Survive Alive House

Today our field trip took us to the Survive Alive House and Safety Village where we learned all about fire safety. Before going into the Survive Alive House, we saw real items that were from various local house fires. The Survive Alive House was a two-story house, consisting of a family room and kitchen on the first floor and a bedroom on the second floor. Starting out in the bedroom, we practiced two different fire safety drills.

All pretend ~~ We were sleeping. The fire alarms went off. We crawled off the bed and, staying low, crawled over to the door. Grace was to the door first. Here she is feeling it with the back of her hand. It was warm (for real). No escape was possible that way. Plan B - the window. Each one of us learned how to properly climb out of the window (Most importantly, remembering to keep our head inside the window while swinging our legs out, hanging on, then dropping to the ground. Since our heads follow our bodies, this is a key point to remember. Otherwise, it would lead to disaster when falling from an upper story window!)

After we escaped from the second story, we got to actually try out the drop and hang technique from both six or eight feet off the ground. Here, both girls give it a shot. (Megan in purple; Grace in white.) I even got a try.

Then each child placed a real 9-1-1 call from a pay phone and had to tell the dispatcher why they were calling and give their address and telephone number.

The second fire drill also began up in the bedroom. Although this time when Megan felt the door, it was "freezing." She was instructed to open the door just a crack and feel for any fire out in the hallway. All was clear, so we each had to stay low and crawl down the steps backwards. Of course, as in a real fire, it was pitch black. The fire and smoke were down in the family room, but we crawled to safety out the front door.

After the fire safety part of the field trip was over, we explored Safety Village for a short time. The kids requested their picture be taken in front of this model of a building destroyed by fire.

At the dinner table tonight, the girls talked non-stop, barely allowing the other to get a word in edgewise, as they relayed the events of their day to Dad.

~Wee