Term 3 Topic 1 Safety with Fire

• People need fire as a source for cooking food, staying warm, etc.
• The teacher must accentuate that fire is useful, but it can also be very dangerous.
• Warn the learners that they should not play with matches.

• Ask learners if they have any ideas on how we could be safe around fires in the home and how we can prevent a fire, such as a lit candle, from causing a huge fire and burning down our house.
• The teacher can add to the learners’ responses.
• Before the teacher shows Presentation 4 he/she can explain the safety rules when handling an electric kettle [or any other electric equipment].
• Show Video Clip 4 (11:30 minutes).   

The video provides guidelines for fire safety.

• Ask the learners to share their ideas on how to prevent fires. This may include the information in Fact Sheet 2.

• Equipment needed:
  • A functional heater.
  • A tape measure.
  • Magazines / newspapers / internet.
  • Scissors.
• You may ask a learner to turn the heater on in the classroom (take care to make it safe!).
• Let the learners / groups stand 3 metres away to experience the safe distance (you can measure the distance with the tape measure).
• Ask the learners / groups to take a specific number of steps [e.g. 2 steps forward].
• The teacher must also be aware that the learner’s steps differ [big / small steps].
• The groups measure their safe distances compares their answers and a short discussion can follow.

• Instruct the learners to find articles and pictures of fire tragedies in the newspapers and magazines, or on the internet.
• Inform the learners that they will have to report back.
• The learners page through their newspapers and magazines looking for articles about fire deaths, destructions, etc.
• They cut out the articles, read the stories and report back.
• The other learners are asked to listen how each fire started.
• They can also make an awareness poster on ways to prevent fires.

• Explain steps that can be taken in case of a fire.
• Every home, school, shopping complex, factory, etc. must have an escape plan in case of a fire. Regular fire drills should be done.
• Know the emergency number of the fire department so that you can phone. [Port Elizabeth : 041 585 1555]
• If you are in your house and are woken by scream or the sound of fire, even the smell, do the following:
  • Get out of bed and wrap yourself in a blanket.
  • Shoes or slippers are a good idea if they are handy, but do not take the time to tie your shoes. Press the shoe laces in to prevent you from tripping.
  • If your door is open and there is a fire preventing you to exit the room, close the door to protect yourself from the fire, and follow the "hot door" procedures below. Otherwise, treat it as a "cool door".
• COOL DOOR: Feel the door. If your door is closed, feel it for heat with the back of your hand. If you feel down towards the bottom of the door and it is really cool, that's good. Open it slowly and take a look at the conditions on the other side. If there is a lot of smoke and it is going towards the ceiling area, stay lower to the ground and crawl to get yourself out. If you are able to get out, also go through and yell for other people to get out of the house. Wake everyone up, get the children out of bed and get outside as quickly as you can.
• HOT DOOR: If you feel the door and it is hot then there is a lot of heat on the other side. Do not open it; use a second way out. If there is no safe door, try the window and break it if you need to. You are more important than the window.
• Protect yourself from smoke inhalation when inside.
• Take a t-shirt or a rag and wet it. Place it over your nose and mouth. This will only buy you a minute or so. Smoke inhalation causes people to become disoriented and a person can become unconscious.
• Cover your nose and mouth if you have to walk by or through a heavily smoke-filled room.

• Divide the learners into groups.
• They must discuss the procedures that they will follow if there was a fire in their houses.
• They will get 10 minutes to plan their dramatization before each group will do their presentation.
• The teacher must encourage the learners to be creative.
• Hint: Make a video clip of the groups’ dramatization as proof for IQMS.

• Divides the learners to work in groups of 3 or 5.
• Let them discuss and write down ideas on:
  • how they can practice fire safety when using candles and gas at home.
  • general tips for fire safety at home.
• Give each group an opportunity to share their ideas with the rest of the class.
• They may also make posters with illustrations of their fire safety tips.
• Present the information in Fact Sheet 3.
• Ask learners to demonstrate the Stop, Drop and Roll action to extinguish flames on clothing.

• Learners complete Quiz 3.

• Learners complete Worksheet G.

• The learners complete Worksheet H as a project. 
• They are encouraged to apply the knowledge that they have gained about the topic.