I’m giving away a copy of:

• Firefighter Ted – Read my review.
• Miss Mingo and the Fire Drill – Read my review.
• Firebears – The Rescue Team – Read my review.

All three books! Delivered straight to your house! Hooray!

Here’s how to enter.

Mandatory entry: Leave a comment on this post and tell me something you plan on teaching your kids about fire safety this month. While I can’t make sure that you actually did it, don’t you think it would be a good idea to do it? So, comment and then go talk to your kids about smoke detectors, 9-1-1 and how to stop, drop and roll.

And I also have some extra entries:

• Tweet this giveaway by copy/pasting this into your twitter stream: Win 3 #firesafety books from @FireMom http://wp.me/pjFZD-OZ Live thru 10/31.
• Post about it on Facebook.
• Blog about it on your public blog with a link to this post.

You can tweet and Facebook as much as you so desire. But only do one blog post, because it would be silly to do more. Comment with each of your entries in a separate comment so that they count multiple times! This giveaway will be live through midnight on October 31, 2010. I’ll pick a winner via the random winner plugin on November 1st and contact the winner via email. Winner has 48 hours to respond before I choose a new winner. Books will be shipped direct from Amazon to the winner’s home!

Last but not least, strong>please discuss fire safety with your children. Books are great and fun. And, yes, schools teach these things, too. But you need to be in charge of your household’s fire safety. Please talk about this important issue with your children. It’s honestly one of those life-and-death type conversations. Have it regularly.

Important Note: To copy/paste on my blog, simply highlight the text you want to copy, do not right click but go up to your edit button and click copy. Do the same to paste, but select paste instead. This plugin was installed because people steal my photos.

Firebears – The Rescue Team

The absolute best part about this book is the rhyming scheme. When reading to younger readers, rhyming helps keep interest. Of course, my boys are always interested in firefighter books, but the rhyme helps me stay interested as well.

The book follows the firebears through the typical work day of non-bear-firefighters. It talks about their day at the station — chores and their bunk room. Then they rush off to a false alarm. Then, of course, there’s a real fire. But they put it out. And then, in true fire fashion form, there’s another fire, because that’s how it happens. The firebears then rescue a mom and baby. And, once again, the fire is out. Hooray!

My favorite line is near the end of the book, which also holds a line from the dedication at the beginning, no doubt on purpose.

Weary bears
Smile and wave,
Humble heroes, bold and brave.

Love it.

I also love the illustrations in this book. The old school fire truck, the smiling bears, the general colors used. I am really glad this book is a part of our fire library.

This completes my three-book review for Fire Prevention Week. Come back tomorrow when I will start the giveaway for this book, Firefighter Ted and Miss Mingo and the Fire Drill. The giveaway will last all month long, but you will be able to have multiple entries!

Miss Mingo and the Fire Drill

Unlike the mostly-for-fun Firefighter Ted, Miss Mingo has a lot of fire safety information packed into a book that is equally as funny as the one I reviewed yesterday. In fact, this book provides the added bonus of offering up bits of animal related facts on each page. Did you know that when a hognose snake is threatened, it inflates its body to resemble a cobra? Me either!

The story revolves around Miss Mingo’s wild (animal) class. They start out talking about fire, causing a few of the animals to get excited and/or scared. Then a big firefighter bear shows up causing a pig to go running. I particularly liked this part, because it taught the animals (and the kids reading) not to be afraid of firefighters in all of their gear. The firefighter chief bear takes off his fire gear to show the students that he’s just a normal bear. It’s quite normal for children to be afraid of firefighters when they’re dressed head to toe in their gear. Teaching them that there’s nothing to be afraid of is important!

Then they learn to stop, drop and roll. And how to line up for a fire drill. I also liked this part because it talked about leaving everything in the classroom, lining up quietly, and planning a route to get out of the school. Everyone makes it out safely, of course, and the book has a happy ending.

While there are lots of books about fire safety, this one is perfect for the animal lover. Not only are the animals funny and interesting, but their factoids had me researching various animals on Google after our first read through. I had no idea that koalas were stinky. BigBrother keeps asking questions about the various animals discussed in the book. I really like the idea of combining two ideas — animal facts and fire safety information — so that kids have fun while learning. Kudos to author Jamie Harper.

Tomorrow I will be reviewing another fun fire book. Be sure to come back on Friday for a giveaway of all three books — this one, Firefighter Ted and the one I’m reviewing tomorrow. Don’t forget that this is Fire Prevention Week. Talk to your kids about having a fire drill in your own home. It’s never too early to talk about an escape route in the event of a fire.

Firefighter Ted

Basically, we follow Ted through his day as an imaginary firefighter, complete with fire costume. He wakes up in the morning and smells smoke. Now, having just heard a story from a co-worker where her daughter woke up to the smell of smoke and knew enough to feel her door for heat before opening it, I am disappointed that Ted a) waited until he found his firefighter gear, a fire truck and his “fire extinguisher” before going out into the kitchen… all without checking doors. But, it’s okay. It’s really just his breakfast that he smells. The line at the end of the scene made me giggle: “Only you can prevent breakfast fires.”

Oh, Ted.

He then makes his way to school. On the way he saves a cat, two puppies and three… tricycles? He’s late to school, obviously, and somehow manages to tie his principal up in fire tape. Then he leads a parade down the hall, because, of course, firefighters always lead parades. (Though, around here, they always close out the parade. Duh, Ted.)

Eventually, as you might guess, there’s a real fire (of a small size). Firefighter Ted is obviously on the scene in seconds and saves the day. I’m not sure I want my children to be putting out fires at such a young age, but I do want them to know that you should pull a fire alarm if there is a real fire! And, again, the last line of that scene is hysterical. Hysterical. I may start saying it just because.

I’m glad that we added this funny firefighter book to our library. Firefighter Ted is a cute little bear with a vivid imagination. Just like my little firefighters. You can see sample pages at Andrea Beaty’s website.

Come back tomorrow and Thursday for two more fire book reviews. And then come back on Friday for a chance to win all three books! The giveaway will be live for the entire month of October in honor of this week being Fire Prevention Week.

How many smoke detectors do you have in your house? Do you have one on every floor? Do you have one in every bedroom? Do you know how many you should have? And, hey, while we’re at this inquisition, when was the last time you checked your smoke detector batteries?

This year the theme of Fire Prevention Week is: Smoke Alarms, A Sound You Can Live With. And it’s true. Each year in the US, nearly 3,000 people die in house fires.

• In 2003-2006, roughly two-thirds of home fire deaths resulted from home fires in homes with no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms.
  • No smoke alarms were present in 40% of the home fire deaths.
  • In 23% of the home fire deaths, smoke alarms were present but did not sound.
• In more than half of the reported home fires in which the smoke alarms were present but did not operate even though the fire was large enough, batteries were missing or disconnected. Nuisance alarms were the leading reason for disconnected alarms.

The point? Having working smoke detectors cuts the risk of dying in a fire in half. The facts above are somewhat alarming, however. You should never remove a battery just because the smoke alarm is annoying you. Maybe it’s time for a new smoke alarm. According to the NFPA site & their quick stats, in a 2008 telephone survey, only 12% knew that smoke alarms should be replaced every 10 years. How old are your smoke detectors in your house? If you don’t know the answer at all, you need to replace them. Yesterday.

For those that don’t test their smoke alarm batteries every month, I want to ask you: have you been out of the house for longer than 12 hours recently? Even if you’re using a good quality brand battery, it can die quickly. If you’ve been out of the house for an extended period of time, you may never have heard your warning beeps. Perhaps your smoke detector malfunctioned and it’s simply not working up there on the wall. How will you know unless you test it. Do it now. I’ll wait. (Just ask FourAgainstTwo about this very topic.)

Get your kids involved in the fire safety this week. Either have them watch you test the smoke detector batteries or have them help you. Explain why it’s important. Then download Sparky’s smoke alarm safety sheet and hang it on your fridge to serve as a visual reminder to check your batteries each month. Then download the escape grid and make an escape route for your house in the event of a fire. Sparky also has a great website where you can help your kids learn more about fire safety.

I share this information with you because it is important. Our department responded to a fire last week that turned out to be fatal. The cause was an electrical malfunction in the wall. You can do all of the right things — never leave candles burning, have a fire extinguisher in your kitchen, get your furnace checked out before turning it on — but you’re simply never exempt from a house fire. There are things you simply cannot control. As such, you need to be prepared to keep your family — your most treasured possession — as safe as possible. Smoke detectors are they key to doing so.

On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of this week, I’ll be sharing some new kids’ firefighter themed book reviews. On Friday, I will be hosting a giveaway of those three books that will last through the month of October. I decided to extend the giveaway all month in hopes that people would really get the message that smoke detectors are important. So, tune in all week for some great fire books and general reminders to be fire safe.

If you want to watch videos, share them with your school (or blog readers) or just gain more information, visit the National Fire Protection Association website. Don’t forget to check out the Fire Prevention Week blog for pictures from fire departments around the country as well as Sparky sightings (which could be a fun fire-slash-geography lesson for the kids).

Today I though I would bring you some links so that you can utilize the Internet as you teach your children about the importance of fire safety. Even very young children can utilize Internet sites, whether for games, for reading or for printing coloring pages. All they need is you to help them locate the sites, work on whatever the site offers and to explain the importance of each site and safety tip. Here are some of my favorites.

1. The National Fire Prevention Week website actually has some great resources for parents and kids. Things like the Fire Safety Inspection Checklist (.pdf) and the Fire Safety Information card are great activities to complete with older children. The arcade on site provides for a fun way to bring a discussion about fire safety into your learning process. For the youngest set, a coloring page with Sparky is made available that highlights the important things to remember to prepare for and in the midst of a fire emergency.

2. Sprout, the PBS kids channel, has a great Fire Safety Week program going on right now, including on their website. This site provides more coloring pages, including a counting one, a Fireman Sam one and some others. (A fun thing on the Sprout site allows for you to upload a picture of your kids’ artwork once it has been completed for others’ viewing pleasure on the website! Cool!) There are also some videos on their Fire Safety page.

3. USFA Kids (US Fire Administration) has a great site that combines pertinent information (Home Fire Safety, Smoke Alarms, and Escaping from a Fire) with some games (Crossword Puzzles, Coloring Pages, a test to be a Jr. Fire Marshal among other things). I found this site to be particularly easy to navigate for a computer-independent child who wants to learn on her own.

4. Sparkles the Fire Safety Dog is one of my favorite programs regarding fire safety. Sparkles’ owner, Firefighter Dayna, is passionate about fire safety (just like we are!). They’re actually part of the Fire Safety Week on Sprout this year! Their site offers more activity pages, GREAT fire safety videos and crafts.

These are just some great online resources for you, as a parent, to help your children understand the importance of fire safety. As a parent you need to know these things as well. First and foremost, know your house’s floor plan and make a fire escape plan should an emergency occur. Teach things as simple as “stop, drop and roll” and the importance of getting low should the hallway be filled with smoke. As you help your child navigate the online resources for learning about fire safety, make sure you’re up-to-date on all of your knowledge. Your family’s lives depend on it!

Tomorrow I will have a review of some younger child storybooks that also highlight some fire safety points. Be sure to tune in all week as I bring you various tips, fun pictures and other pertinent facts on fire safety. (Also, as this is October and Halloween is just around the corner, check out our review of the best firefighter costume on the market right now, pictured above.)

BigBrother has known this phrase for awhile. He’d like to share it with you.

He’s not quite three yet and, as I said, he’s known it for awhile. He’s just recently understood that it pertains to fire safety, of course, but the point is this: talking about safety matters early and often is never a bad thing. Take some time this weekend to teach your kid(s) how to stop, drop and roll!

Have a safe, fire-free weekend!

And so, cookies. We used to have a fire truck, helmet and hydrant. But the hydrant is missing. (Very much like these on eBay. Grab some now!)

I cut the cookies out. Of premade dough. I know. So shoot me.

I did all of this with LittleBrother on my back. He was wearing fire truck pajamas, too, so it was all very fitting.

I learned the hard way that white icing + red food coloring does not make red icing. I had to use a bottle and a half of red food coloring. Win!

Sprinkles are always a hit.

To deliver the cookies, I had to throw LittleBrother on my back and carry two big trays. The icing was still wet so I couldn’t stack anything. So, lesson learned: ice the night before and place in the fridge to harden. Also, as I learned from a friend, the longer you let the red food colored icing sit, the more red it will get. So doing all of this the day before would be the best option. Lessons learned.

All of the kids left school that afternoon with red smears on their faces, dalmatian ears on their heads, smiles on their faces and squeals to their mommies about Fire Pup. It was heart-warming indeed. As I buckled BigBrother into his set, they brought the fire truck back around the block and FireDad was able to wave at BigBrother who was, of course, very excited. (Ahem. As was I because, well, he’s a handsome dude hanging out of that fire truck window.)

BigBrother learned a few things from the firefighter as well. So, maybe this isn’t all about cookies. But it kind of is because we took the leftovers to the fire department and made some guys pretty darn happy about Fire Prevention Week.

An important theme, don’t you think? Especially when you take into account the number of fires in general that took place in 2007. Of the 1,557,500 (reported/big/etc) fires in 2007, 414,000 were in homes like yours and mine. Furthermore, in seventeen of those house fires, five or more people died. We don’t have five people living in our home. But we do have people who visit. Do you want to become a Catastrophic Multiple-Death Fire statistic? I don’t.

I’ll be writing a post each day this week about home fire safety. (Including a post about Fire Pup, from our Fire Department, visiting BigBrother’s preschool on Thursday. I’ll have the insider view, even though I won’t be there, as rumor on the street is that the guy inside the costume is someone we all know and love.) In the meantime, you need to take some time this week to read the Fire Prevention Week 2008 blog. And you need to start asking yourself if your family is prepared (as you can be) in the event of a house fire. My guess is that, no, you are not. Because a certain fire family that you know and love, ahem, could probably put a little work into their own home safety this week. Not naming any names.

If you have any fire related questions regarding home safety that you haven’t wanted to hijack a post in the comments with, please feel free to ask it now. I’ll try to address it this week as we focus on the importance of fire safety.

Pass the word on. Preventing home fires is never a bad thing.

(Of note: Photos of the house fire are from the 2007 county fire school burn that I shot. Not a “real” house fire.)