 (Optional) Demonstrate testing of a smoke alarm.

− Does anyone have any questions about smoke alarms?
TEACHING TOOLS

4-98 Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum LESSON PLANS—SCRIPT

Adults

4

Identify and fix hazards in the home—frayed cords, overloaded 

outlets, space heaters near things that can burn, cords under rugs

FF1 DON’T overload your electrical outlets. Plug only one appliance into 

each electrical receptacle. Many older homes have few electrical outlets, 

or outlets at inconvenient places. This situation can create home fire 

hazards by encouraging the use of extension cords and overloaded outlets. 

An outlet becomes overloaded when the appliances connected to them are 

drawing more electrical current than the outlet can handle. When this 

happens, wiring can get hot and radiate enough heat to walls, paneling, 

etc. to cause a fire. 

 Examine electrical cords on appliances regularly for signs of wear. If 

cords are frayed or cracked, have them replaced by a qualified electrical 

technician immediately. Extension cords can also fray, crack and wear 

out, and when they do, they become fire and electrical shock hazards. 

If any of your extension cords have these problems, throw them out! 

NEVER RUN EXTENSION CORDS UNDER RUGS OR CARPETS. 

When extension cords are under a carpet, walking over the rug may 

wear away the cord’s insulation, expose the wires, and possibly set fire to 

the rug.

 If you use a portable space heater, keep it at least three feet from walls, 

furniture, curtains, or anything that might catch on fire. Remember: 

IF IT HEATS, 3 FEET! Also remember to turn the heater off if you 

leave the room or go to sleep.
TEACHING TOOLS

4-99 Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum LESSON PLANS—SCRIPT

Adults

4

Bedroom Script

Know two ways out of every room (includes having escape 

ladders for bedrooms on upper levels)

FF1 Always remember that every room at home should have two exits. The first 

exit is usually a door and the second is usually a window. 

 If there are bedrooms on upper levels of the home, it is important to 

have escape ladders in those bedrooms. An escape ladder would be 

needed if the only way out of a bedroom is through a window. Home 

escape ladders are available at home improvement stores. 

 If you have older adults or people with mobility problems in the home, 

consider locating their bedrooms on the first floor, rather than upstairs, 

especially if they can’t climb down an escape ladder. If they’re in a 

wheelchair, make sure that there’s enough room for them to get through 

the doorways they will need to use to escape. 

 Consider installing a pet door so that animals can escape by themselves 

if necessary 

Working smoke alarms should be present on every level of 

home, including the basement, and outside sleeping areas and 

in each bedroom. It is best to have interconnected alarms. This 

means when one sounds, they will all sound

FF1 We talked about smoke alarms when we were in the living room, but it’s 

good to talk about them again in the bedroom. Many people believe that 

if they ever had a fire, they would be awakened by the smell of smoke in 

time to escape. THIS IS NOT TRUE! Smoke from a fire contains carbon 

monoxide, which disorients people, dulls their senses, and makes them 

lose consciousness. If you are already asleep, it puts you into a DEEPER 

sleep, and can eventually kill you! This is one reason why most people die 

of smoke inhalation in home fires rather than from burns. Smoke alarms 

should be present in each bedroom and outside of sleeping areas. Also, you 

should have working smoke alarms on every level of the home, including 

the basement. 

 It would be safest to have all of the smoke alarms in your home 

interconnected, so if one alarm sounds they all sound.
TEACHING TOOLS

4-100 Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum LESSON PLANS—SCRIPT

Adults

4

Additional Messages and Activities

Use activities in the kitchen, living room, and bedroom/bathroom as written to 

provide adults with a basic fire safety education lesson. If you have more time to 

spend with them, you can provide additional information by adding one or more 

of these messages to your lesson. You can also make the lesson more effective by 

demonstrating the desired behavior (for example, saying “Put a grease fire out by 

sliding the lid over the pan” and demonstrating how this is done) and then have 

two or three adults repeat what you’ve demonstrated. Even better, if you have 

time, would be to have all of the adults repeat what you’ve demonstrated.

Have a home escape plan and practice it with your entire family 

at least twice a year

FF1 If you have a fire in your house, will you know what to do? If you develop 

and practice a home escape plan, you can increase your chances of escaping 

from a fire without injury. Practicing your escape before a fire strikes will 

prepare you and your family to get out faster. Remember to have two ways 

to get out of each room. And remember to practice your plan at least twice 

a year.

 During your planning, think about any young children, older adults, or 

family members who have difficulty moving or may need help getting 

out of the home. Assign someone to assist them in the fire drill and 

in the event of an emergency. Children and older adults often sleep 

through alarms—plan for this. Assign a backup person too, in case the 

primary person is not home during the emergency. If needed, make sure 

all exits are accessible for walkers or wheelchairs. Also consider locating 

their bedrooms on the first floor, rather than upstairs, especially if they 

can’t climb down an escape ladder. Consider installing a pet door so 

that animals can escape by themselves if necessary 

 In developing your escape plan, check to make sure that no windows 

are painted or locked shut; that no furniture blocks any exit door; and 

that there are no deadbolt locks that are too difficult to open quickly. 

Doors and windows should be able to be unlocked quickly and easily 

so they can’t trap you inside. You won’t have time to struggle with a 

stuck window or move heavy furniture to clear your escape path in a 

real emergency, so get rid of these obstacles BEFORE you have a fire. 

Also, if you have security bars on your doors and windows, make sure 

they have emergency release devices inside so that they can be opened 

quickly in an emergency.
TEACHING TOOLS

4-101 Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum LESSON PLANS—SCRIPT

Adults

4

 As part of your escape plan, establish a meeting place outside where you 

and all other members of your family can wait for the fire department.

 If you need help developing an escape plan, call your fire department’s 

non-emergency number, they should be able to help you. 

The temperature of your home’s water should not be above 120 

degrees

FF1 To prevent hot water burns in your kitchen or bathroom, set your water 

heater’s thermostat to 120 degrees Fahrenheit or lower. Maintaining 

a constant thermostat setting can help control the water temperature 

throughout your home—preventing it from getting too high.

Sleep with bedroom door closed

This is optional—your decision to teach this topic should be made at the local 

level, because there is no national or standard message in place regarding this 

topic.

Smoking Risk

FF1 People who smoke should attempt to quit. The US Department of Health 

and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, and National Cancer 

Institute provide a free helpline (1-800-Quit Now) for smokers who want 

to quit and need help doing so. Those who continue to smoke should do 

so outside the house. However, people who smoke indoors may reduce 

their risk of injury from home fires by following several recommendations:

 Use deep, sturdy ashtrays that are set on something secure and hard to 

ignite, such as an end table.

 Douse cigarette and cigar butts in water, or extinguish them with sand, 

before dumping them in the trash.

 Do not allow smoking in a home where oxygen is used.

 Never smoke in bed or leave burning cigarettes unattended.

 Do not smoke if sleepy, drinking, or using medicine or other drugs.

 Use fire-safe cigarettes, where available.

Hazards of Household Chemicals 

FF1 Dangerous chemicals are not just found in factories and labs. Every home 

has dangerous chemicals. These include pesticides, fertilizer, old car 
TEACHING TOOLS

4-102 Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum LESSON PLANS—SCRIPT

Adults

4

batteries, anti-freeze, oil and gasoline, paints and solvents and ordinary 

household cleaning supplies that are usually kept under the sink in the 

kitchen or bathroom. A leak or spill can create a dangerous health hazard. 

Spilled or leaked chemicals can also mix together and create toxic fumes, 

or even start a fire. Firefighters and emergency responders have to take 

special precautions and wear protective equipment (respirators and eye 

protection) when dealing with chemical fumes in confined spaces. It’s the 

same in your house or garage.

 Take time to look for chemical hazards in your house and garage. Make 

sure that they are stored safely, up and away, out of the reach of young 

children and pets. You should keep them in their original container, 

make sure that the containers have child resistant caps and are not 

leaking. These should never be allowed to mix because some can create 

deadly gases or fires.
TEACHING TOOLS

4-103 Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum LESSON PLANS—SCRIPT

Adults

4

Summary: Fire Safety Trailer

FF1 ASK if anyone has any questions about what was covered or other fire 

safety issues. Provide clarification or reinforcement of messages as needed. 

When finished, thank the participants for touring the fire safety trailer and 

ask them to meet up with FF3 when they exit the trailer.

 REVIEW the messages for Adults

FF3 HAND OUT extenders:

 Smoke Alarm Guide

 Fire Safety Babysitter Handout

 Bookmarks

 Take Home Inspection Checklist
Page intentionally left blank
TEACHING TOOLS

LESSON PLANS

Older Adults

Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum 4-105

4

Lesson Length: 20 minutes

When presenting to older adults, you may find some 

individuals who have strong opinions about certain 

topics. Encourage discussion and try to demonstrate 

how the topics in these lessons could affect them 

personally if they are not prepared. Keep in mind the 

following teaching tips for this age group:

DO... DO NOT...

Use storytelling - encourage sharing 

experiences & introduce some of your own.

Assume adults have prior knowledge. 

Assess your group to find out what they 

know.

Make your talk interactive and ask them 

questions. Positively acknowledge good 

answers and successful participation.

Talk down to adults.

Encourage questions and discussion to 

make sure they understand “why” they 

should practice these behaviors.

Learning Objective

Older adult visitors to the trailer will learn fire safety behaviors that can reduce 

their risks of having a fire or suffering a fire-related injury or fatality.

Learning Areas

 Fire prevention

 Burn/injury prevention

 Fire escape planning
TEACHING TOOLS

4-106 Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum LESSON PLANS 

Older Adults

4

Key Fire Safety Messages for Use in the Trailer

Kitchen

 Put a grease fire out by sliding the lid over the pan.

 Keep an eye on what you fry. Never leave the kitchen 

when you are cooking at high temperatures.

 Keep pot handles turned in.

 Wear short or tight fitting sleeves when you are 

cooking.

 Kid and pet free zone: 3 feet away from stove/oven at 

all times so that you don’t trip over them. 

 Use microwave ovens safely.

 Cool a burn with cool water (for at least 3 to 5 minutes)

Living Room

 Smoke alarm batteries should be tested monthly, and 

batteries replaced at least once a year.

 Avoid trip and fire hazards in home—frayed cords, 

overloaded outlets, space heaters near things that can 

burn, cords under rugs.

Bedroom

 Working smoke alarms should be present on every level 

of home, including the basement, and outside sleeping 

areas and in each bedroom.
TEACHING TOOLS

Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum 4-107 LESSON PLANS

Older Adults

4

Additional Messages (to be taught in living room, bedroom, or outside trailer)

 Create an escape plan according to your abilities.

 Temperature of your home’s water should not be above 120 degrees.

 Sleep with bedroom door closed (optional—decision to teach this topic should be 

made at the local level, as there is no standard messaging in place).

 Hazards of household chemicals.

 Smoking Risk.

Resources Needed for Lesson

Extenders:

 Microwave Safety

 Smoke Alarm Guide

 Fire Safety Checklist

 Bookmarks
TEACHING TOOLS

4-108 Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum LESSON PLANS—SCRIPT

Older Adults

4

Kitchen Script

Other Kitchen Safety Tips

Keep area rugs out of the kitchen.

Do not carry, eat or drink hot items when holding children.

Test hot foods and liquids before serving them to children.

FF1 What age groups are at highest risk of injury or death from fire? 

 Allow visitors to answer. (Young children and older adults have the 

highest risks).

 Older adults are at a particularly high risk for injury and death from 

home fires. They are more vulnerable in a fire than the general 

population due to a combination of factors including mental and 

physical frailties, greater use of medications, and elevated likelihood of 

living in a poverty situation. Some older adults may need more time to 

escape from a fire area, and may need help from others to do so. Today, 

we are going to talk about some things you can do to protect yourself 

and those you care about from fires and burns, and to give yourself the 

extra time you may need to escape a fire. Some of the things we will 

talk about are cooking safety, smoke alarms, electrical safety, and space 

heaters.

 What steps can you take to reduce your risk of fire and fire-related 

injury in the kitchen?

 Allow visitors to respond, then go over key points below.

Keep an eye on what you fry. Never leave the kitchen when you 

are cooking at high temperatures

FF1 Cooking fires area leading cause of property loss and cause many injuries 

each year. One of the main reasons for this is that people leave the stove 

while they are cooking, or do not pay attention to what they are doing. 

Stay in the kitchen when you are frying, grilling, or broiling food. Avoid 

talking on the phone or texting. If you have to leave the kitchen, even for 

a short period of time, turn off the stove and all cooking appliances, like 

the toaster oven. 
TEACHING TOOLS

Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum 4-109LESSON PLANS—SCRIPT

Older Adults

4

Put a grease fire out by sliding the lid over the pan

FF1 If you have a grease fire in a pot or pan, turn off the burner and use a 

large lid or cookie sheet to smother the fire. Don’t plop the lid on from 

above; instead, carefully slide the lid onto the pan from one side. [FF1 

demonstrates how to correctly slide the lid on to the pot to extinguish the 

flame.] Make sure to wear an oven mitt or use a potholder to protect your 

hand when you do this. NEVER pour water on an oil or grease fire.

Turn pot handles in. Wear short sleeves or tight fitting sleeves 

when cooking

FF1 When using pots and pans, turn handles inward, toward the center of the 

stove, so it’s less likely that anyone will pull or accidentally knock them 

over. [FF1: demonstrates technique.] The contents of a hot pan or a 

falling piece of hot cookware could easily result in painful burns, so turn 

handles inward, away from danger. You should also keep hot foods and 

liquids away from the edges of tables and counters where they can be easily 

knocked over.

 Wear short sleeves or tight fitting sleeves when cooking. If you are 

wearing loose sleeves, roll them back or fasten them with pins or elastic 

bands while cooking. If fire gets on your clothing, don’t panic—stop 

where you are, gently lower yourself to the ground, and cover your 

face and roll to put out the fire. Cool the burn with cool water for 3-5 

minutes and get help.

Kid and pet free zone: 3 feet away from stove/oven at all times

FF1 When your grandchildren or other young children are visiting, establish 

and enforce a kids-free zone in the kitchen that includes the stove and sink 

areas. Keep children out of these areas where they could get hurt. Train 

your pets not to circle around you or walk between your legs while you are 

cooking. Falling down in the home is one of the leading causes of injury 

for older adults. 

Use microwave ovens safely

FF1 Foods and liquids are heated unevenly in the microwave. Microwaving 

baby food and formula is not recommended because uneven heating can 

create hot spots in the food and scald a baby’s mouth. If you do microwave 

baby food and formula, or other foods for young children, be sure to stir 
TEACHING TOOLS

4-110 Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum LESSON PLANS—SCRIPT

Older Adults

4

the food thoroughly, shake the bottles, and test for lukewarm temperature 

before giving them to children. 

Cool a burn with cool water (for at least 3 to 5 minutes)

FF1 If you or someone at home is burned, cool the burn immediately with cool 

water. Use cool water on the burn for at least 3 to 5 minutes to prevent 

further injury. Afterwards, put a clean, dry cloth on the burn. Avoid 

using ice-cold water and ice cubes; this could cause further damage to 

burned skin. Never apply ointment, grease, or butter to the burned area. 

These materials will confine the heat of the burn to the skin and the skin 

cannot cool.

 Does anyone have any questions about these topics before we move on to the 

living room?

 Answer any questions and go over again any of the above messages if 

there seems to be anything that is unclear. If there are no questions, go 

to the living room.
TEACHING TOOLS

Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum 4-111LESSON PLANS—SCRIPT

Older Adults

4

Living Room Script

Smoke alarms should be tested monthly, and batteries replaced 

at least once a year

FF1 We’re now going to talk about smoke alarms. Let’s have a show of hands. 

 If you have smoke alarms installed in your home, raise your hand.

 Raise your hand if you have smoke alarms on each level of your home 

and inside and outside each sleeping area.

 How many of you test your smoke alarms once each month? 

 How many of you have carbon monoxide detectors or combined smoke/

carbon monoxide detector alarms in your home?

 Having properly installed and maintained smoke alarms considerably 

lowers your chances of dying in a fire. You should have a smoke alarm 

in every bedroom, outside each separate sleeping area, and on every 

level of the home, including the basement. As you know, when a smoke 

alarm detects smoke from a fire, it sounds a loud, piercing alarm which 

alerts you to the danger of a fire, even if you are asleep. The smoke 

alarm can provide you with an early warning and give you extra time 

to escape. It is always a good idea to have someone else test your smoke 

alarm while you are sleeping to ensure it will wake you in the event of a 

fire. If your smoke alarm doesn’t wake you, consider getting an alarm 

with a special bed-shaking feature or strobe light. 

 You should test your smoke alarms once each month and change the 

batteries at least once a year. 

 If anyone in your household has hearing loss, consider installing a 

smoke alarm that uses a flashing light, vibration and/or sound to 

alert them to a fire. The majority of fatal fires occur when people are 

sleeping, and, because smoke can put people into a deeper sleep, it is 

important to have the necessary early warning of a fire to ensure that 

they wake up.

 (Optional) Demonstrate how to test a smoke alarm.

− Does anyone have any questions about smoke alarms?
TEACHING TOOLS

4-112 Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum LESSON PLANS—SCRIPT

Older Adults

4

Avoid trip and fire hazards in home—frayed cords, overloaded 

outlets, space heaters near things that can burn, cords under rugs

FF1 Let’s talk about things that can make you trip and fall. Did you know that 

falling down in the home is one of the leading causes of injury and death 

among older adults? If you have to walk around furniture to cross a room, 

ask someone to move the furniture so your path is clear. If you have throw 

rugs on the floor, remove them or use double-sided tape or a non-slip 

backing so they won’t slip and cause you to fall. If there are papers, books, 

towels, shoes, magazines, boxes, blankets, or other objects on the floor, 

pick them up; always keep objects off the floor! If you have to walk over 

or around wires or cords (like lamp, telephone, or extension cords), coil 

or tape cords and wires next to the wall so you can’t trip over them (or, if 

needed, have an electrician put in another outlet). 

 DON’T overload your electrical outlets. Plug only one appliance into 

each electrical receptacle. Many older homes have few electrical outlets, 

or outlets at inconvenient places. This situation can create home fire 

hazards by encouraging the use of extension cords and overloaded 

outlets. An outlet becomes overloaded when the appliances connected 

to them are drawing more electrical current than the outlet can handle. 

When this happens, wiring can get hot and radiate enough heat to 

walls, paneling, etc. to cause a fire. 

 Examine electrical cords on appliances regularly for signs of wear. If 

cords are frayed or cracked, have them replaced by a qualified electrical 

technician immediately. Extension cords can also fray, crack and wear 

out, and when they do, they become fire and electrical shock hazards. 

If any of your extension cords have these problems, throw them out! 

NEVER RUN EXTENSION CORDS UNDER RUGS OR CARPETS. 

When extension cords are under a carpet, walking over the rug may 

wear away the cord’s insulation, expose the wires, and possibly set fire to 

the rug.

 If you use a portable space heater, keep it at least three feet from walls, 

furniture, curtains, or anything that might catch on fire. Remember: 

IF IT HEATS, 3 FEET! Also remember to turn it off when you leave 

the room or go to sleep.
TEACHING TOOLS

Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum 4-113LESSON PLANS—SCRIPT

Older Adults

4

Bedroom Script

Working smoke alarms should be present on every level of a home, including 

the basement, and outside sleeping areas and in each bedroom (interconnected if 

possible)

FF1 We talked about smoke alarms when we were in the living room, but it’s 

good to talk about them again in the bedroom. Many people believe that 

if they ever had a fire, they would be awakened by the smell of smoke in 

time to escape. THIS IS NOT TRUE! Smoke from a fire contains carbon 

monoxide, which disorients people, dulls their senses, and makes them 

lose consciousness. If you are already asleep, it puts you into a DEEPER 

sleep, and can eventually kill you! This is one reason why most people die 

of smoke inhalation in home fires rather than from burns. Smoke alarms 

should be present in each bedroom and outside of sleeping areas. Also, you 

should have working smoke alarms on every level of the home, including 

the basement. 

 It would be safest to have all of the smoke alarms in your home 

interconnected, so if one alarm sounds they all sound. 

 If you use a portable space heater, keep it at least three feet from walls, 

furniture, curtains, or anything that might catch on fire. Remember: 

IF IT HEATS, 3 FEET!

 If you have limited mobility and don’t think you can climb out the 

window and down a safety ladder, you may want to consider moving 

your bedroom to the ground floor of your home. If you are mobile 

enough to use one, purchasing a safety ladder for the second floor is a 

wise investment. 
TEACHING TOOLS

4-114 Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum LESSON PLANS—SCRIPT

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4

Additional Messages and Activities

Create an escape plan around your abilities

FF1 If fire breaks out in your house, will you know what to do? If you develop 

and practice a home escape plan, you can increase your chances of escaping 

from a fire without injury. Practicing your escape before a fire strikes 

will prepare you to get out faster. You should consider your capabilities 

when planning escape routes. Have two ways to get out of each room and 

if needed, make sure all exits are accessible for walkers or wheelchairs. 

EMPHASIZE: In some cases, something may prevent you from exiting 

your home or apartment building. Close all doors between you and the 

fire. Use towels or blankets to seal the door cracks and cover air vents to 

keep smoke from coming in. If possible, open your windows at the top 

and bottom so fresh air can get in. Call the fire department to report your 

exact location. Wave a flashlight or light-colored cloth at the window to 

let the fire department know where you are located.

 In developing your escape plan, check to make sure that no windows 

are painted or locked shut; that no furniture blocks any exit door; and 

that there are no deadbolt locks that are too difficult to open quickly. 

Doors and windows should be able to be unlocked quickly and easily 

so they can’t trap you inside. You won’t have time to struggle with a 

stuck window or move heavy furniture to clear your escape path in a 

real emergency, so get rid of these obstacles BEFORE you have a fire. 

Also, if you have security bars on your doors and windows, make sure 

they have emergency release devices inside so that they can be opened 

quickly in an emergency.

 As part of your escape plan, establish a meeting place outside where you 

and all other members of your family can wait for the fire department. 

 If you need help developing an escape plan, call your fire department’s 

non-emergency number, they should be able to help you. Remember: 

PLAN AHEAD AND STAY ALIVE!
TEACHING TOOLS

Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum 4-115LESSON PLANS—SCRIPT

Older Adults

4

The temperature of your home’s water should not be above 120 

degrees

FF1 To prevent hot water burns in your kitchen or bathroom, set your water 

heater’s thermostat to 120 degrees Fahrenheit or lower. Maintaining 

a constant thermostat setting can help control the water temperature 

throughout your home—preventing it from getting too high.

Sleep with your bedroom door closed

This is optional—your decision to teach this topic should be made at the local 

level, because there is no national or standard message in place regarding this 

topic.

Smoking Risk

FF1 Smoking-related fires are the number-one cause of fire fatalities among 

older adults. Research shows that older adults are more vulnerable to 

fire-related injuries or death because skin tends to be thinner, reflexes are 

slower to escape a fire, and medications often make people more drowsy. 

People who smoke should attempt to quit. The US Department of Health 

and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, and National Cancer 

Institute provide a free helpline (1-800-Quit Now) for smokers who want 

to quit and need help doing so. Those who continue to smoke should do 

so outside the house. However, people who smoke indoors may reduce 

their risk of injury from home fires by following several recommendations:

 Use deep, sturdy ashtrays that are set on something secure and hard to 

ignite, such as an end table.

 Douse cigarette and cigar butts in water, or extinguish them with sand, 

before dumping them in the trash.

 Do not allow smoking in a home where oxygen is used.

 Never smoke in bed or leave burning cigarettes unattended.

 Do not smoke if sleepy, drinking, or using medicine or other drugs.

 Use fire-safe cigarettes, where available.

Hazards of Household Chemicals

FF1 Dangerous chemicals are not just found in factories and labs. Every home 

has dangerous chemicals. These include pesticides, fertilizer, old car 

batteries, anti-freeze, oil and gasoline, paints and solvents and ordinary 

household cleaning supplies that are usually kept under the sink in the 
TEACHING TOOLS

4-116 Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum LESSON PLANS—SCRIPT

Older Adults

4

kitchen or bathroom. A leak or spill can create a dangerous health hazard. 

Spilled or leaked chemicals can also mix together and create toxic fumes, 

or even start a fire. Firefighters and emergency responders have to take 

special precautions and wear protective equipment (respirators and eye 

protection) when dealing with chemical fumes in confined spaces. It’s the 

same in your house or garage.

 Take time to look for chemical hazards in your house and garage. Make 

sure that they are stored safely, up and away, out of the reach of young 

children and pets. You should keep them in their original container, 

make sure that the containers have child resistant caps and are not 

leaking. These should never be allowed to mix because some can create 

deadly gases or fires.

Activities

You can also add other activities to the tour, including the following:

 Lecture, question and answer.

 Demonstrate testing of smoke alarm.

 If your fire department has a smoke alarm installation program or free/

low cost alarms, distribute the information to those who indicate they 

do not have working smoke alarms.

 Show Remembering When if television and video player are available (see 

Section 7—Resources for recommendations of additional online videos).

 Discuss fall prevention (see Fall Prevention Checklist)

 Demonstrate how to get a wheelchair down a flight of stairs. 
TEACHING TOOLS

Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum 4-117LESSON PLANS—SCRIPT

Older Adults

4

Fall Prevention Checklist:

1. Exercise regularly to improve balance and coordination leg strength.

2. Have your pharmacist or healthcare provider check all your 

medicines. Some medicines can make you sleepy or dizzy.

3. Have your vision checked at least once a year by an eye doctor and 

update your eyeglass prescription.

4. Keep paths free and clear. Remove tripping hazards such as throw 

rugs, cords and other objects from the floor.

5. Keep items you frequently use on easy to reach cabinet shelves.

6. Use a stepstool with a handle.

7. Install grab bars and non-skid mats inside and outside the tub or 

shower area and next to the toilet for added safety.

8. Use nightlights in the bathroom and in the hallway from the 

bedroom to the bathroom.

9. Get up slowly after you sit or lie down.

10. Wear shoes both inside and outside the house. Avoid going barefoot 

or wearing slippers.

11. Improve the lighting in your home. Florescent bulbs are bright and 

cost less to use.

12. Keep lighting in a room uniform. Add lighting to dark areas. Hang 

lightweight curtains or shades to reduce glare.

13. Keep steps and stairways clear of objects and well lit. Be sure that 

carpet or treads are firmly in place. Put handrails on both sides of 

stairs.

14. Paint a contrasting color on the top edge of all steps so you can see 

the stairs better. For example, use light color paint on dark wood. 

15. Train your pets not to circle you or walk between your legs.
TEACHING TOOLS

4-118 Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum LESSON PLANS—SCRIPT

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4

Summary: Fire Safety Trailer

FF1 ASK if anyone has any questions about what was covered or other fire 

safety issues. Provide clarification or reinforcement of messages as needed. 

When finished, thank the participants for touring the fire safety trailer and 

ask them to meet up with FF3 when they exit the trailer.

 REVIEW the messages for Older Adults

FF3 HAND OUT extenders:

 Microwave Safety

 Smoke Alarm Guide

 Fire Safety Checklist

 Bookmarks
5

REINFORCING MESSAGES

Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum 5-1

Once students and visitors have finished the fire safety trailer tour and 

educational presentation, it is important to equip them with reinforcing 

materials (extenders) that can be reviewed to help them put into practice the fire 

safety behaviors they have learned. This section includes tips for implementing 

fire prevention strategies at home and in the classroom. The use of ageappropriate extenders can help participants to learn, retain, and put into action 

the lessons they have seen presented in the fire safety trailer. 

Tips to Reinforce Fire Safety Messages

Tips for Teachers:

Ask students if they know what fire hazards are and if they can name things in 

the home that might be considered a fire hazard. For example:

In the kitchen: 

 towel too close to the stove top,

 child cooking alone,

 pot handle turned in the wrong direction—it should be turned to the 

center of the stove to prevent burns, or

 smoke alarm battery missing in hallway.

In the living room: 

 overloaded electrical outlet,

 candle too close to upholstered materials and left unattended,

 T.V. left on and unattended,

 mesh screen missing from in front of the fireplace,

 newspapers left too close to the fireplace where a spark could ignite them, 

or

 smoke alarm battery missing.

In the bedroom: 

 clothing draped over lamp where it could start to burn,

 an object placed on a space heater where it could start to burn,
5

REINFORCING MESSAGES

5-2 Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum

 space heater left on when no one is in the room,

 clothing left too close to the space heater where it could catch fire, or

 smoke alarm battery missing.

Explain that these are dangerous things that could be in anyone’s home. Ask 

students if they know why it is important to identify and correct fire hazards in 

the home. Students will probably conclude it is important in order to prevent a 

fire in the home and to prevent their families from being hurt in a fire. Stress 

that some hazards may not seem dangerous, such as overloaded extension cords, 

but that they could cause a fire when they least expect it. Tell them that fire 

hazards are especially dangerous at night, when no one is awake to notice that a 

fire has started.

Tips for Parents:

A. Home Fire Escape Drill for Parents

Using the escape map or plan (see map/plan on page 5-55), ask your child to 

lead you out of their bedroom and then your home, practicing both ways out of 

each. To simulate escaping from a fire-like environment, have your child practice 

escaping from his/her bedroom with their eyes closed. As you practice the plan, 

reinforce the following safety tips along the way:

 Crawl low to avoid heat and smoke.

 Feel doors with the back of your hand before opening them. Do not 

open the door if it feels hot—use your second exit—get out fast.

 Meet outside and then call 9-1-1 for help.

 Stay outside no matter what—don’t go back for anything.

B. Home Fire Safety Drill for Parents

Accompany your child from room to room in your home, looking for possible 

safety hazards. When the child identifies one, talk about why it could be a 

hazard, and what can be done to correct it. Emphasize with your children that 

if they see fire hazards, they should tell you – children should not try to correct 

them themselves. Electricity and fire can be dangerous things, and children 

should ask adults to manipulate electrical cords, electrical equipment, etc.
5

REINFORCING MESSAGES

Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum 5-3

Lesson Materials

The following tables provide resources that will be required for delivery of 

the lesson plans, as well as resources that can be used to reinforce the lesson 

presented. The following information is found in each table:

 thumbnail of resource 

 name of resource 

 description

 page number

Lesson Resources

Thumbnail Image Name Description Page 

Number

Posters Kitchen, bedroom, and living room 

illustrations on posters designed to 

help educate on fire hazards

5–11

Hot and Cold 

Objects cards

Flashcards for use with teaching hot 

and cold objects lessons

5–17

Burn Treatment 

Cards

Flashcards for use with teaching what 

to do in case of a burn

5–23

Smoke Alarm 

Cards

Flashcards for use with teaching 

about smoke alarms

5–25
5

REINFORCING MESSAGES

5-4 Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum

Thumbnail Image Name Description Page 

Number

Matches and 

Lighter Cards

Flashcards for use with teaching 

about not touching matches or 

lighters

5–27

Tell a Grown up 

Sequence Cards

Flashcards for use with teaching 

about what to do if you see matches 

or lighters

5–29

Crawl Low Under 

Smoke

Flashcards for use with teaching 

about what to do if you see or smell 

smoke

5–31

Stop, Drop and 

Roll Cards

Flashcards for use with teaching 

about what to do if your clothes catch 

fire

5–33

Lesson Extenders

General Audience

Thumbnail Image Name Description Page 

Number

Fire Safety Pocket 

Guide

Fire Safety Trailer Key Messages 

Pocket Guide for educators. Key fire 

safety messages for each room of the 

trailer that can be taught

5–35
5

REINFORCING MESSAGES

Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum 5-5

Thumbnail Image Name Description Page 

Number

Fire Safety 

Babysitter 

Handout

Babysitter handout with safety tips 

for caregivers

5–39

Sample Pictogram Sample Pictogram showing what to 

do if your fire alarm goes off for low 

literacy

5–43

Bookmarks Series of bookmarks with fire safety 

education tips

5–45

Children

Thumbnail Image Name Description Page 

Number

If you have children and want to make this a family activity:

•	 Make	a	map	of your	home.	Mark	a	door	and	a	window	that	can	be	used to

get out of every room.

•	 Choose	a	meeting	place	outside	in	front	of your	home.	This	is	where		

everyone	can	meet	once	they’ve	escaped	and	where	firefighters	can	see	

you	and	know	you	are	out.	Draw	a	picture	of your	outside	meeting	place		

on your	escape	plan.

•	 Write	the	emergency	telephone	number	for	the	fire	department	on your

escape	plan.

•	 Sound	the	smoke	alarm,	and	practice	your	escape	drill	with	everyone	in	

your	home.

•	 Keep your	escape	plan	on	the	refrigerator,	and	practice	the	drill	twice	a		

year or	whenever	anyone	in	your	home	celebrates	a	birthday.

If your family is all adults:

•	 Walk	through	your	home,	and	identify	two ways out of	each	room.

•	 Choose	a	meeting	place	outside	in	front	of your	home.	This	is	where		

everyone	can	meet	once	they’ve	escaped	and	where	firefighters	can		

see	you	and	know	you	are	out.

•	 Make	sure	everyone	knows	the	emergency	number	for your	local		

fire	department.

•	 Practice	your	escape	drill	twice	a	year.

U.S. Fire Administration

www.usfa.fema.gov

Fire Escape Map Escape Map/Plan for children/

adolescents

5–55

Member Badges Fire Safety Team Member Badge for 

children

5–57

Discovery 

Through Play 

Sample games to play during the tour 

or in the classroom

5–59
5

REINFORCING MESSAGES

5-6 Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum

Thumbnail Image Name Description Page 

Number

9-1-1 Poster for 

Children

9-1-1 Poster for children 5–61

Journal Ideas 

for Elementary 

Students

Journal Ideas: writing a letter to a 

parent on fire safety

5–63

Calendar Monthly calendar that includes fire 

safety education messages

5–65

Greeting Card Sample Greeting card with education 

messages

5–79

My Phone/

My Address 

worksheet

My Phone/My Address worksheet 5–83

Fire Safety Picture 

Frames Craft

Template for doing a fire safety 

picture frames craft

5–85
5

REINFORCING MESSAGES

Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum 5-7

Thumbnail Image Name Description Page 

Number

Word Matching Picture/word matching worksheet 5–89

Fun with Words Fun with Words—adjectives for 

firefighting vocabulary

5–91

Activity Booklet Sesame Street FEMA Fire Safety 

Station

www.usfa.fema.gov

Online

Adolescents

Thumbnail Image Name Description Page 

Number

Writing Activity Journal Ideas for Classroom Students 5–93

Role Playing 

Activity

Fire and Burn Scenarios to reinforce 

lessons learned

5–95

Poster Contest Sample Poster Design Contest 5–99
5

REINFORCING MESSAGES

5-8 Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum

Thumbnail Image Name Description Page 

Number

Smoke Alarm 

Checklist

Smoke Alarm Safety Checklist for 

adolescents

www.nfpa.org

Online

Take Home Guide Take Home Inspection Checklist 

www.sparky.org/PDF/

SparkyChecklist.pdf 

Online

Website link to 

online fire safety 

education games

Hamilton Township Fire Dept. www.

grovevillefire.com/kids_corner/kids_

corner.php

Online

Adults

Thumbnail Image Name Description Page 

Number

Microwave safety 

handout

Using your microwave oven safely 5–101

Campus Fire 

Safety

Get Out and Stay Alive − Fire safety 

for college campus

www.usfa.fema.gov

Online
5

REINFORCING MESSAGES

Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum 5-9

Smoke Alarm 

Guide

Smoke Alarm Guide for adults

www.nfpa.org/assets/files//PDF/

Research/SmokeAlarmsSafetyTips.pdf

Online

Door Hanger Door hanger with fire safety tips − 

FEMA

www.usfa.fema.gov

Online

Older Adults

Thumbnail Image Name Description Page 

Number

Fire Safety 

Checklist for 

Older Adults

A checklist of items older adults can 

use to ensure their home is safe.

www.usfa.fema.gov

Online

Fire Safe Seniors 

Toolkit

Toolkit available for download. 

Contains materials specifically for 

older adults. www.usfa.fema.gov

Online
Page intentionally left blank
5-11

Posters
Fire Safety Poster Talking Points

Bedroom Poster Talking Points

 Get Out and Stay Out!

 Home Escape Plan

 Feel the Door for Heat

 Stay Low and Go

Kitchen Poster Talking Points

 Don’t Leave Cooking Food Unattended

 Wear short sleeves or tight fitting sleeves when cooking

 Keep the Cooking Area Clear of Items That Could Catch Fire

 Be Prepared: Know What to Do if a Fire Starts

 Establish a Kid-Free Zone

 Turn Pot Handles in

 Microwave Safety

Living Room Poster Talking Points

 Calling 9-1-1 – Get out and call from a neighbor’s phone 

 Smoke Alarms 

 Smoking

 Candle Safety

 Heating Safety

 Electrical Safety



Page intentionally left blank
5-17

Hot and Cold Objects Cards
Sun Fire

Iron Flat Iron
Fireplace Grill

Soup Cigarette
Oven Burner

Coffee Ice Water
Refrigerator Snow

Candle Light Bulb
Ice Cream Icicle

Pool Milk
5-23

Burn Treatment Cards
Bandage Medicine

Running Water Washcloth
5-25

Smoke Alarm Cards
Smoke Alarm Carbon Monoxide 

Detector
5-27

Matches and Lighter Cards
Book of Matches Box of Matches

Lit Match Lighter
5-29

Tell a Grown Up Sequence Cards
Child sees lighter but 

does not touch

Child tells grown-up 

about lighter

Grown-up picks up 

lighter

Grown-up puts lighter

out of reach
5-31

Crawl Low Under Smoke Cards
Crawl low under smoke
5-33

Stop, Drop and Roll Cards
STOP DROP

ROLL
5-35

Fire Safety Pocket Guide


Page intentionally left blank
5-39

Fire Safety Babysitter Handout


Page intentionally left blank
5-43

Pictogram

5-45

Bookmarks








Page intentionally left blank
5-55

Fire Escape Map
If you have children and want to make this a family activity:

•	 Make	a	map	of your	home.	Mark	a	door	and	a	window	that	can	be	used to

get out of every room.

•	 Choose	a	meeting	place	outside	in	front	of your	home.	This	is	where		

everyone	can	meet	once	they’ve	escaped	and	where	firefighters	can	see	

you	and	know	you	are	out.	Draw	a	picture	of your	outside	meeting	place		

on your	escape	plan.

•	 Write	the	emergency	telephone	number	for	the	fire	department	on your

escape	plan.

•	 Sound	the	smoke	alarm,	and	practice	your	escape	drill	with	everyone	in	

your	home.

•	 Keep your	escape	plan	on	the	refrigerator,	and	practice	the	drill	twice	a		

year or	whenever	anyone	in	your	home	celebrates	a	birthday.

If your family is all adults:•	 Walk	through	your	home,	and	identify	two ways out of	each	room.•	 Choose	a	meeting	place	outside	in	front	of your	home.	This	is	where		

everyone	can	meet	once	they’ve	escaped	and	where	firefighters	can		

see	you	and	know	you	are	out.

•	 Make	sure	everyone	knows	the	emergency	number	for your	local		

fire	department.

•	 Practice	your	escape	drill	twice	a	year.

U.S. Fire Administration

www.usfa.fema.gov
5-57

Member Badges

5-59

Discovery Through Play
Discovery Through Play 

Red Light/Green Light Game

The old classic, Red Light/Green Light, has been thrilling young children for 

generations. It requires quick reflexes, good timing and a sense of fair play. This 

is a modified version of the old classic to incorporate awareness of surroundings by 

identifying fire hazards, while keeping the kids moving and engaged in the physical 

activity.

Choose one player to be the “traffic light.” The players line up one by one and the 

traffic light stands some distance away from the line. The traffic light begins by facing 

the players. At this point the light is considered to be red; the players are not allowed 

to move forward on a red light. The traffic light now turns away and shouts, “Green 

Light!” The players move one at a time toward the different objects. As a player gets 

close to a fire hazard, yell “RED LIGHT” and the player stops and has to tell the 

traffic light what the fire hazard is and how to be safe. Once the player tells the traffic 

light the correct answer, the traffic light yells “GREEN LIGHT” and the player can 

move again. 

The game can be used in a classroom or fire safety trailer to reinforce safety messages.

Imaginative Role Play

Encourage imaginative play that will allow children to explore new situations and learn 

new skills. This will help the child to explore their feelings and the task at hand in a 

safe, supervised environment. An example might be to have each child pretend they are 

a firefighter and have them “teach” the other children what they have just learned.

Coloring Stations

Encourage their creative juices by having students draw pictures of what they have 

learned so far. Let their imaginations run and see what creative images they can come 

up with on their own.

Puppet Show

Have the students put on a sock puppet show teaching the other students about fire 

safety and lessons learned.
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9-1-1 Poster for Children
9-1-1 Poster for Children

REPORTING AN EMERGENCY!

Practice what to do in an 

emergency by pretending 

to report an emergency 

at your home!

Reporting an Emergency

Call 9-1-1 or (local #__________________) Speak slowly and clearly

Say: My name is:_____________________________________________________

“I want to report an emergency at: _____________________________________

“The phone number I’m calling from is: _________________________________

“The address I’m calling from is: _______________________________________

“The emergency is: __________________________________________________

When making a home escape plan 

put a family member in charge of calling 9-1-1!
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Journal Ideas for Elementary Students
Journal Ideas for Elementary Students

Write a letter to a parent or guardian telling them what you learned about fire safety. 

Some ideas to help you remember what you learned are listed below:

 Firefighter clothing

 Stop, Drop and Roll

 Smoke alarms

 Finding matches or a lighter

 Fire drills

 Crawling low under smoke

 When to call 9-1-1

 Firefighters are your friends
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Calendar












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Greeting Cards


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5-83

My Phone / My Address Worksheet
My Phone / My Address Worksheet

Fill in YOUR information when you get home, cut out on the dotted lines and put it 

on your refrigerator at home. This way you will know your phone number and address 

in case you have to dial 9-1-1 in an emergency.

My Phone Number:

__________________________________

My Address is:

__________________________________

__________________________________
5-85

Fire Safety Picture Frames Craft
Fire Safety Picture Frames Craft

You can put these frames on a desk, hang them on the wall, or attach a magnet to the 

back and hang them from the fridge or file cabinet.

Materials Needed

 Paper 

 Scissors

 Coloring materials

 Wool or ribbon if hanging from the wall or magnet if hanging on fridge

 Photograph 

 Piece of cardboard (optional)

Instructions

 Print out the template.

 Glue the template to a piece of cardboard if you want it to be sturdier. You can 

use cereal or other boxes or poster board.

 Color and cut out the template. Cut out the shape along the dotted line. 

Younger kids may need help with this.

 Glue any additional decorations to the frame.

 Trim the photograph as necessary and glue to the back of the frame.

 Attach wool or ribbon if hanging the photo or a magnet as desired.

 Feel free to decorate further with sparkles, sparkle glue, sequins or anything else 

the kids can think of.
Picture Frame Template

I know what to do if there is a fire. 

Get Out and Stay Out!

I promise not to play with 

matches.

Firefighters are my friends

If fire gets on my clothes
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5-89

Picture/Word Matching Worksheet
Picture/Word Matching Worksheet

Draw a line from each picture to the matching word about firefighting: 

Firefighter

Helmet

Fire Truck

Dalmatian

Fire Hydrant

Smoke Alarm

Fire
5-91

Fun With Words 
Fun With Words 

Write 5 adjectives describing the words listed below about firefighting:

FIREFIGHTER

1.

2.

3

4.

5.

WATER

1.

2.

3

4.

5.

FIRE ENGINE

1.

2.

3

4.

5.

LADDER

1.

2.

3

4.

5.
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Journal Ideas for Classroom Students
Journal Ideas for Classroom Students

Think about what you learned about in the Fire Safety Trailer and during your small 

group activities...

1. Describe a typical day in the life of a firefighter.

2. Describe something you learned today that surprised you.

3. Imagine you were home sleeping in your bedroom and the smoke alarm sounds. 

What would you do? (describe in detail)

4. Think about your home. After learning about fire safety in the home, how does 

yours measure up? Are there any fire safety hazards? What could be changed?

5. What did you like most about the Fire Safety Trailer Tour and activities?
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Role Playing Activity
Role Playing Activity

Role-Playing Activity Cards to be used to reinforce fire safety messages. 

Source: Adapted from Fire Safety for Texans, Texas State Fire Marshal ́s Office

Scene 1: Planning for fire emergencies

Student A: Tells B that a news story about a fire in their town has her worried: “How 

will we know what to do in a fire?” 

Student B: Tells A that having a fire escape plan will help; tells her to make plan that 

gives everyone in the house two ways out of each room and sets up a meeting place 

outside, in front of the house a safe distance away. Tells her to get a smoke alarm 

and check it each month.

Scene 2: Hearing a smoke alarm while sleeping

Both: Pretend to be sleeping

Student A: Hears a smoke alarm, wakes B.

Student B: Tells A they need to crawl out under any possible smoke.

Both: Crawl out of room, go to neighbor’s house, call 9-1-1 (or local emergency 

number) and report fire at (insert address).

Scene 3: Cooking pan catches fire

Student A: Pretends to be cooking; a grease fire starts up in the pan.

Student B: Tell A to carefully slide a lid over the top of the pan.

Student A: Slides on lid; fire goes out.

Scene 4: Burn on hand

Student A: Pretends to be ironing; burns hand.

Student B: Makes A put hand under cool running water for at least 3 to 5 minutes 

and then puts a clean, dry cloth on the burn. 
Scene 5: Learning about fire safety

Student A: Tells B that he is concerned about his grandparents and several other 

senior citizens in their neighborhood because they seem to be unaware of fire hazards 

and can’t get around well.

Student B: Tells A to call the fire prevention office of the fire department; they can 

put on a special presentation to tell them about fire safety and can even help them 

install smoke alarms, make an escape plan and check for fire hazards.
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Sample Poster Design Contest
Sample Poster Design Contest

Contest Theme

Using knowledge gained during your tour of the Fire Safety Trailer, the contest is 

designed to provide an opportunity for middle and high school students to gain 

awareness of safety issues and convey their thoughts about the importance of taking 

preventative measures to stay safe to elementary students. Fire safety topics include, but 

are not limited to: 

 Smoke alarms

 Calling 9-1-1

 Playing with matches or fire

 Kitchen safety

 How to treat a burn

 Fire escape planning

 Stop, Drop and Roll

Eligibility

The contest is open to sixth through twelfth grade. Only one entry per student will 

be allowed. Entries will be judged based on the safety message, creativity, originality, 

visual impact, and universal appeal.

Contest Rules

 All contest entries must: 

z adhere to the contest theme 

z be created by an individual student rather than a team of students 

z be a contestant’s original, handmade creation 

z not be from other artists’ published works 

z be on an 8 1⁄2” x 11” piece of white paper (vertically or horizontally) 

 Any media may be used to create a flat or two-dimensional effect including 

paint, crayon, colored pencil, charcoal, etc.
5-101

Microwave Safety Fact Sheet

6

EVALUATE

Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum 6-1

Evaluation helps you improve your fire safety trailer program by identifying 

strengths and weaknesses in how your program addresses the fire safety 

needs of your community. While evaluation is usually thought of as a final 

step in the process, your evaluation actually begins with planning and getting 

ready for your event and follows you through to collecting feedback to see if 

your program was a success. 

An organized evaluation of your trailer program can take a lot of time and 

effort. However, it is valuable since granting agencies usually require solid proof 

that they are funding programs that work. 

You can evaluate your program by:

 Describing and collecting information about your ongoing program 

activities.

 Looking at how your program has affected people’s behavior.

 Monitoring the incidence of fire-related injuries and deaths in your 

community (surveillance).

 Developing success stories.

Steps in Evaluation

This evaluation section is modeled after the Centers for Disease Control and 

Prevention (CDC) six-step evaluation framework. See Beyond the Basics in 

this section for more on each step.

Source: Adapted from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Framework for Evaluation and Public Health
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6-2 Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum

6

Program Activities 

In order to successfully track your fire safety trailer program, you will first 

need to evaluate your implementation process. Start by taking inventory of 

the number of programs offered and by measuring the outputs produced. This 

information will help provide accountability to your department, community, 

and funding agencies. For example, the number of trailer events or school 

presentations would be key activities for which you should maintain careful 

records with trackable data.

Behavior Changes

How people change their behavior as a result of exposure to your program is one 

way you can evaluate its effectiveness. For example:

 Have they developed an escape plan and practiced it?

 Have they installed smoke alarms or tested alarms already installed?

 Have they eliminated fire hazards identified in your program?

You can gather this information with a survey of your program participants or 

by doing follow-up home inspections.

Evaluation...

 shows the effectiveness of a program, as well as areas of your program that may 

need improvement,

 encourages participation by fire personnel, and

 supports continuing funding for the program.

Surveillance

Monitoring the numbers of fire-related injuries and fatalities can provide a 

broader view of the success of fire safety education programs. The program may 

not be able to reduce the number of fires, but it can improve how well people 

respond to an emergency. You may find fewer injuries, deaths, and less property 

loss in your community.
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National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS)

Using NFIRS, you can enter information about fires in your community, monitor trends over 

time, and seek out fire data from communities similar to yours and conduct comparisons. 

The NFIRS database can be used to answer questions about the nature and causes of 

injuries, deaths, and property loss resulting from fires.

Additional information about NFIRS can be found on the USFA website at www.usfa.fema.gov.

Beyond the Basics

This section of the toolkit includes plenty of confidence-building information 

and materials to help you evaluate your program from start to finish.

Overview of CDC Evaluation Framework1

Overall effectiveness and impact of a program can be determined by program 

evaluation. CDC established a six-step evaluation framework:

1. Engage (work with stakeholders)

2. Describe the program (list out details)

3. Focus the evaluation design (write evaluation questions)

4. Gather credible evidence (collect data)

5. Justify conclusions (analyze data)

6. Ensure use and sharing of lessons learned (use the results)

Each of the six steps is discussed below to assist your 

evaluation planning efforts. In order to assist those of 

you with mature fire safety education programs, each 

of the six steps from CDC’s evaluation framework is 

outlined in a detailed Steps in Evaluation Practice 

Chart to guide your planning process. The chart 

can be found in the Resources table at the end of this 

section.

1 Source: Joint Committee on Standards for Educational Evaluation. Program Evaluation Standards: How to Assess Evaluation of Educational 

Programs. 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1994.
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6-4 Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum

6

Evaluation steps

1. Working with stakeholders

A successful evaluation begins with good planning and preparation. Identify 

who is going to use the evaluation results, and understand what each group of 

users expects to learn from the information gathered.

 Involve staff, service providers, and program participants in the design 

process to plan for obstacles and develop future plans for the results.

 Involve the end users of the evaluation data to encourage quality data 

collection.

Start by researching other programs that have worked and consider contacting 

the program directors to see if they would be willing to share their program 

information with you. 

Second, collect baseline data. Baseline data give you a starting point to see 

what the community or target group was like before you started your program. 

Example baseline data you could collect includes:

 How many home fire-related deaths and injuries occurred in your 

community before beginning your smoke alarm installation program?

 How many calls did your fire department respond to?

 How many homes had working smoke detectors?

Once you have the background information for your program evaluation, you 

will be prepared to start the recruitment of evaluation stakeholders.

Getting support

Your key stakeholders may be community members in your coalition, members 

of the community who have supported your program already, or completely new 

individuals or groups. Evaluation stakeholders are directly invested in the results 

of your evaluation. Those individuals could include the fire department chief, 

mayor, health department staff, legislators, funders, or community advocates.

“ Anyone can collect data; it’s what we do with it 

that defines us as an organization. 2

”

—Assistant Chief and Fire Marshal

2 Performance Management in Public Fire Education,“ Firehouse, August 2004.
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EVALUATE

Identifying who can help

Seeking help from experts is an excellent way to improve your evaluation 

efforts. Help is available from many sources, including the USFA, the NFPA, 

local teachers and college instructors, graduate students, public health officials, 

extension agents, mental health officials, and the state fire marshal’s office. Do 

not hesitate to seek out their guidance and input, as they may even help for little 

or no cost. They will be able to help you determine what information you need 

to collect and how to collect it to best evaluate your program.

If you do not already have a contact with one of these sources, start out by 

contacting a community relations or public relations manager at a university 

or government office—describe the project you are working on, and he or 

she may able to put you in touch with an expert. Additionally, one of your 

coalition members may be able to “donate” an evaluation expert to assist you or 

a university contact may be able to use your program evaluation as a class project 

for students. The key is to be open and creative when looking for evaluation 

assistance.

2. Describing your program

Start by taking a look at your fire safety trailer program and the details you 

plan to use to evaluate success. If you need more information about program 

planning and implementation, you can refer to Section 3: Plan and Implement, 

of the CDC and USFA’s Fire Safety Program Toolkit. As a quick overview, the 

five parts of program planning are: 

Program Goal Expected 

Outcomes Activities Outputs Inputs

Goal of your 

program 

based on 

needs of your 

community.

Measures 

of program 

success.

The tasks and 

activities you 

plan to help 

you reach your 

goal.

The materials 

delivered 

and services 

provided by 

your program

Resources 

needed to 

support your 

program

At this point, you will want to take a look at anything that may have changed 

since you began the planning process for your program, such as changes in 

funding, staffing, etc., that could potentially impact the evaluation process.

3. Identifying questions for evaluation of your program

What would your stakeholders want to know about your program’s progress and 

its success, and what would they do with that information?
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6-6 Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum

6

Key Stakeholder3 What do they want to know? What do they intend to do with 

the information? 

City government Is the strategy reaching the 

intended audience? 

Is it effective? 

Determine if adjustments to the 

strategy need to be made. 

Funding agency Is the program cost-effective? Obtain more funding. 

Develop appropriate budgets. 

Allocate resources fairly. 

Community 

members 

Is the strategy resulting 

in positive change in the 

community? 

Is the strategy making the 

community feel safer? 

Determine whether or not the 

expected changes are occurring. 

Address challenges in reaching 

objectives. 

Choosing evaluation measures

Defining appropriate questions to be asked in an evaluation requires a thorough 

understanding of the intent of the program. For each question you need to 

choose those measures, or indicators, that best assess your program’s outcomes.

An EVALUATION MEASURE can be used to track your program’s 

progress.

Let’s use an example to illustrate the process you would take if you were 

evaluating a smoke alarm installation program taught in your fire safety 

trailer. This program has an overall goal of reducing home fire casualties in the 

community.

Evaluation Question Evaluation Measures Data Source

Is the program reaching the 

intended audience?

Short-term: Regular 

meetings of partners

Program records

Long-term: Increase in 

number of homes with 

working smoke alarms

Community household 

surveys (before and after 

the program, or after the 

program only)

3 Source: Southern California Injury Prevention Research Center (SCIPRC). UCLA School of Public Health. A Guidebook to Strategy Evaluation: 

Evaluating Your City’s Approach to Community Safety and Youth Violence Prevention. June 2008. www.ph.ucla.edu/sciprc/pdf/Evaluation_

Guidebook_July08.pdf
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Evaluation Question Evaluation Measures Data Source

Is the program educating 

the intended audience 

about the importance of 

smoke alarms?

Short-term: Increase in 

community support and 

media coverage

Requests from the public 

for programs; stories in the 

media

Long-term: Change in 

knowledge of smoke alarm 

prevention education

Surveys (opinion)

Was there a reduction in 

home fire injuries or deaths 

as a result of the program?

Short-term: Decrease in 

risk factors for preventable 

home fire casualties

Surveys and inspections

Long-term: Decrease in 

home fire casualties in 

community.

Incident data

Using a logic model helps not only to to illustrate the program visually but also to 

break out the measures of success you will use for each program activity (see sample in 

the Trailer Curriculum Program: Evaluation Plan Template or the Logic Model 

Template found in the Resources table). Think about information you can collect:

 while the program is still underway (process evaluation) as feedback 

comes in and

 that documents program success (impact/outcome evaluation).

Process Evaluation Impact/Outcome Evaluation

Documents the degree to which the 

program was implemented according to the 

plan. A few measures you could use include:

 Number of community members 

reached by your program.

 Distribution rates for program materials.

 Quality of new partnerships as a result 

of the program.

 Percent of targeted population reached 

by program.

 Meeting timeline for program 

implementation.

Designed to assess program effectiveness 

through documented change (e.g., behavior 

change). Some examples of outcome 

measure include:

 Comparing baseline statistics for 

program participation with postprogram data.

 Measuring awareness/reach of your 

program.

 Qualitative measures such as asking 

program participants to comment on 

their experience with the program and 

how it may/may not have changed their 

behavior.
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6-8 Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum

6

To determine if your program is doing well, first check it against the purpose, 

goals, and objectives that you established for your program. For example, 

suppose that the purpose of your program is to increase knowledge of home fire 

dangers among elementary school children and your goal is to visit all 1st and 

2nd grades in your local school district. A simple way to evaluate whether you 

met your goal would be to keep track of the 1st and 2nd grades you visit and the 

number of students who received the program.

Next, evaluate how well your messages were received. The simplest way of doing 

this is to ask your audience what they have learned, if anything was unclear, and 

if they have any questions. For example, after a presentation, you could:

 Ask participants for a show of hands regarding their overall 

understanding of fire safety as a result of the presentation (e.g., “Much 

better than before,” “A little better than before,” “No different,” etc.)—

this is sometimes called “self reporting.”

 Ask participants for a show of hands regarding whether they liked the 

program or not, or liked it (or not) in comparison to another fire safety 

program they participated in.

 Assess for yourself how well participants performed in particular parts of 

the presentation (e.g., how well they performed “Stop, Drop and Roll” or 

answered questions about fire safety topics).

 Note your impressions of how the presentation ran (see Presentation 

Evaluation Tool and Presentation Feedback Form in the resources 

table at the end of this section) and any suggestions for things you might 

have done differently; then meet with other people doing presentations to 

exchange ideas on possible improvements to the program.

 Follow up with teachers or administrators and staff where you presented 

and get feedback on how well the program was received and whether 

there is ongoing interest in the topics raised.

Find out if you are getting your message 

across by measurement of change in 

knowledge for your participants. One 

way to do this is to give a short survey 

(pre-test) at the start of your program 

and then give the same survey (post-test) 

immediately after you finish your program. 

The results of these tests can tell you:

A test given immediately after the 

program provides a quick check of 

learning.
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Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum 6-9

EVALUATE

 what people already know,

 misconceptions they may have that can get in the way of receiving your 

message, and

 which topics covered by your program need to be stressed more.

However, if you can, arrange with teachers or staff of 

organizations where you have presented to give another 

post-test one to two months after your program. This 

will tell you whether your fire safety message 

“stuck” and identify topics that need additional 

stress and areas where you need to change your 

approach.

Several tools for tracking program activity 

(Protocol Checklist, Session Log, Sample 

Activity Tracking) and obtaining feedback 

(Teacher/Aid Feedback Form, Sample Pre/

Post tests) that you can adapt for evaluating 

your program are also included in the 

Resources table at the end of this section.

4. Collecting data

Once you have written evaluation questions for 

your program and decided how to measure program 

success, you should develop a list of items you will measure over time. Data 

about your program such as the following can be tracked on a spreadsheet.

 Home fire-related deaths and injuries.

 Fire-related calls.

 Number of homes with working smoke detectors.

“It’s what we do with our data that will empower us to 

make a difference in the lives of our citizens. 2

”

—Assistant Chief and Fire Marshal

2 Performance Management in Public Fire Education,“ Firehouse, August 2004.
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6-10 Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum

6

The most commonly used methods of collecting program evaluation data are the 

following:

Method Purpose

Program Data Look for trends and areas of weakness/success within your 

community’s program by comparison of current data on your 

program activities to that from previous years.

Surveys Measure a change in knowledge or to collect general information; 

conduct before and/or after a program. Quick and easy to gather a lot 

of information.

Interviews Explore answers to questions through probing questions from 

participants or community stakeholders.

Literature 

Review

Find trends to help focus your program evaluation by looking in 

professional publications for existing data and statistics.

Focus Groups Collect data about key topics with a small sampling of the target 

audience to allow for in-depth discussion.

Next, track your program activities and measure the outcomes/results they 

produce. A sample spreadsheet follows: 

Sample Fire Department Activities and Outcomes Spreadsheet

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Total Education Programs 4 5 3 4 10 22

School-Based 1 2 2 2 6 10

General Population 3 2 1 2 2 9

Older Adults 0 1 0 0 2 3

Total Smoke Alarm Installation Visits 15 10 7 20 52 125

Total Structure Fires 18 21 19 17 15 16

Total Fire Losses ($1,000) 523 497 581 553 482 477

Total Civ Injuries 15 11 14 11 10 3

Total Civ Fatalities 5 6 4 4 3 0

Total Fire Service Injuries 6 5 6 4 6 2

Total Fire Service Fatalities 0 1 0 0 0 0
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EVALUATE

5. Analyzing data

You are well on your way to evaluating your program. Once the collection of 

program evaluation data is completed and you have all the information in hand, 

it can be overwhelming if you haven’t thought ahead about how it should be 

organized and compiled. Suggestions for how to handle your data include:

Quantitative Data (numerical data, statistics, etc.)

 Tabulate the information.

 Consider computing means or averages for each 

question (e.g., survey answers).

 Make comparisons to baseline statistics in your table 

and look for trends from year to year—analyze as 

charts or graphs.

Qualitative Data (interviews, participant comments, teacher feedback form, etc.)

 Read through all the data.

 Organize similar comments and themes into 

categories.

 Identify patterns that appear.

Data analysis and survey tools

The sheer amount of data that program evaluation produces can seem daunting 

at first glance. This template can serve as a planning tool for analysis of 

different types of information you have collected.

Type and source of 

Information

Qualitative or 

quantitative data?

Resources available 

to help analyze the 

information

Standard of 

comparison (e.g., 

before and after)
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6-12 Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum

6

Tabulate your results

The Percent Change Calculator at percent-change.com is a simple online tool that 

can assist you in analyzing the results of your program. The online website 

provides a formula that calculates percent change (an increase or decrease in 

something) so you can see the impact of your program on a particular behavior, 

change in knowledge, etc. For example, the fire data table below demonstrates 

how you can use this tool to report the impact of a program aimed at fire safety 

education for school-aged children in 2008:

Mount Smokey Fire Statistics, 2005-2010

Home Fire Deaths 2005-2007

Fire Safety Education Program

2008-2010 Percent Change

Age of Victim (Yrs) N N %

0–5 7 2 –71.4

6–9 3 0 –100

10–19 2 3 50

20–29 2 0 –100

30–39 5 6 20

40–49 4 2 –50

50–59 3 0 –100

60–69 5 6 20

70–79 6 3 –50

80–89 3 2 –33.3

90+ 1 0 –100

Source: Fictitious data, for illustration purposes only

There was a clear decrease in home fire deaths in the three years following 

the implementation of the Mount Smokey Fire Safety Education Program in 

school-aged children, as well as residents aged 40–59 who most likely represent 

the parents of the school-aged children. This tool can also be useful when 

comparing pre-test and post-test data to show a change in knowledge by 

participants as a result of your program.

Online survey tools can also be a very cost-effective way for delivering surveys, 

collecting results, and then analyzing the results all through one centralized 

website. This method is a great option for collecting program-related data 

quickly and easily. Surveys can be created and printed for the traditional 

methods of paper and pencil, as well as linked to a website or emailed to 

participants. Most free survey websites also offer fee-based membership that 

provides additional options such as data storage, download and exporting data 
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Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum 6-13

EVALUATE

into various formats, and the creation of data sharing sites—which can be very 

useful for grant funders to see real-time data. Listed below are a few examples of 

sites that provide online survey creation, data collection and analysis for free:

www.Kwiksurveys.com

www.Qualtrics.com

www.Surveygizmo.com

www.Surveymonkey.com

www.Zoomerang.com

Analyzing key informant interviews & focus group data

Qualitative evaluation sources generate a large amount of useful information, but 

you’ll need to be prepared to sort through it all. These are the general steps you 

should follow:

 Group the key words and phrases into several categories.

z Each category should have anywhere from three to ten key words or 

phrases.

z All comments and phrases should fit into at least one category.

z Some comments may have several key words that fit into different 

categories.

 Categorize key words for a central theme and general sentiment (positive, 

negative, neutral, suggestion).

 Interpret the findings. After the key words and phrases have been 

grouped into categories, central themes and issues will emerge.

 Assess the priority level of each theme. Then you can make decisions 

about your fire safety education programming.

6. Using the results

Once you have the results of your program in front of you, your next step is 

deciding what to do with the information. One consideration is your audience. 

Once you have the results of your program in front of you, your next step is 

deciding what to do with the information. One consideration is your audience. 

You should know what method your audience would prefer for dissemination 

of the results of your program. The table below breaks out several types of 

reporting along with examples of the intended audience for each:
EVALUATE

6-14 Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum

6

Type of Reporting Description Audience

Technical reports Detailed report on a single issue, 

such as a small study with one or 

two sample groups. 

Funding agencies, program 

administrators, advisory 

committee

Newsletters, 

opinion pieces in 

newspapers 

Written with the target audience 

of the medium in mind. Some 

magazines and papers target 

specific populations. Focuses on 

two or three quick points. 

Program administrators, 

board members and trustees, 

program staff, political 

bodies, community groups, 

organizations interested in 

program content

News release and/or 

press conference 

Gathering with the media with 

the purpose of releasing specific 

information and findings. 

Program administrators, the 

media, wide distribution of 

simplified information

Staff workshop An interactive presentation for 

your group, coalition staff, and 

volunteers. 

Program administrators, 

program staff, program service 

providers

Personal discussion Sitting face-to-face to discuss 

evaluation findings with an 

individual or small group. 

Funding agencies, program 

administrators, program staff, 

program service providers

Public meeting A gathering open to the public 

where more general evaluation 

findings are released in a clear 

and simple manner. Usually time 

is set aside for open discussion. 

Community groups, current 

clients, the media

Professional Fire 

Service Publication

Detailed article focusing on 

a specific topic written for a 

professional audience.

Program administrators, 

program staff, program service 

providers, professional fire 

safety educators

After the data are compiled, and you know who your intended audience is for 

your report, it is time to sum up your findings. If submitting an evaluation 

report to your grant agency, be sure to find out the specific requirements for the 

report. The summary of findings should always include:

1. Program Background & Objectives.

2. Methods—How you obtained your information.

3. Results—What you learned from your evaluation data sources.

4. Recommendations—How you might improve your program.
6

Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum 6-15

EVALUATE

A Trailer Curriculum Program: Evaluation Plan Template is included in the 

resources table at the end of this section to provide you with an example of what 

an evaluation plan could look like for a Fire Safety Trailer program.

Reminders for evaluation

 Don’t shy away from evaluation because it seems too involved or 

“scientific.”

 There is no “perfect” evaluation design. Don’t worry about the plan 

being perfect. It’s much more important to do something, than to wait 

until every last detail has been tested.

 Try to include some interviews in your evaluation plan. Questionnaires 

don’t capture “the story,” and the story is usually the most powerful 

depiction of the benefits of your services.

 Don’t interview just the successes. You’ll learn a great deal about the 

program by understanding its failures, problems, dropouts, etc.

 Don’t throw away evaluation results once a report has been generated. 

Results don’t take up much room, and they can provide details later when 

trying to understand changes in the program or when writing a grant 

proposal for future funding.

More Information

Other resources that you can use to learn more about evaluating your program 

include:

 Introduction to Program Evaluation for Public Health Programs: A SelfStudy Guide. This document is a “how to” guide based on CDC’s 

Framework for Program Evaluation in Public Health, and is intended to 

assist public health programs in planning, designing, implementing, and 

using the results of comprehensive evaluations. 

www.cdc.gov/getsmart/program-planner/Introduction.pdf

 Framework for program evaluation in public health. MMWR, 

Recommendations and Reports, 17 September 1999, 48(RR11);1-40. www.

cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr4811a1.htm

 Public Fire Education Planning: A Five Step Process, U.S. Fire 

Administration. 

www.usfa.fema.gov

 National Fire Incident Reporting System. 

www.usfa.fema.gov
EVALUATE

6-16 Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum

6

 How to Develop a Success Story, Centers for Disease Control and 

Prevention. www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/stories/pdf/howto_create_success_

story.pdf

 Getting To OutcomesTM 2004: Promoting Accountability Through 

Methods and Tools for Planning, Implementation, and Evaluation, Rand 

Corporation. www.rand.org

 USFA Fire Data Analysis Handbook provides the next level of data analysis 

in a short handbook designed to assist departments in collecting valuable 

data about their community. 

www.usfa.fema.gov

 Conducting Focus Groups—Tools and guides to assist you in planning 

and conducting a focus group. ctb.ku.edu

 Create A Graph. National Center for Educational Statistics—Online data 

tool that allows the user to plug in data and create various downloadable 

charts and figures for use within reports and presentations. nces.ed.gov/

nceskids/createagraph/

Resources

Print and Online Resources

Page # Name of Resource Purpose of Resource

6–19 Steps in Evaluation Practice Chart Evaluation matrix that breaks out the 

steps of evaluation in greater detail for 

developing your evaluation plan.

6–25 Presentation Evaluation Tool This tool encourages you to strengthen 

your teaching and communication skills by 

assessing the success of your presentation.

6–29 Presentation Feedback Form This tool will help you determine how 

effective your program was with your 

audience. It can be modified to suit your 

presentation.

6–33 Protocol Checklist This is a sample checklist that can be 

used when setting up your program 

or presentation to ensure you have 

completed all required steps.
6

Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum 6-17

EVALUATE

Print and Online Resources

Page # Name of Resource Purpose of Resource

6–35 Session Log A form developed to assist presenters with 

key information that should be recorded 

for evaluation and tracking purposes. It 

also helps with scheduling of future events.

6–37 Sample Activity Tracking Sheet A sample template that can be used to 

track fire prevention activities hosted 

throughout the calendar year.

6–39 Teacher/Aid Feedback Form A simple tool that can collect feedback on 

how well a presentation was received by 

the intended audience. It will help you 

determine what areas need improvement.

6–43 Sample Pre/Post Tests Sample pre/post tests for various age 

groups that can be modified to suit your 

presentation. These tests are geared 

to collect information on a change in 

knowledge following your program.

6–65 Trailer Curriculum Program: 

Evaluation Plan Template

The template is designed to help Trailer 

Curriculum funded programs develop 

an evaluation plan and was created by 

using the CDC Framework for Program 

Evaluation in Public Health (CDC Evaluation 

Framework).
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6-19

Steps in Evaluation Practice Chart
Steps in Evaluation Practice Chart

Steps in 

Evaluation 

Practice

Relevant Standards Groups

Engaging stakeholders

Stakeholder Identification: Persons who are involved in or are 

affected by the evaluation should be identified, so that their needs can 

be addressed.

Utility

Evaluator Credibility: The persons conducting the evaluation should 

be both trustworthy and competent to perform the evaluation, so that 

the evaluation findings achieve maximum credibility and acceptance.

Utility

Formal Agreements: Obligations of the formal parties to an 

evaluation (what is to be done, how, by whom, when) should be 

agreed to in writing, so that these parties are obligated to adhere to all 

conditions of the agreement or formally to renegotiate it.

Propriety

Rights of Human Subjects: Evaluations should be designed and 

conducted to respect and protect the rights and welfare of human 

subjects.

Propriety

Human Interactions: Evaluators should respect human dignity 

and worth in their interactions with other persons associated with an 

evaluation, so that participants are not threatened or harmed.

Propriety

Conflict of Interest: Conflict of interest should be dealt with openly 

and honestly, so that it does not compromise the evaluation processes 

and results.

Propriety

Metaevaluation: The evaluation itself should be formatively and 

summatively evaluated against these and other pertinent standards, 

so that its conduct is appropriately guided and, on completion, 

stakeholders can closely examine its strengths and weaknesses.

Accuracy

Describing the program

Complete and Fair Assessment: The evaluation should be 

complete and fair in its examination and recording of strengths and 

weaknesses of the program being evaluated, so that strengths can be 

built upon and problem areas addressed.

Propriety

Program Documentation: The program being evaluated should be 

described and documented clearly and accurately, so that the program 

is clearly identified.

Accuracy

Context Analysis: The context in which the program exists should be 

examined in enough detail, so that its likely influences on the program 

can be identified.

Accuracy

Metaevaluation: The evaluation itself should be formatively and 

summatively evaluated against these and other pertinent standards, 

so that its conduct is appropriately guided and, on completion, 

stakeholders can closely examine its strengths and weaknesses.

Accuracy
Steps in 

Evaluation 

Practice

Relevant Standards Groups

Focusing the evaluation design

Evaluation Impact: Evaluations should be planned, conducted, and 

reported in ways that encourage follow-through by stakeholders, so that 

the likelihood that the evaluation will be used is increased.

Utility

Practical Procedures: The evaluation procedures should be practical; 

to keep disruption to a minimum while needed information is obtained. Feasibility

Political Viability: The evaluation should be planned and conducted 

with anticipation of the different positions of various interest groups, so 

that their cooperation may be obtained, and so that possible attempts 

by any of these groups to curtail evaluation operations or to bias or 

misapply the results can be averted or counter-acted.

Feasibility

Cost Effectiveness: The evaluation should be efficient and produce 

information of sufficient value, so that the resources expended can be 

justified.

Feasibility

Service Orientation: Evaluations should be designed to assist 

organizations to address and effectively serve the needs of the full range 

of targeted participants. 

Propriety

Complete and Fair Assessment: The evaluation should be 

complete and fair in its examination and recording of strengths and 

weaknesses of the program being evaluated, so that strengths can be 

built upon and problem areas addressed.

Propriety

Fiscal Responsibility: The evaluator’s allocation and expenditure 

of resources should reflect sound accountability procedures and 

otherwise be prudent and ethically responsible, so that expenditures are 

accounted for and appropriate.

Propriety

Described Purposes and Procedures: The purposes and 

procedures of the evaluation should be monitored and described in 

enough detail, so that they can be identified and assessed.

Accuracy

Metaevaluation: The evaluation itself should be formatively and 

summatively evaluated against these and other pertinent standards, 

so that its conduct is appropriately guided and, on completion, 

stakeholders can closely examine its strengths and weaknesses.

Accuracy
Steps in 

Evaluation 

Practice

Relevant Standards Groups

Gathering credible evidence

Information Scope and Selection: Information collected should 

be broadly selected to address pertinent questions about the program 

and be responsive to the needs and interests of clients and other 

specified stakeholders.

Utility

Defensible Information Sources: The sources of information used 

in a program evaluation should be described in enough detail, so that 

the adequacy of the information can be assessed.

Accuracy

Valid Information: The information-gathering procedures should be 

chosen or developed and then implemented so that they will assure 

that the interpretation arrived at is valid for the intended use. 

Accuracy

Reliable Information: The information-gathering procedures should 

be chosen or developed and then implemented so that they will assure 

that the information obtained is sufficiently reliable for the intended 

use.

Accuracy

Systematic Information: The information collected, processed, and 

reported in an evaluation should be systematically reviewed, and any 

errors found should be corrected.

Accuracy

Metaevaluation: The evaluation itself should be formatively and 

summatively evaluated against these and other pertinent standards, 

so that its conduct is appropriately guided and, on completion, 

stakeholders can closely examine its strengths and weaknesses.

Accuracy

Justifying conclusion

Values Identification: The perspectives, procedures, and rationale 

used to interpret the findings should be carefully described, so that the 

bases for value judgments are clear. 

Utility

Analysis of Quantitative Information: Quantitative information 

in an evaluation should be appropriately and systematically analyzed so 

that evaluation questions are effectively answered.

Accuracy

Analysis of Qualitative Information: Qualitative information in an 

evaluation should be appropriately and systematically analyzed so that 

evaluation questions are effectively answered.

Accuracy

Justified Conclusions: The conclusions reached in an evaluation 

should be explicitly justified, so that stakeholders can assess them. Accuracy

Metaevaluation: The evaluation itself should be formatively and 

summatively evaluated against these and other pertinent standards, 

so that its conduct is appropriately guided and, on completion, 

stakeholders can closely examine its strengths and weaknesses.

Accuracy
Steps in 

Evaluation 

Practice

Relevant Standards Groups

Ensuring use and sharing lessons learned

Evaluator Credibility: The persons conducting the evaluation should 

be both trustworthy and competent to perform the evaluation, so that 

the evaluation findings achieve maximum credibility and acceptance.

Utility

Report Clarity: Evaluation reports should clearly describe the 

program being evaluated, including its context, and the purposes, 

procedures, and findings of the evaluation, so that essential information 

is provided and easily understood.

Utility

Report Timeliness and Dissemination: Significant interim 

findings and evaluation reports should be disseminated to intended 

users, so that they can be used in a timely fashion.

Utility

Evaluation Impact: Evaluations should be planned, conducted, and 

reported in ways that encourage follow-through by stakeholders, so that 

the likelihood that the evaluation will be used is increased.

Utility

Disclosure of Findings: The formal parties to an evaluation should 

ensure that the full set of evaluation findings along with pertinent 

limitations are made accessible to the persons affected by the 

evaluation and any others with expressed legal rights to receive the 

results.

Propriety

Impartial Reporting: Reporting procedures should guard against 

distortion caused by personal feelings and biases of any party to the 

evaluation, so that evaluation reports fairly reflect the evaluation 

findings.

Accuracy

Metaevaluation: The evaluation itself should be formatively and 

summatively evaluated against these and other pertinent standards, 

so that its conduct is appropriately guided and, on completion, 

stakeholders can closely examine its strengths and weaknesses.

Accuracy

Source: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Framework for Program 

Evaluation in Public Health. MMWR Recommendations and Reports, September 17, 

1999 / 48(RR11);1-40
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6-25

Presentation Evaluation Tool
Presentation Evaluation Tool

Name: _____________________________________________________________________________

Event or Program: ___________________________________________________________________

Date/Location: _____________________________________________________________________

Length of Program: ____________________________ # of Participants (if applicable): ________

Topics Taught ______________________________________________________________________

Target Group for Activity/Program (check all that apply):

q Public School District q 1st & 2nd Grade q High School

q Private School q 3rd & 4th Grade q Adults

q Community Group q 5th & 6th Grade q Older Adults

q Pre-K & Kindergarten q Middle School q Other ______________

Audience Reaction

Check off the degree in which participants were engaged in the presentation: 

q Very engaged q A little engaged

q Somewhat engaged q Not at all engaged

Indicate how participants behaved during the presentation (check all that apply):

q Responded to instructions q Asked/answered questions

q Wandered about the room q Talked during presentation

q Interested in props q Other _____________________

q Blank expressions/head down

Did participants appear frightened or bothered by the presentation? q Yes q No 

If Yes, please comment: __________________________________________________

Learning Assessment

Check off topics learned during the presentation: (ask students for a show of hands—

who knew _____ before the presentation and who knew _____ after the presentation 

for each lesson taught. Good time to review key points for each lesson.)

Lesson Topic # Participants who knew 

the info

# Participants who learned 

new info

Testing smoke alarms

Escape plan

Cooking safety

Get out and stay out

Science of fire
Check off yes or no below. If yes, please provide more details in the space indicated.

Additional Feedback Yes No If Yes, please describe:

Did participants practice fire safety skills?

Are there plans to reinforce messages after 

the session? (follow-up visit, survey, etc.)

Were follow-up materials distributed?

Was there any media coverage for this 

event?

Final thoughts:

How will you improve future lessons, based on what you have learned today? 

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

Provide an overview of the lesson presented, materials used, preparations made, layout 

of the facility, etc. to help with future planning.

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________
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6-29

Presentation Feedback Form
Presentation Feedback Form

Please take a few moments to provide some feedback on the presentation you just heard. 

We will use your comments and suggestions to improve future presentations. 

1. Please read each statement below and then check off the extent to which you agree 

or disagree.

Strongly 

Disagree Disagree Agree Strongly Agree

The presentation was well organized q q q q

The instructor was well prepared q q q q

The instructor answered my questions q q q q

I would recommend this presentation 

to a friend or family member q q q q

2. Please take a moment to think about your awareness of fire-related risks before and 

after the presentation and then check off the extent to which you agree or disagree.

Before the presentation, 

I can...

After the presentation, 

I can...

Strongly 

Disagree Disagree Agree Strongly 

Agree

Strongly 

Disagree Disagree Agree Strongly 

Agree

q q q q Name the three main causes of 

fires among adults q q q q

q q q q State what to do if a pan of food 

caught fire in my kitchen q q q q

q q q q

Indicate the appropriate 

clothing to wear while cooking 

(e.g., short, close-fitting or 

tightly rolled sleeves)

q q q q

q q q q Identify two ways out of every 

room in my home q q q q

3. Please assess your cooking-related behaviors before the presentation and your 

intentions for the future.

Before the presentation, 

I can...

After the presentation, 

I can...

Strongly 

Disagree Disagree Agree Strongly 

Agree

Strongly 

Disagree Disagree Agree Strongly 

Agree

q q q q

Occasionally leave food 

unattended on the stove to 

answer the phone or the door

q q q q

q q q q Have a dishtowel placed near 

the stove while cooking q q q q
Before the presentation, 

I can...

After the presentation, 

I can...

Strongly 

Disagree Disagree Agree Strongly 

Agree

Strongly 

Disagree Disagree Agree Strongly 

Agree

q q q q

Push the “hush” button when 

the smoke alarm sounds during 

normal cooking

q q q q

q q q q Practice my escape plan 

twice a year q q q q

4. Please complete some final thoughts below:

The most useful part of the presentation was:

 __________________________________________________________________

 __________________________________________________________________

 __________________________________________________________________

 __________________________________________________________________

Something I would change to make the presentation better would be:

 __________________________________________________________________

 __________________________________________________________________

 __________________________________________________________________

 __________________________________________________________________

I’d like to see future presentations on:

 __________________________________________________________________

 __________________________________________________________________

 __________________________________________________________________

 __________________________________________________________________
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6-33

Protocol Checklist
Protocol Checklist

Preparation

q Assign education team

q Contact partner site

q Set up date and time for session

q Ensure participation by sending a follow-up reminder 2 days before session with 

partner site

Gather all materials required for session

q Pre/post tests

q Board and markers for whole group activity

q Games and activities for tours

q Game and activities for demonstrations

q Games and activities for small group work

q Extenders/reinforcers

q Feedback forms for teachers/aids

q Session log

Implementation

q Administer pre-test

q Lead whole group problem-solving activity

q Conduct tour

q Conduct demonstration

q Conduct small group activity

q Lead whole group culmination activity

q Administer post-test

q Provide extenders/reinforcers

q Administer feedback forms to teachers/helpers/aids

q Complete session log

Wrap-up and follow-up

q Ensure all pre/post-tests and feedback forms are received back

q Follow-up with the site, thank them, and obtain any verbal feedback about 

impact of session
6-35

Session Log
Session Log

Date/time

Site name

Location

Name of person filling this out

Number of educators

Number of participants

Age group

Number of reinforcers provided 

Number of pre-tests completed 

Number of post-tests completed

Number of feedback forms completed 

1. Were there any barriers encountered while trying to prepare for, implement or 

wrap-up this session?

 __________________________________________________________________

 __________________________________________________________________

 __________________________________________________________________

 __________________________________________________________________

 __________________________________________________________________

 __________________________________________________________________

2. Please relate any lessons learned for future ideas and/or improvements for program 

development and implementation (what made this a success, or what would you do 

differently):

 __________________________________________________________________

 __________________________________________________________________

 __________________________________________________________________

 __________________________________________________________________

 __________________________________________________________________

 __________________________________________________________________
6-37

Sample Activity Tracking Sheet 
Sample Activity Tracking Sheet 

Sample Fire Department

555 Smoke-Free Road

Safe Town, PA 00000

(555) 123-4567

Date Activity Description/Location Age 

Group

Number of 

Participants

Fire Safety 

Messages 

Taught

Notes
6-39

Teacher/Aide Feedback Form
Teacher/Aide Feedback Form

Site Name: ____________________________________________________________

Participant age group ____________________________________________________

Number of sessions held at site so far _______________________________________

1. The purpose of the Fire-Safety Trailer education session has been to increase 

awareness and knowledge about fire-safety, as well as change attitudes, beliefs and 

behaviors around fire-safety issues. Based on the feedback from your students/

residents/group, how would you rate the success of our program in accomplishing 

these goals? (Comments can be provided on the lines)

0 1 2 3 4 5

(Not at all successful) (Very successful)

 __________________________________________________________________

 __________________________________________________________________

 __________________________________________________________________

2. How would you rate the benefit of adding this fire-safety education session to your 

organization’s overall program?

0 1 2 3 4 5

(Not at all beneficial) (Very beneficial)

 __________________________________________________________________

 __________________________________________________________________

 __________________________________________________________________

3. How important do you feel it is for your students/residents/group to receive firesafety education?

0 1 2 3 4 5

(Not at all important) (Very important)

 __________________________________________________________________

 __________________________________________________________________

 __________________________________________________________________

4. How would you rate the level of burden that implementing the session imposed on 

you?

0 1 2 3 4 5

(Not at all burdensome) (Very burdensome)
 __________________________________________________________________

 __________________________________________________________________

 __________________________________________________________________

5. Were there any barriers to implementing this session?

 __________________________________________________________________

 __________________________________________________________________

 __________________________________________________________________

6. Are there any suggestions for how we may make these sessions easier for partner 

sites?

 __________________________________________________________________

 __________________________________________________________________

 __________________________________________________________________

7. How would you rate the ease of working with our education staff?

0 1 2 3 4 5

(Not at all easy) (Very easy)

 __________________________________________________________________

 __________________________________________________________________

 __________________________________________________________________

8. How would you rate the professionalism of our education staff?

0 1 2 3 4 5

(Not at all professional) (Very professional)

 __________________________________________________________________

 __________________________________________________________________

 __________________________________________________________________

9. Comments/Further suggestions:

 __________________________________________________________________

 __________________________________________________________________

 __________________________________________________________________

 __________________________________________________________________

 __________________________________________________________________

 __________________________________________________________________
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6-43

Sample Pre-Test/Post-Test for Young Children
Sample Pre-Test/Post-Test for Young Children

Pre/Post tests for young children (kindergarten to 5th grade)

(Adapted from the ‘Fire Safety Together’ curriculum developed by the Texas Fire 

Marshal’s Office and the Texas Department of Insurance)

Read each question aloud and instruct the students to fill in the bubble on the 

appropriate picture on the test sheet.

1. If you were to phone for help about a fire, whom would you call first? Fill in the 

bubble on the left picture if you would call your mom or dad. Fill in the bubble on 

the right picture if you would call the fire service.

2. How can you help every member of your family get out of a burning house quickly 

and safely? Fill in the bubble on the left picture if the answer is an escape plan. Fill 

in the bubble on the right picture if the answer is roller skates.

3. Some adults smoke cigarettes. What should you do if someone you know smokes? 

Fill in the bubble on the left picture if it’s okay to let an adult smoke in bed. Fill in 

the bubble on the right picture if you should always stay away from cigarettes.

4. What should you do if you see matches? Fill in the bubble on the left picture if you 

should pick up the matches. Fill in the bubble on the right picture if you should just 

tell an adult, so she can put the matches away.

5. There’s a special kind of sign that shows you the exit, or the way out in case of fire. 

Fill in the bubble on the left picture if it’s that sign. Fill in the bubble on the right 

picture if that sign shows you the exit.

6. If you see smoke coming from a building, what should you do? Fill in the bubble 

on the left picture if you should go see what is happening. Fill in the bubble on the 

right picture if you should tell an adult right away.

7. What is the first thing you should do if you get fire on your clothes? Fill in the 

bubble on the left picture if you should run for help. Fill in the bubble on the right 

picture if you should drop to the ground and roll over and over.

8. Pretend that you are sleeping and you wake up to hear the smoke alarm in your 

house. What should you do? Fill in the bubble on the left picture if you should 

crawl out of the house. Fill in the bubble on the right picture if you should go see if 

there is a fire.

Scoring:

The number of correct answers over the total number of questions multiplied by 100 

will equal percentage correct.

[(number of correct responses) / 8] X 100 = percentage correct
Name ______________________________________________________________

Grade: _____________________________________________________________

PRE-TEST________________________ POST-TEST _____________________________

1.

° ° ° °

2.

3.

° °

4.

° °
5.

° °

??? 6.

° °

7.

° °

8.

° °
6-47

Fire Safety Questionnaire for Adolescents
Fire Safety Questionnaire for Adolescents

1. If fire gets on your clothes, what should you do?

a. Stop, Drop and Roll

b. Run for help

c. Jump up and down

d. Stand still and wait for rain

2. If the smoke alarm in your home begins to sound, what should you do?

a. Put on ear muffs

b. Pull out the batteries

c. Turn up the volume of the TV

d. Go to an exit, leave the house and go to your meeting place

3. If you find a cigarette lighter or some matches, what should you do?

a. Leave them alone and tell a grown-up to put them away in a safe place

b. Dig a hole and bury them

c. Do a rain dance

d. Toss them into a pond

4. If you are in the kitchen while someone is cooking and you see a pot handle 

hanging out over the edge of the stove, you should?

a. Take the pot off the stove

b. Tell the adult to turn the handle so nobody will accidentally bump into it or 

reach up for it, which could cause a burn injury.

c. Leave the kitchen and don’t say anything

d. Turn off the stove

5. Do you have a written home fire escape plan? 

a. Yes 

b. No

PRE-TEST
6. When should you and your family practice “Fire Escape Drills” at your house?

a. Only in October

b. Only if you are planning to have a fire

c. At least twice a year

d. Never

7. During a fire, what should you do before opening any closed door?

a. Knock to see if anybody’s home

b. Check the door for heat with the back of your hand

c. Kick the door down

d. Huff and puff and blow the door in

8. What should you do if you see any smoke while you are exiting a building?

a. Run through the smoke

b. Look for a big fan

c. Use an umbrella

d. Drop to your knees and crawl below the smoke, where the good air is

9. If you see a fire or other emergency, you can get help quickly by?

a. Calling 9-1-1

b. Sending smoke signals

c. Writing a letter

d. Putting an ad in the newspaper

10. Why do firefighters wear all those heavy clothes and masks?

a. They think every day is Halloween

b. To scare the crows away from the corn

c. They have nothing else to wear

d. To protect them from heat and smoke

11. When your family is planning your primary and secondary exits for your home fire 

escape route plan, you have to make sure that.....?

a. You identify at least two ways out of each room in your house

b. You leave a trail of breadcrumbs to find your way out
c. You paint a stripe on the floor to follow

d. Set up traffic cones, barrels and flashing lights

12. When burning candles, which rules should you always follow?

a. Burn candles inside a circle of safety, a one-foot area around the candle free of 

anything that can burn

b. Keep out of reach of children and pets

c. When you’re out, blow out; never leave candles burning in a room unattended

d. All of the above

13. Which of the following is an unsafe practice when burning candles?

a. Candles should always be burned on a sturdy surface

b. Candles can be burned on or near your Christmas tree or holiday decorations

c. Candles should be burned out of the reach of children and pets

d. Candles should not be burned near curtains or other materials that may move

14. Do you think about the possibility of fire in your home? 

a. Yes 

b. No 

Scoring Scale:

Categories Question Number Percent Correct

Knowledge 1-4, 6-11

Attitude 5

Belief 12-14

Behavior 9
Fire Safety Questionnaire for Adolescents

1. If fire gets on your clothes, what should you do?

a. Stop, Drop and Roll

b. Run for help

c. Jump up and down

d. Stand still and wait for rain

2. If the smoke alarm in your home begins to sound, what should you do?

a. Put on ear muffs

b. Pull out the batteries

c. Turn up the volume of the TV

d. Go to an exit, leave the house and go to your meeting place

3. If you find a cigarette lighter or some matches, what should you do?

a. Leave them alone and tell a grown-up to put them away in a safe place

b. Dig a hole and bury them

c. Do a rain dance

d. Toss them into a pond

4. If you are in the kitchen while someone is cooking and you see a pot handle 

hanging out over the edge of the stove, you should?

a. Take the pot off the stove

b. Tell the adult to turn the handle so nobody will accidentally bump into it or 

reach up for it, which could cause a burn injury

c. Leave the kitchen and don’t say anything

d. Turn off the stove

5. Do you have a written home fire escape plan? 

a. Yes 

b. No 

POST-TEST
6. When should you and your family practice “Fire Escape Drills” at your house?

a. Only in October

b. Only if you are planning to have a fire

c. At least twice a year

d. Never

7. During a fire, what should you do before opening any closed door?

a. Knock to see if anybody’s home

b. Check the door for heat with the back of your hand

c. Kick the door down

d. Huff and puff and blow the door in

8. What should you do if you see any smoke while you are exiting a building?

a. Run through the smoke

b. Look for a big fan

c. Use an umbrella

d. Drop to your knees and crawl below the smoke, where the good air is

9. If you see a fire or other emergency, you can get help quickly by?

a. Calling 9-1-1

b. Sending smoke signals

c. Writing a letter

d. Putting an ad in the newspaper

10. Why do firefighters wear all those heavy clothes and masks?

a. They think every day is Trick or Treat

b. To scare the crows away from the corn

c. They have nothing else to wear

d. To protect them from heat and smoke

11. When your family is planning your primary and secondary exits for your home fire 

escape route plan, you have to make sure that.....?

a. You identify at least two ways out of each room in your house

b. You leave a trail of breadcrumbs to find your way out
c. You paint a stripe on the floor to follow

d. Set up traffic cones, barrels and flashing lights

12. When burning candles, which rules should you always follow?

a. Burn candles inside a circle of safety, a one-foot area around the candle free of 

anything that can burn

b. Keep out of reach of children and pets

c. When you’re out, blow out; never leave candles burning in a room unattended

d. All of the above

13. Which of the following is an unsafe practice when burning candles?

a. Candles should always be burned on a sturdy surface

b. Candles can be burned on or near your Christmas tree or holiday decorations

c. Candles should be burned out of the reach of children and pets

d. Candles should not be burned near curtains or other materials that may move

14. Do you think about the possibility of fire in your home? 

a. Yes 

b. No 

15. What would you like to be added to the session?

 _______________________________________________________________

 _______________________________________________________________

 _______________________________________________________________

 _______________________________________________________________

Scoring Scale:

Categories Question Number Percent Correct

Knowledge 1-4, 6-11

Attitude 5

Belief 12-14

Behavior 9
PRE-TEST

Fire Safety Questionnaire for Adults

Smoke alarm

1. Do you have smoke alarms in your home?

q Yes q No 

2. Do you test them once a month?

q Yes q No 

3. Do you change the batteries at least once a year?

q Yes q No 

4. Do you unplug your smoke alarm when you cook to silence 

it or prevent false alarms?

q Yes q No 

Fire Drills

5. Do you have a written home fire escape plan?

q Yes q No 

6. Do you have at least two exits out of each room?

q Yes q No 

7. Does everyone know where your designated family meeting 

place is once you are safely outside?

q Yes q No 

8. Do you and the members of your household practice a home 

fire drill at least twice a year?

q Yes q No 

Reactions to Fire

9. Do you think about the possibility of fire in your home?

q Yes q No 

10. Have you ever had a fire in your home?

q Yes q No 

11. Did you report the fire to the fire department?

q Yes q No 

12. If you had a fire but did not report it, which response is most accurate?

a. It was only a small fire

b. I did not want to bother the fire department
c. No one was injured

d. There was no damage

13. What type of fire did you have?

a. Cooking

b. Electrical wires or plugs

c. Candle

d. Smoking related

e. Heating system, furnace, fireplace, chimney

14. What is the first thing you should do if fire gets on your clothes? 

a. Run to the door

b. Stop, Drop and Roll

c. Run to a sink for water

d. Stand still and scream

15. If the room is full of smoke what should you do first?

a. Run outside

b. Hide in the corner until the smoke goes away

c. Close your eyes and block your nose

d. Crawl low on the floor under the smoke towards a window or door

16. If you were to phone for help about a fire, whom would you call first?

a. Ambulance

b. Fire Service

c. Police

d. 9-1-1

Tobacco Use

17. Do you or does anyone else in your home smoke?

q Yes q No 

18. Do you or does anyone else in your home smoke in bed?

q Yes q No 
19. Have you or has anyone else in your home ever fallen 

asleep while smoking?

q Yes q No 

20. Do you or does anyone in your home use a home or 

portable oxygen therapy system?

q Yes q No 

21. Do you or does anyone in your home smoke while 

oxygen is in use?

q Yes q No 

22. Is your home protected with a working 

Carbon Monoxide Detector?

q Yes q No 

Scoring Scale:

Categories Question Number Percent Correct

Knowledge 1, 6, 10, 13-17, 20, 22

Attitude 5

Belief 9, 12

Behavior 2-4, 8, 11, 18-19, 21
POST-TEST

Fire Safety Questionnaire for Adults

Smoke alarm

1. Do you have smoke alarms in your home?

q Yes q No 

2. Do you test them once a month?

q Yes q No 

3. Do you change the batteries at least once a year?

q Yes q No 

4. Do you unplug your smoke alarm when you cook to silence 

it or prevent false alarms?

q Yes q No 

Fire Drills

5. Do you have a written home fire escape plan?

q Yes q No 

6. Do you have at least two exits out of each room?

q Yes q No 

7. Does everyone know where your designated family meeting 

place is once you are safely outside?

q Yes q No 

8. Do you and the members of your household practice a home 

fire drill at least twice a year?

q Yes q No 

Reactions to Fire

9. Do you think about the possibility of fire in your home?

q Yes q No 

10. Have you ever had a fire at your home?

q Yes q No 

11. Did you report the fire to the fire department?

q Yes q No 

12. If you had a fire but did not report it, which response is most accurate?

a. It was only a small fire

b. I did not want to bother the fire department
c. No one was injured

d. There was no damage

13. What type of fire did you have?

a. Cooking

b. Electrical wires or plugs

c. Candle

d. Smoking related

e. Heating system, furnace, fireplace, chimney

14. What is the first thing you should do if fire gets on your clothes? 

a. Run to the door

b. Stop, Drop and Roll

c. Run to a sink for water

d. Stand still and scream

15. If the room is full of smoke what should you do first?

a. Run outside

b. Hide in the corner until the smoke goes away

c. Close your eyes and block your nose

d. Crawl low on the floor under the smoke towards a window or door

16. If you were to phone for help about a fire, whom would you call first?

a. Ambulance

b. Fire Service

c. Police

d. 9-1-1

Tobacco Use

17. Do you or does anyone else in your home smoke?

q Yes q No 

18. Do you or does anyone else in your home smoke in bed?

q Yes q No 
19. Have you or has anyone else in your home ever fallen 

asleep while smoking?

q Yes q No 

20. Do you or does anyone in your home use a home or 

portable oxygen therapy system?

q Yes q No 

21. Do you or does anyone in your home smoke while 

oxygen is in use?

q Yes q No 

22. Is your home protected with a working 

Carbon Monoxide Detector?

q Yes q No 

Follow Up

23. Will you be more likely to think about fire safety now that 

you have attended this session?

q Yes q No

24. Is there something you would like to be added to the session:

 _______________________________________________________________

 _______________________________________________________________

 _______________________________________________________________

 _______________________________________________________________

Scoring Scale:

Categories Question Number Percent Correct

Knowledge 1, 6, 10, 13-17, 20, 22

Attitude 5

Belief 9, 12

Behavior 2-4, 8, 11, 18-19, 21
Fire Safety Questionnaire for Older Adults

Smoke alarm

1. Do you have smoke alarms in your home?

q Yes q No 

2. Do you unplug your smoke alarm when you cook to 

silence it or prevent false alarms?

q Yes q No 

Fire Drills

3. Do you have a written home fire escape plan?

q Yes q No 

4. Do you have at least two exits out of each room?

q Yes q No 

Reactions to Fire

5. Do you think about the possibility of fire in your home?

q Yes q No 

6. What can lead to fire?

a. Cooking

b. Electrical wires or plugs

c. Candle

d. Heating system, furnace, fireplace, chimney

7. What is the first thing you should do if fire gets on your clothes?

a. Run to the door

b. Stop, Drop and Roll

c. Hide in a cupboard

d. Stand still and scream

8. If the room is full of smoke what should you do first?

a. Run outside

b. Hide in the corner until the smoke goes away

c. Close your eyes and block your nose

d. Crawl low on the floor under the smoke towards a window or door

PRE-TEST
9. If you were to phone for help about a fire, whom would you call first?

a. Ambulance

b. Fire Service

c. Police

d. 9-1-1

Tobacco Use

10. Do you or does anyone else in your home smoke?

q Yes q No 

11. Have you or has anyone else in your home ever fallen 

asleep while smoking?

q Yes q No 

12. Do you or does anyone in your home use a home or 

portable oxygen therapy system?

q Yes q No 

13. Do you or does anyone in your home smoke while 

oxygen is in use?

q Yes q No 

Home Safety

14. Is your home protected with a working Carbon Monoxide Detector?

q Yes q No 

Scoring Scale:

Categories Question Number Percent Correct

Knowledge 1, 4, 6-9, 10, 12, 14

Attitude 3

Belief 5

Behavior 2, 11, 13
Fire Safety Questionnaire for Older Adults

Smoke alarm

1. Do you have smoke alarms in your home?

q Yes q No 

2. Do you unplug your smoke alarm when you cook to silence it or prevent 

false alarms?

q Yes q No 

Fire Drills

3. Do you have a written home fire escape plan?

q Yes q No 

4. Do you have at least two exits out of each room?

q Yes q No 

Reactions to Fire

5. Do you think about the possibility of fire in your home?

q Yes q No 

6. What can lead to fire?

a. Cooking

b. Electrical wires or plugs

c. Candle

d. Heating system, furnace, fireplace, chimney

7. What is the first thing you should do if fire gets on your clothes?

a. Run to the door

b. Stop, Drop and Roll

c. Hide in a cupboard

d. Stand still and scream

8. If the room is full of smoke what should you do first?

a. Run outside

b. Hide in the corner until the smoke goes away

c. Close your eyes and block your nose

d. Crawl low on the floor under the smoke towards a window or door

POST-TEST
9. If you were to phone for help about a fire, whom would you call first?

a. Ambulance

b. Fire Service

c. Police

d. 9-1-1

Tobacco Use

10. Do you or does anyone else in your home smoke?

q Yes q No 

11. Have you or has anyone else in your home ever fallen 

asleep while smoking?

q Yes q No 

12. Do you or does anyone in your home use a home or 

portable oxygen therapy system?

q Yes q No 

13. Do you or does anyone in your home smoke while 

oxygen is in use?

q Yes q No 

Home Safety

14. Is your home protected with a working Carbon Monoxide Detector?

q Yes q No 
Follow Up

15. Will you be more likely to think about fire safety now that 

you have attended this session?

q Yes q No

16. Is there something you would like to be added to the session:

 _______________________________________________________________

 _______________________________________________________________

 _______________________________________________________________

 _______________________________________________________________

Scoring Scale:

Categories Question Number Percent Correct

Knowledge 1, 4, 6-9, 10, 12, 14

Attitude 3

Belief 5

Behavior 2, 11, 13
6-65

Trailer Curriculum Program: Evaluation 

Plan Template
Trailer Curriculum Program: Evaluation Plan Template

The template is designed to help Trailer Curriculum funded programs develop an 

evaluation plan and was created by using the CDC Framework for Program Evaluation 

in Public Health (CDC Evaluation Framework), the CDC Guide to Developing a TB 

Program Evaluation Plan, the CDC’s WISEWOMAN program evaluation template, 

and the Workbook for Evaluation Planning from the Northwest Center for Public 

Health Practice at the School of Public Health and Community Medicine, University 

of Washington. This framework includes six steps:

Step 1: Engage Stakeholders

Step 2: Describe the Program

Step 3: Focus the Evaluation Design

Step 4: Gather Credible Evidence

Step 5: Justify Conclusions

Step 6: Ensure Use and Share Lessons Learned
•	 Understand need for the program

•	 Understand context of the program•	 Understand current programs and plans 

for integration of new curriculum

•	 Understand priority goals and 

objectives for the program

•	 Develop a logic model•	 Identify the stage or ‘maturity’ level of 

the program

•	 Articulate the purpose of the evaluation •	 Develop an overarching evaluation plan•	 Clarify roles and responsibilities

•	 Review program protocols and 

recommend changes

•	 Review evaluation plan and make changes•	 Submit abstracts and articles for 

publication

•	 Develop legislative briefs, success stories 

and other reports as needed

•	 Follow up with users and ensure 

recommendations are applied

•	 Agree upon standards with stakeholders•	 Evaluate program performance•	 Analyze qualitative and quantitative data•	 Report on outcomes, barriers and 

challenges

•	 Make recommendations for appropriate 

solutions

•	 Compare program outcomes and impact 

against selected standards

•	 Identify and define indicators•	 Identify sources for each indicator•	 Develop standardized data collection/abstraction protocols and tools•	 Abstract data from information systems•	 Collect new data•	 Ensure all information collected is valid, reliable, has power and is not 

burdensome

Ensure use and 

share lessons 

learned STANDARDS

Utility

Feasability

Propriety

Accuracy Justify 

conclusions

Gather credible 

Engage 

evidence

shareholders

Describe the 

program

Focus the 

evaluation 

design

•	 Identify stakeholders•	 Participate in conference calls and meetings 

with stakeholders

•	 Implement stakeholder and/or Advisory 

Committee recommendations

•	 Evaluate and continuously improve engagement 

process

STEPS

koramew tion FruaalvE
Development of Trailer Curriculum Logic Model and Selection of 

Critical Evaluation Questions

INPUTS

•	 Funding•	 Leadership & staff•	 Evidence-based 

strategies and curriculum

•	 Equipment & 

supplies

•	 Facilities•	 Program partners•	 Program evaluation

ACTIVITIES

Program development•	 Provision of public advocacy for increased 

financial support

•	 Obtaining trailers using available grants•	 Development of age and culture appropriate 

fire safety trailer education curriculum including:

•	Develop	teaching	strategies•	Develop	trailer	guides	and	materials•	Develop	marketing	materials•	Develop	protocol•	Develop	reinforcers•	Develop	evaluation•	Develop	resources•	Develop	collaboration	materials

•	 Establish partnerships and collaborations•	 Professional development of education 

providers including training, peer trainers, and other training models

Education•	 Development of age and culture appropriate 

mass and print media on fire safety education

•	 Conduct education sessions using age 

appropriate sections of the curriculum, including group activities, games and trailer demonstration activities

•	 Provide age appropriate reinforcers•	 Conduct participant pre and post tests•	 Conduct participant and/or partner feedback•	 Periodically collect success stories

OUTPUTS

Program development outputs•	 Grant applications•	 Number of trailers obtained•	 Age and culture appropriate 

curriculum

•	 Number of partners•	 Number and type of resources 

gained from partners

•	 Number of providers trained•	 Number of trainings heldEducation outputs•	 Number and type of mass and print 

media produced

•	 Number of education sessions held•	 Number of participants in 

education sessions

•	 Percentage of protocol followed as 

described

•	 Number and type of reinforcers 

distributed 

•	 Number of pre and post tests 

received

•	 Number of feedback forms received•	 Number of success stories collected

SHORT TERM 

OUTCOMES

•	 Increase in knowledge about 

fire safety:

•	Fire	hazards•	Prevention•	Safety	plan

•	 Change in attitude about fire 

safety:

•	Perception	of	fire	safety	

equipment

•	Perception	of	fire	safety	

precautions

•	Perceived	risk	of	fire	

hazards

•	 Beliefs about fire safety:

•	Severity•	Susceptibility•	Response	efficacy•	Self-efficacy

•	 Readiness to change behavior:

•	Prevention	behavior•	Noting	and	taking	steps	

to	reduce	fire	hazards

•	Planning	for	fire-related	

incidents

INTERMEDIATE 

OUTCOMES

•	 Improve fire 

safety prevention behavior

•	 Reduce fire 

hazards

•	 Increase 

number of and engagement in fire safety plans

LONG TERM 

OUTCOMES

•	 Reduce incidence 

of fire-related injuries and deaths

•	 Reduce disparities 

in fire-related injuries and deaths

•	 Reduce economic 

impact of firerelated injuries, deaths and damage

How is this 

measured?

How is this 

measured?

How is this 

measured?
Steps 1, 2 & 3 of the CDC Evaluation Framework

Evaluation Stakeholders and Primary Intended Users of the Evaluation: List individuals who have a stake in the evaluation or who will use the evaluation results.

Evaluation Stakeholders and Primary Intended Users

Role Organization

Title Name Contact Information

Funder CDCProgram Management and LeadershipGrantee
Evaluation Stakeholders and Primary Intended Users

Role Organization

Title Name Contact Information

Fire Safety Education (Using Trailer model) Program PartnersEvaluation Team
Background of Trailer Curriculum Program

Need

Why is the program needed (i.e., magnitude, cause(s) and trends of the problem)?

Context

What context is the program operating under (i.e., environmental factors that may 

affect the initiative)? 

Target Population 

Who is the target population of this program?

Objectives

What are the program’s objectives (SMART objectives)?

Stage of Program Development

What stage of development is the program currently in (i.e., planning, implementation, 

mature phase of the program)?

Resources/Inputs

What resources are available to the program in terms of staff, money, space, time, 

partnerships, etc.?

Activities

What activities are being undertaken (or planned) to achieve the outcomes?

Outputs

What products (i.e., materials, units of services delivered) are produced by your staff 

from the activities? 

Outcomes

What are the program’s intended outcomes (intended outcomes are short-term, midterm, or long-term)?
Background about Trailer Curriculum Evaluation

Introduction

Name and role of evaluating organization

Why do you want to do an evaluation?

What is it that you want to learn about your program?

Stakeholder Needs

Who will use the evaluation findings? 

How will the findings be used?

What do they need to learn from the evaluation?

Evaluation Questions 

What are your evaluation questions (include process driven or outcome driven 

evaluation questions)?

What do you want to learn from the evaluation?

Evaluation Design

Longitudinal data, points of comparison, multiple data sources, mixed methods

Resource Considerations

What resources are available to conduct the evaluation?

What data are you already collecting?

Evaluation Standards

How will you address the standards for effective evaluation - utility, feasibility, 

propriety, and accuracy?
Focus the Evaluation Design: 

Describe the purpose of the evaluation, and how you plan to use results for program improvement.

Component Evaluation Plan Questions Purpose How Results Will Be Used for Program Improvement
Process of Developing Evaluation Questions

Describe the process used for developing your evaluation questions.

Component Initial Set of Questions Indicate if High Priority

Indicate if 

Critical at 

Program 

Initiation

Curriculum development 

What steps were taken to develop the curriculum? What were the factors associated with curriculum development? 

 How were barriers overcome? 

What resources and other inputs went into curriculum development?

 Who were the partners and what were their roles? 

Was the curriculum content a comprehensive reflection of existing guidelines, manuals, protocols, best practices etc.? What were the inputs that went into the development of the program? 

 What were beneficial inputs?  Who were the partners?

Curriculum Implementation and Effectiveness 

Was curriculum implemented as planned?

 What factors were associated with implementation?  How were barriers overcome? 

Was curriculum effective?

 Did program implementers meet their annual participant goal?  Were the different teaching strategies found to be effective for different age 

groups? 

 What strategies were used to form partnerships/collaborations and how 

effective were these strategies?
Component Initial Set of Questions Indicate if High Priority

Indicate if 

Critical at 

Program 

Initiation

Curriculum Implementation and Effectiveness

 Were the marketing materials found to be effective in promoting the 

sessions?

 Was the protocol effective in guiding trailer set-up and program 

implementation?

 Were the reinforcers used and were they effective?  How effective was the evaluation in identifying the needed changes? Were resources easy to navigate? Were grant-resources effective in procuring more funding?

How burdensome was the implementation of the curriculum? How easy was the curriculum to follow? How was the curriculum adapted to fit the needs of the site where it was used?

 What parts of the curriculum worked well in the local setting? What parts of the curriculum did not work well in the local setting? 
Component Initial Set of Questions Indicate if High Priority

Indicate if 

Critical at 

Program 

Initiation

Outcomes of Curriculum Implementation

What were the major outputs and outcomes? 

 To what degree was the target population reached? What were the demographics of the population reached in terms of race, age, 

risk, and income?

Was there an increase in knowledge on fire-safety? Was there a positive attitude change toward fire-safety? Was there an indicated positive behavior change toward fire-safety? Was there an increase in perceived susceptibility or perceived severity toward firerelated injuries and harms? Was the program effective in decreasing incidence of fire-related injuries, damage and deaths? 
Steps 4-5 of the CDC Evaluation Framework

Objective 1: 

Evaluation 

Questions Indicator(s)

Data collection

Data Analysis Source Method Timing

What you want to 

know

What type of data 

you will need

Where you will get 

the data

How you will get 

the data

When you will 

collect the data

What you will do 

with the data
Objective 2: 

Evaluation 

Questions Indicator(s)

Data collection

Data Analysis Source Method Timing

What you want to 

know

What type of data 

you will need

Where you will get 

the data

How you will get 

the data

When you will 

collect the data

What you will do 

with the data
Objective 3: 

Evaluation 

Questions Indicator(s)

Data collection

Data Analysis Source Method Timing

What you want to 

know

What type of data 

you will need

Where you will get 

the data

How you will get 

the data

When you will 

collect the data

What you will do 

with the data
Plan Timeline

When will evaluation activities occur?

Evaluation

Activities

Timing of Activities for 

{Year}

1st Qtr 2nd Qtr 3rd Qtr 4th Qtr
Step 6 of the CDC Evaluation Framework

Communication/Dissemination Plan: Describe your plans for communicating/disseminating your findings (i.e., distribution products, channels, and timeline) and the ways in which this evaluation will be used in your overall program.

Type of Communication/

Dissemination Strategy Audience Details
Evaluation Activities Staffing Plan

Staff Member

Activities

(e.g., developing and prioritizing evaluation questions, 

instrument development, data analysis)
7

Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum 7-1

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

This section provides you with additional resources and links to help you develop 

your fire safety trailer program and supporting materials. We have organized the 

resources in alphabetical order with icons to help you choose the ones that may be 

useful to you as you develop your own program. The following legend describes the 

icons that appear in the resources table in the next several pages.

Legend

Icon Description

Tools & Templates

Presentations

Lesson Plans & Curricula

Video/Audio

Statistics

Materials for Kids

Materials for Teens

Materials for Adults

Materials for Older Adults

Materials for Special Populations

FREE

For Purchase
7

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

7-2 Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum

 Tools & Templates Statistics Materials for Older Adults

 Presentations Materials for Kids Materials for Special Populations

 Lesson Plans & Curricula Materials for Teens FREE

 Video/Audio Materials for Adults For Purchase

Resource and Website

BIC Corporation’s Play Safe Be Safe

www.playsafebesafe.com

Fire education program aimed at kids ages three to five

 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)—Home and Recreational Safety

www.cdc.gov/HomeandRecreationalSafety/

Various resources for staying safe from unintentional injuries in the home relating fire, falls, 

fireworks, etc. 

 Fire Safe Seniors Tool Kit—CDC and the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) created the 

Fire Safe Seniors Program for teaching the high-risk group of older adults how to plan 

and implement fire prevention activities.

http://www.usfa.fema.gov/citizens/older/index.shtm

 

Center for Healthy Aging

www.healthyagingprograms.org

Resources for providing healthy aging programs and development of evidence based 

programs

 

Disability.gov

www.disability.gov/

Information on supports for teaching children and adults with disabilities including 

instructional strategies, professional development opportunities, parent collaboration 

techniques, available student supports and accommodations

 
7

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum

Resource and Website

Everyone Goes Home®—Firefighter Life Safety Initiatives

www.everyonegoeshome.com 

Source for firefighter life safety training tools

 

Fire Is

www.ufanyc.org

An educational DVD designed to teach parents and children the truth about fires. Has five 

20 minute teaching modules entitled: Fire Is Black, Fire is Hot, Fire is Fast, Fire is Smoke & Gas 

and Fire is Emergency. 

 

Fire Safety for Texans

www.tdi.state.tx.us/fire/fmcurric.html#curric 

A series of fire and burn prevention curriculum guides (K-12) developed by the State Fire 

Marshal ́s Office (SFMO).

Texas Department of Insurance 

P.O. Box 149104, Austin, TX 78714-9104 

Fire Prevention & Outreach: 512-305-7900 

 
7

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

7-4 Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum

Tools & Templates Statistics Materials for Older Adults

Presentations Materials for Kids Materials for Special Populations

Lesson Plans & Curricula Materials for Teens FREE

Video/Audio Materials for Adults For Purchase

Resource and Website

Fire Safety for Young Children

www.osu.edu

This curriculum equips the early childhood educator, the parent, the firefighter, and the 

classroom with methods and materials to foster the development of fire safety knowledge 

and skills in young children.

Oklahoma State University

Fire Protection Publications

Stillwater, OK 74078

405-744-5000

 

Fire Safety Resource Center

www.scholastic.com/firesafety/

Lessons, printables and activities for grades PreK–5. Resources for both teachers and 

students are available.

 

Freddie Curriculum

www.scfiremarshal.llronline.com

A comprehensive fire safety curriculum developed to teach children in kindergarten 

through fifth grades important fire prevention and survival skills

South Carolina: Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation

P.O. Box 11329, Columbia, S.C. 29211

803-896-4300

 
7

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum 7-5

Tools & Templates Statistics Materials for Older Adults

Presentations Materials for Kids Materials for Special Populations

Lesson Plans & Curricula Materials for Teens FREE

Video/Audio Materials for Adults For Purchase

Resource and Website

Guide to Teaching Fire Safety to Students with Disabilities

www.mingerfoundation.org

This guide is designed to help the fire safety educator who is experienced in teaching fire 

safety but may need some guidance when working with an audience of students with 

disabilities.

 

International Association of Fire Chiefs 

www.iafc.org 

Information and leadership for fire safety personnel 

 

Keys to Safety Campaign

www.proliteracy.org/keystosafety/

Promotes fire prevention and safety education through local organizations that serve adults 

with limited literacy or English language skills; encourages these organizations to work 

together with their local fire departments and fire safety educators

 

Liberty Mutual’s Be Fire Smart

www.befiresmart.com 

Interactive approach to fire safety for families, teachers and educators

 
7

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

7-6 Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum

Tools & Templates Statistics Materials for Older Adults

Presentations Materials for Kids Materials for Special Populations

Lesson Plans & Curricula Materials for Teens FREE

Video/Audio Materials for Adults For Purchase

Resource and Website

Masters of Disaster

www.redcross.org/disaster/masters/

Curriculum is centered on a series of ready-to-go lesson plans that help organizations 

educate youth about important disaster safety and preparedness information.

 

National Center for Education Statistics

nces.ed.gov/nceskids/createagraph/

Provides an online tool for creating graphs that can be used in reports, presentations and 

grant proposals.

National Fallen Firefighters Foundation

www.firehero.org

A national program developed to prevent line-of-duty deaths and injuries

 

National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)

www.nfpa.org

Information for fire safety prevention through research, training and education

 

Raven Island

www.raven-island.com

Raven Island is a virtual world for teens and pre-teens set in a typical rural Alaskan village. 

There are interactive games that teach how to stay safe from fire.

 
7

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum 7-7

Tools & Templates Statistics Materials for Older Adults

Presentations Materials for Kids Materials for Special Populations

Lesson Plans & Curricula Materials for Teens FREE

Video/Audio Materials for Adults For Purchase

Resource and Website

Seeds Educational Services, Inc.

www.seedseducation.org

Seeds has created a fire safety curriculum designed to meet the learning needs of those 

with developmental disabilities.

 

Sesame Street

www.sesamestreet.org

Fire safety education video clips in their video library for use with young children including 

messages such as “Get Out, Stay Out”, “What to do in an Emergency” and “Kids Talk about 

Firefighters.”

 

Spray It Forward

www.edventure.org/fire-life-safety.aspx

Provides age appropriate curriculum for use at schools, festivals, church and scouting 

activities

 

Teacher Vision

www.teachervision.fen.com

Fire safety and prevention teacher resources, including printables, activities, and lessons to 

teach your students about fire safety and prevention

 
7

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

7-8 Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum

Tools & Templates Statistics Materials for Older Adults

Presentations Materials for Kids Materials for Special Populations

Lesson Plans & Curricula Materials for Teens FREE

Video/Audio Materials for Adults For Purchase

Resource and Website

U.S. Fire Administration (USFA)

www.usfa.fema.gov

Resources available for fire safety, prevention, preparedness, and response; rural fire 

prevention outreach; train the trainer; and media communication

 Fire Prevention Photo Gallery and Video

High resolution fire safety prevention images and broadcast quality video footage 

 U.S. Fire Administration Library

An all-hazards information portal for the fire and emergency management communities 

from the National Emergency Training Center’s library

 Rural and Volunteer Fire Department Resources

 

University of Kansas’ Community Tool Box

ctb.ku.edu

Free resources for building healthy communities. More than 7,000 pages of practical 

guidance in creating change and improvement.

 

Virginia Department of Fire Programs (VDFP) Kids Initiative

www.vafire.com/fire_safety_education/VDFPKids.html

VDFP Kids Initiative focuses on three broad fire safety themes: installing and testing smoke 

alarms; planning and practicing escape routes; and hunting for home hazards

 
7

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum 7-9

Tools & Templates Statistics Materials for Older Adults

Presentations Materials for Kids Materials for Special Populations

Lesson Plans & Curricula Materials for Teens FREE

Video/Audio Materials for Adults For Purchase

Resource and Website

Vision 20/20

www.strategicfire.org

The Vision 20/20 project includes a steering committee comprised key fire prevention 

advocates and stakeholders, as well as related agency leaders, to guide a national strategic 

planning process to develop a national plan that will coordinate activities and fire 

prevention efforts.

 A Guide to Fire Prevention Advocacy

The Institution of Fire Engineers US Branch Vision 20/20 developed this guidance to 

help fire departments advocate for increased fire prevention investment. 

 Integrated Risk Management (IRM) A Fire Service Context

A model that helps to prioritize risk in order to determine a course of action within 

a fire service setting. This is a tool that can be used to help organize your planning 

process while developing your fire safety education program. 

 

YouTube.com

www.YouTube.com

Search YouTube for fire safety education for numerous free videos.

 
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FINAL THOUGHTS

Fire Safety Trailer Curriculum

While there are many factors to be considered in educational curriculum design, 

this curriculum offers fire safety education professionals ready-to-use fire safety 

trailer materials for a variety of audiences. The step-by-step instructions, 

samples, templates, and resources are designed to provide you with all the 

resources you need to fund, market, deliver, and evaluate your fire safety trailer 

program in your community. Use this curriculum to help strengthen your 

existing fire safety trailer programs and as a resource for developing new and 

innovative programs. 

Fire safety trailer education programs provide hands-on, realistic simulations to 

assist fire safety educators in teaching diverse populations what to do to prevent 

and respond to home fires. Everyone, including young children and older adults, 

can be taught how to follow the basic rules of fire safety, which can save their 

lives, prevent injuries, and make your community a healthier and safer place to 

live. 
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Helping People Live to their Fullest Potential

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC)

4770 Buford Hwy, NE, MS F-62

Atlanta, GA 30341-3717

Phone: 800-CDC-INFO (800-232-4636)

E-mail: cdcinfo@cdc.gov

www.cdc.gov/injury/

U.S. Fire Administration

16825 South Seton Avenue

Emmitsburg, MD 21727

www.usfa.fema.gov

U.S. Fire Administration