Fire drills

About to do first fire drill with first mindees as they've been with me 3 weeks and are settled.

I have an evacuation procedure, I will press the smoke alarm and we will leave the house and go to the playground around the corner as its close and contained so if I have 3 little ones and we did have to wait for parents to collect they'll be contained rather than just waiting on the side of the road.

So my questions are in a fire drill is it ok to put non walkers/toddlers in the buggy? And all get our shoes and coats on?! As in an emergency stuff may not all be easy to get to or be able to get to at all? But I don't feel I can carry 2 non walkers monthly on a fire drill!

What do others do? Am I thinking this out too much?!

In a real emergency you will take much bigger risks than you do on a drill- the risk of death in a raging house fire is bigger than the risk of getting cold feet while leaving the house, so of course you would leave shoes behind. I'd be knocking on neighbours doors and borrowing coats and blankets if needs be in a real situation.

For a drill I get them to the door and that is it really, it is about how I get them there and I don't stress anyone out by standing them on the driveway in their socks! No point in them catching cold or getting wet through.

There are so many 1000s of possible real emergency scenarios it is impossible to act it all out... may be it is a small fire or a suspected gas leak and there is time to grab shoes as you pass, maybe it is pouring with rain and you just go straight to a neighbour's house for shelter, maybe it is an evacuation by Police due to a local incident and you are all taken to a local school hall... who knows?!

I just want to know that the children know that when I say 'fire drill' we go out the way I say, that they know what the smoke alarm sound means, I want to know I can hold/carry/instruct the children depending on their age, that I can make a decision and know the consequences of exiting by the front or side or back door and where that would take us and where we would then go.

Thank you, that is exactly what I needed, I've been worrying about it, I think tomorrow we'll sit down and talk about it and what will happen, then have a practise, and maybe several practises where the alarm goes, we stop what we're doing and listen to me and go to whichever exit I say and around to the front of the house.

Do you do fire drill monthly? I plan to do it when ever anyone new starts and at the beginning of the month for everyone.

No you don't stop to put shoes and coats on.

I wouldn't be leaving the are of the house either in case the emergency services needed me.

I keep a bag in the boot of my car which has socks in it, water, biscuits, cereal bars and space blankets a disposable bottle with a carton of milk if I have one on formular, plastic cups. I also keep two or three fleece blankets.

My plan is to put all the children in the car and move it off the drive. By keeping them in the car even if I don't have exactly the correct seats, they are safe and protected from the weather. I can leave them in the car if I step out to talk to a fireman or similar. I must say I usually have a buggy in my boot during the working week as well.

I know some childminders keep a similar emergency bag or box somewhere outside.

I do a drill once every half term or when a new child starts with me. I don't see the need to do it once a month school only do it once a term offices far less. In the main the children will be with you so you will be getting them out, the main thing to think about is how would you deal with sleeping children?

Thanks again, really helpful advice again, and I think I'm going to update my policy to include a lot of this. Car is parked just outside the house so it would be quite straightforward to bundle them all in, and it always has the right carseats for the children I'm minding on the day so they'd all be safe.

All sounds good practical thinking...just one question...will u have car keys near exit so u can grab as u go out?

I would never take my car out in an emergency situation, even though it is parked right outside my front door. Petrol engines have spark plugs which spark when the engine is running. Any vapours (ie gas / fuel) could ignite.

And it would take me too long to strap everyone in.

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Originally Posted by danemi1

All sounds good practical thinking...just one question...will u have car keys near exit so u can grab as u go out?

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I have a spare car key at the back of my house and my keys are near the front door so yes I would.

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Originally Posted by Zoomie

I would never take my car out in an emergency situation, even though it is parked right outside my front door. Petrol engines have spark plugs which spark when the engine is running. Any vapours (ie gas / fuel) could ignite.

And it would take me too long to strap everyone in.

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I don't have a petrol car and it is far enough away from the building. Also there is enough of a gradient on my drive that I can let the hand brake off and run it off the drive without starting the engine.