Campfire Safety for the Family
Campfire Safety with Your Kids
Giving your child age appropriate, clear and detailed rules
upon arriving at the campsite will ensure that your child is aware of the rules
that you have set for him/her. Introduce your child to the campsite and make safe
areas for play.
Show your child where the fire pit is and clearly define the
space around the fire pit as the safety zone.
The fire pit area rules should be followed even if there is no
fire. This will ensure that your child
will not forget the rules of the fire pit safety zone when there truly is a
fire. Supervision of your child around the fire must be the highest priority in
keeping him/her safe around the camp fire.
For everyone’s safety, a few rules must always be followed:
- Teach your child to stop, drop and roll.
- Keep toys or any tripping hazard out of the fire pit safety zone.
- Absolutely no running or horseplay in the designated fire pit area.
- A camper with long hair should have hair in a ponytail, wear a hat or tie a bandana around the head to inhibit free flowing hair near the fire.
- No loose clothing (avoid nylon clothing) or dangling objects near the fire.
- When singing campfire songs with actions, have you child stand behind his/her chair. This will help prevent tripping near the fire.
- Each child should take turns making their campfire treat. This will allow an adult to handle any ‘flaming’ marshmallows.
- No one adds wood or stokes the fire except the designated person. This person should also be responsible for putting out the fire.
- Keep a pail of water and a shovel near the fire for immediate action to any escaped embers.
A campfire is not out until the ashes and coals are cold to
the touch. Spread out the ashes with the
shovel, and pour water into the fire ring.
Stir the ashes with the shovel. More
water is better than not enough. The ashes
will have enough time to dry out during the night.
