Rules of thumb to remember: Don’t try to do all of them at once. Take one or two and run with it. All ideas are made to steal/borrow so help yourself. Many come from our Nebraska Fire School Fire Prevention class and new ones get added every year. You may not be your departments whole prevention committee, but you are the ring leader. If you take a week or month off, your department will to. If you quit, your department will go back to just one week in October. Keep fire prevention alive in your community 365 a year!

SUGGESTIONS:

*Fit your ideas with the occasion. If you have events happening around town try and find a way to fit fire prevention into that event.

• Have kids color FP ideas on popcorn bags and have the high school use them in their concession stands. Or take some to your local corn elevator for the farmers to enjoy also.
• Create your own hazard house with a little imagination and a few boards
• Make your own kitchen appliances out of cardboard boxes. Kids have great imaginations;  they know what they are.
• Have a Fire Prevention Poker Run. Put stickers on the cards. Give FP koozies away as prizes etc..
• Use an outdoor theme one year. Bring in your grill, fire pit, marshmallow sticks (3 ft) gas cans, trash can/burn barrel etc.
• Fold paper into a triangle and use it as a center piece with a prevention tip on it. Take to cafes, senior center etc.
• Put stickers on everything. If you hand out candy, bags of chips or brochures, put a sticker with a tip on it.
• Put a flyer in graduation packets
• Make place mats for your local restaurant(s)
• Hang banners at your ball field(s)
• Have kids color on a grocery sack and have your local store use them
• Have lunch with the kids in your uniform. Sit and talk with them about FP while they are eating.
• Have a puppet show. (make sure you practice first before preforming live)
  • Seniors enjoy puppets as much as the kids do.
• Roll a paper the shape of a telescope and place fire hazards around the room and let kids “I Spy” the hazards.
• The fishing game. Have the kids use a FP tip as bait and fish for a prize.
• Make FP craft ideas for a park event. (Pinterest is full of ideas)
• Hand out brochures with a candy that has a fp tip on it to the farmers in line at the elevator.
• Use your local newspaper! Put small Prevention tip “ads” in your local paper each month. Or write an article once a month.
• Put together a program that will last a few months. Giving the kids a class learning something every week that leads to a graduation when completed.
• Go to the schools “After School” program
• Contact Home Schools

*Tip when working with the schools. Always ask permission and always work on their time. Never give up if the answer is no the first time. Be sure to thank them.

• Offer a contest and the winner gets a Firetruck ride to school that day.
• Poster contests are always fun. Just make sure not to make it so difficult of a project that it stresses the kids out.
• Movie nights are always fun. Have kids bring their own blankets and pillows and watch a movie. Throw some FP idea in there some where. Have Smokey greet them.
• Have Smokey Bear visit the school.
• Send Christmas cards with a fire prevention tip in them.
• Hang a “sit and think flyer” in toilet stalls around your community. (churches, restaurants, fire station, banks etc.)

* Always get down to the children’s level when talking to them. Don’t stand in an intimidating stance. Be kind, patient and be happy.

• Use movies or interactive web applications
• Go to the Independent Living/Chemistry/Shop classes at the high school and talk to the teachers about visiting their class and talking about FP.
• Ask the library if you can hang a rack up and put fire prevention material in there.
• Go to your local campground/park that has fire pits and ask if you can place rocks in a circle around them to signify 3 ft from the heat.
• Adopt a doll/elf/stuffed toy, dress it in fire gear and set him around town with different FP messages at each location.
• Involve your bus drivers. They see the kids everyday, it’s easy for them to say something or hand things out. (Check with school authorities first)
• to be continued……