Please consider postponing any real fire activities during any heatwave and/or amber wildfire warning.
We understand that many schools and children’s groups now carry out Forest School sessions or campfire making as part of their curriculum, and lighting fires is often included in this.
We appreciate the value of teaching children these life skills, and that this is usually a positive and enriching experience. However, this can cause a real interest in fire setting and, as such, needs to be accompanied with fire safety advice.
Please make sure you reinforce to the children they must never try and light fires on their own, and if accompanied by an adult they must follow the safety advice you show and explain to them. Please make parents aware of any sessions involving live fires so that they are aware in advance.
At a safe time, if you are planning a session with real fire, please share the following fire safety advice with parents and carers.
Thank you for your help and consideration in this matter
DWFRS Education Team
Fire Safety Advice to Parents and Carers
Dear Parents and Carers,
Your child will be involved in learning about fire lighting as part of their Forest School or campfire experience.
This will be done in a safe and secure way, and the children will be shown how fires can be made. It will be reinforced to them that they must only ever undertake fire setting activities with a responsible adult.
- Please share the fire safety message ‘Do not play with matches and lighters’ with your children.
- Matches and lighters should be kept out of reach of children.
- Fires should only be lit in designated places – please be aware that fires and disposable barbecues are banned in many places.
- There should always be a responsible adult present whenever a fire is lit, and the adult should be present the whole time the fire is alight.
- There should be a means of extinguishing any fire completely (e.g. a bucket of water, garden hose etc).
- Avoid having open fires or using disposable barbecues in the countryside, especially during the summer months. #BringAPicnicNotABarbecue
In the event of the fire becoming uncontrollable, call 999 and ask for the fire and rescue service.
Consider having What3Words on your phone – a free app used by the emergency services to give an accurate location.
- In the event of clothes catching alight, children should know to ‘Stop, Drop and Roll’.
- We recommend that you have working smoke alarms on every level of your home. The more alarms you have, the safer you will be. You should always have one where you will hear it when you’re asleep. For further advice on smoke alarms visit Smoke alarms.