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Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>Fire Drills
Lissa Kristine 03:03 PM 12-20-2017
We had our second fire drill today. Definitely NOT what I think a fire drill should look like.

We had 7 babies under 2 years old who were put into cribs for evacuation (the 3 youngest in one crib, the 4 oldest in another).

In the back room, we had 7 kids ranging from 2 to 4.5 years of age. The oldest 3 held hands with each other while a coworker and I each held hands with the 4 youngest (one child on each side).

In order to get the cribs out, we have to move the feeding table. We spent 20 minutes preparing the kids by putting on coats, moving tables around, and making the older kids sit and wait until it was "time."

I've always been a firm believer in NOT preparing kids with coats, etc. After all, if there is a real fire, we aren't going to have time to gather jackets for 14 kids (and with the layout of the school, there's a good chance we aren't even going to be able to just grab jackets to distribute to children outside. If anything, we may be able to scoop up some blankets from the crib area when grabbing the cribs to put babies in, but that's about as much as we can be sure of. The truth is, if there is an actual fire, many children will be going outside in their sock-feet.)

Older kids can be given a warning "Some time today, we are going to have a fire drill," but I wouldn't give them any idea as to WHEN it's going to happen (it would just be used as an opportunity to review fire drill rules). I think ALL of the older children need to learn to hold hands and/or walk in a line. Most of the time, it will be just the ONE teacher back there with all of the 2-4 year old children. (My boss would actually have each child's hand held during the fire drill since we do cross a little side-street/ driveway which does have traffic from the elementary school next door).

Of course, my boss thought our 90 second evacuation time was great, but I'm not so sure. After all, we had kids in the cribs ready to be wheeled outside before the alarm was even pulled. I'd love to see a random/surprise drill where everybody is doing normal activities.

How are fire drills done for you? Am I crazy for thinking that they shouldn't be so staged?
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happymom 03:14 PM 12-20-2017
I'm just going to chime in because I am interested in the topic (I am a parent of kids in a large daycare center) but I know that at our center the infants are taken out in cribs like you described.

I have no idea about the spontaneity of the drills though.
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Jupadia 05:54 PM 12-20-2017
Here at my place for my home daycare don't need to do fire drills but do a practice with my 2+ kids. In summer we just head outside to yard in our socks. Winter I have them like up at stairs.

Back 15+ years ago when I worked at a center. We did them all the time. But we were lucky I worked at a downtown location the daycare was on the bottom floor. We were able to exit out into the underground pathways and subway so it made crib rolling easy and makers not a must.. Kids also wore indoor shoes so there very were not bare. We also had many unplanned ones do to construction while I worked there. We did make sure to have all pathways were the cribs had to roll free and clear.
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momofsix 06:28 PM 12-20-2017
I am in home We are required to do one per month, plus one tornado drill per month during tornado season. I tell the kids right before we do it, but we don't prepare ahead of time with coats/shoes/talking about it etc.
We talk about what to do randomly so they hopefully know when I push the smoke alarm.
Sometimes we play a "game" where I'll put pretend fire along one or two of the exit routes so they have to know which exit to go out of (basement, back or front door)
If your centers consultant came and asked for a fire drill demonstration, I'm sure you'd fail. I would think it's not even legal or safe to have tables blocking the exits that cribs need to roll through!
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DaveA 03:13 AM 12-21-2017
In the centers I worked it was about a 50/ 50 split unannounced vs scheduled. Now I have to do fire and severe weather drill monthly. I do them the same time every month (2nd Tuesday around 1000) because that is when the town test the tornado siren.
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storybookending 03:49 PM 12-20-2017
There is very little in our licensing about fire drills other than they should be preformed monthly and suggested time is under two minutes.

When I worked school age care we did them monthly and we included all children being silent for 10 seconds into our time. We would tell them the first few months of the school year that it was happening between two activities (September), sometime during the day (October, November) and the rest of the months were at random with no warning.

We don’t mess around with jackets as in a true emergency we wouldn’t be grabbing them. Just as you might not have time to move the tables in the event of an actual fire.

In fact one time our licensor specifically requested we do an unannounced drill in her presence. She told us that during drills we didn’t have to actually take them outside, just lined up and ready. We still took them outside most of the times but sometimes pre her advice we didn’t bother going all the way outside of it was the dead of winter.
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Mad_Pistachio 04:14 PM 12-20-2017
we had a lock-down drill a few weeks ago. so, we were to lock ourselves with toddlers (between 1 and 2 years old) in bathrooms and closets and encourage them to be quiet.
truth be told, in real lock-down, we'd just all be dead. or in prison for abuse, as we'd probably start taping kids' mouths. 5 out of 20 were screaming bloody murder, and doors are paper thin.
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Pestle 04:04 AM 12-21-2017
Originally Posted by Mad_Pistachio:
we had a lock-down drill a few weeks ago. so, we were to lock ourselves with toddlers (between 1 and 2 years old) in bathrooms and closets and encourage them to be quiet.
truth be told, in real lock-down, we'd just all be dead. or in prison for abuse, as we'd probably start taping kids' mouths. 5 out of 20 were screaming bloody murder, and doors are paper thin.
I understand the expectation, but kids that age scream as loud as they can just for the fun of making a sound. There's no way you can keep them quiet without drugs or, yes, physically sealing up their mouths.
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Cat Herder 05:24 AM 12-21-2017
Originally Posted by Pestle:
I understand the expectation, but kids that age scream as loud as they can just for the fun of making a sound. There's no way you can keep them quiet without drugs or, yes, physically sealing up their mouths.
Emergency shelter in place grab bag. Safety suckers for the littles, starburst, blow pops and laffy taffy for the olders. Don't forget water bottles, sippy cups.

I do my fire drills at different times of day once a month. Fridays was 12 seconds. Typical time is 20 seconds. 6/1 ratio. Blankets, snacks and toys are waiting for us in our go to place.

Preparation is key.
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LysesKids 08:33 AM 12-21-2017
Originally Posted by Cat Herder:
Emergency shelter in place grab bag. Safety suckers for the littles, starburst, blow pops and laffy taffy for the olders. Don't forget water bottles, sippy cups.

I do my fire drills at different times of day once a month. Fridays was 12 seconds. Typical time is 20 seconds. 6/1 ratio. Blankets, snacks and toys are waiting for us in our go to place.

Preparation is key.
Yes... AR started requiring grab & go kits in 2011, I continued it here in TN. Water, spare formula & snacks plus first aid kit & emergency cards. I had to evacuate 4-5 babies by myself twice within 3 days back in 2011 - you don't have time to grab coats, shoes etc, you just put the kids in the rollaway crib grab the bag & go...

People that have never been thru a real fire or gas scare have no clue that you literally have less than 60 seconds or you are gone. Been thru a fire in the middle of the night 1994 - I grabbed my own 4 children when the alarm sounded at 3 am & got out the door just as the house blew up from the gas line. Had another issue after the AR floods in 2011 (the time I evacuated with 5 daycare babes twice).
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racemom 09:19 PM 12-21-2017
We do fire drills without any advance warning or prepping. All of my kids(2 and 3 year olds) know when the alarm sounds exactly what to do. The director goes straight to baby room to help evacuate them, so it goes smoothly. We never take coats, but it is only a few minutes outside and are done on days that are not bone chilling.
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LysesKids 06:28 AM 12-22-2017
Originally Posted by racemom:
We do fire drills without any advance warning or prepping. All of my kids(2 and 3 year olds) know when the alarm sounds exactly what to do. The director goes straight to baby room to help evacuate them, so it goes smoothly. We never take coats, but it is only a few minutes outside and are done on days that are not bone chilling.
Try to do that in a true emergency... in the 2011 AR floods I had to evacuate 5 babies in the cold rain as water was coming into the house (3 feet in 30 minutes in my yard and it was coming in my front door - I lost my car in that as it got flooded)... the back of the home was on a hill and we literally were handing babies out the back window to my neighbors who took them into homes higher up the hill... 2 days later I had to evacuate again when they turned the gas back on and there was a leak & my sensors went off. All my kids were under 18 months at the time. The 2 daycare centers a block away had to wake napping children and evacuate when water came up under there floors too. The lake in my yard disappeared with an hour of the rain stopping
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hwichlaz 08:19 AM 12-22-2017
Only licensed for 8. I have a grab n go bag with two large blankets, warm socks, water bottles, and a first aid kit.

I’m concerned that your center doesn’t have a clear path laid out for the cribs. You shouldn’t have to move furniture to escape a fire. That would be a fire code violation here.
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LysesKids 08:25 AM 12-22-2017
Originally Posted by hwichlaz:
Only licensed for 8. I have a grab n go bag with two large blankets, warm socks, water bottles, and a first aid kit.

I’m concerned that your center doesn’t have a clear path laid out for the cribs. You shouldn’t have to move furniture to escape a fire. That would be a fire code violation here.
After the flood (which happened again this year in AR in the same areas), I'm surprised more places don't make plans to have an alternative policy in place if evacuation cribs can't be used for babies... can't push babes into the water to evacuate as I learned first hand. It's why I have it set up with neighbors that if my car alarm is set off, they come running
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hwichlaz 11:00 AM 12-22-2017
Originally Posted by LysesKids:
After the flood (which happened again this year in AR in the same areas), I'm surprised more places don't make plans to have an alternative policy in place if evacuation cribs can't be used for babies... can't push babes into the water to evacuate as I learned first hand. It's why I have it set up with neighbors that if my car alarm is set off, they come running
Maybe inflatable life rafts attached under the mattress support
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racemom 03:01 PM 12-23-2017
Originally Posted by LysesKids:
Try to do that in a true emergency... in the 2011 AR floods I had to evacuate 5 babies in the cold rain as water was coming into the house (3 feet in 30 minutes in my yard and it was coming in my front door - I lost my car in that as it got flooded)... the back of the home was on a hill and we literally were handing babies out the back window to my neighbors who took them into homes higher up the hill... 2 days later I had to evacuate again when they turned the gas back on and there was a leak & my sensors went off. All my kids were under 18 months at the time. The 2 daycare centers a block away had to wake napping children and evacuate when water came up under there floors too. The lake in my yard disappeared with an hour of the rain stopping
What part of our emergency evacuation plan do you see as not possible in a true emergency?
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LysesKids 01:06 PM 12-25-2017
Originally Posted by racemom:
What part of our emergency evacuation plan do you see as not possible in a true emergency?
That's what I was trying to point out... some people dress the kids before they pull off drills or they warn the kids. that isn't possible in a true emergency And it wasn't you I was referring too... sorry
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flying_babyb 01:57 PM 12-25-2017
Can I ask why you cant have a emergency bag by each exit? The center I work at has a bag hanging by each door that contains two blankets, a roster for all the current kids in the daycare (all the classes), a couple heat packs (squeeze and they pop and heat), and a few rolls of crackers. This way if we have to run out in the snow, we're set! Though if the neighbor is home, she did offer us up her heated garage for an emergency!
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racemom 07:55 PM 12-25-2017
Originally Posted by LysesKids:
That's what I was trying to point out... some people dress the kids before they pull off drills or they warn the kids. that isn't possible in a true emergency And it wasn't you I was referring too... sorry
Ok thanks. I was just wondering, because if I was missing something I wanted to re-examine our procedure. Better to practice the way it would be, then have them not know what to do in a true emergency situation.
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missbecky 06:47 PM 12-27-2017
My director lies about doing the monthly drills. We didn't have a single tornado drill this year. Our last fire drill apparently happened last Tuesday at 6:30 a.m. when what really happened was the sprinkler company came for their quarterly check. There were 3 children and 2 teachers, myself and another, in the building. Absolutely not a fire drill.
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Unregistered 03:39 AM 12-29-2017
Yes, one center I work for has never done fire drills in 19 years although required by the state. They just forge the forms
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