Fire Safety Training

Anyone who has been in or knows someone who has been in a fire, whether that fire was at home, school, work or somewhere else, can tell you that it's a very scary thing. It's even scarier if you don't know about fire safety, and haven't had any fire safety training. Whether you are a student, teacher, parent, or an emergency responder, everyone should have training in how to protect himself and others should there be a fire.

U.S. Fire Administration (USFA)

• The United States Fire Administration (USFA) offers courses and programs for anyone needing fire safety training whether they are young or old. Specific programs for people with disabilities or for teachers are also available. Their classes can be taken on campus or off, and can even be taken through distance education. The USFA works with a network of major universities and colleges to offer their classes at other campuses, so contact one locally to see if you can get USFA training there. In addition to their classes and programs, the USFA has a lot of very useful information posted on its website.

Training for Students

• Many students begin getting their fire safety training while in school through their teachers. Their own teachers, a group of designated teachers that go around to all classes, or the local fire department can come teach the students how to react to a fire at home. Oftentimes, the students even learn how to create a fire safety plan so that even parents know what to do in the case of a fire. All schools run mandatory and regular fire drills to make sure that both teachers and students know how to react if a fire were to break out in their school.

Training for Teachers

• In order for teachers to be able to teach their students in a way that their students learn the seriousness of fire safety without scaring them, the teachers need to have specialized fire safety training themselves. The fire safety training for teachers often includes how to react to fires and fire drills when on school grounds, as well as how to teach their students to run fire drills at home so that they and their families are safe should there ever be a fire in their homes. Oftentimes, a teacher's fire safety training is a part of their teacher orientation every year, or part of the certification to become a teacher in the school district.

Training for Parents

• Children come home at least once a year from school with a plan for making a fire escape route, a fire escape plan of action, and instructions on how to make a map of the home with all usable fire escape routes drawn in. This has become the norm, but unfortunately, many families just get through the homework assignment and don't think twice about really having a fire escape plan in place should there be a fire in their homes. Taking these homework assignments seriously is the first step toward fire safety in your home. You can also visit the USFA's Fire Safety for Parents website to look for checklists and instructions to make your home the safest it can be should there ever be a fire.

Training for Public Service Personnel

• When it comes to being the first on scene at a fire, you need to know everything you possibly can to make sure that you not only keep others safe and out of harm's way, but that you stay safe yourself as well, and if you are a firefighter or an emergency responder, then you get fire safety training directly from the United States Fire Administration. You must pass several certifications and go through several programs before you can be truly prepared to respond to fires. The USFA's Fire Service website is designated specifically for fire service employees. This site has information about training and about the firefighter career field, research, and even funding.