match and lighter safety objective · with matches and lighters are are simply curious about fire,...

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Match andLighter Safety

Overview: Previous activities have exposed RANGERS to some wildfire basics:

Fire needs fuel, oxygen and heat to burn•

Forests have lots of fuel•

Fuels in forests will burn if a heat source •comes close enough

During dry weather, it does not take much heat •to start a wildfire

One match, small flame from a lighter, or cigarette, can end up burning an entire forest!

In this activity, RANGERS are asked to imagine some safety dilemmas that they may someday face when they encounter matches and lighters. This activity is best done in small groups of 3-4 RANGERS, but it can also be done individually. Each dilemma is presented on a card. The group discusses each dilemma and agrees upon a solution. This method allows RANGERS to “practice” how they would behave in similar situations. Let RANGERS come to their own conclusions. As the teacher/leader, facilitate their discussions as much as possible, then give them a chance to learn what experts think without judging what they chose to do.

Background Information: Matches and lighters are heat sources that can threaten lives, homes and forests. Children should not play with matches and lighters, but they should know what to do if they find them. Studies have shown that children 7 and younger should tell an adult when they find matches. Children 8 and older can pick them up and give them to an adult.

Matches and Lighters: How many matches do you think are used to light things like birthday candles,

cigarettes, and campfires in the U.S. each year? 500 billion! Children

often watch their parents use matches and lighters, and it is no surprise that young

children are curious about fire.

Children playing with matches and lighters is the 4th leading cause of wildfires in Oregon, resulting in loss of property, forests, and habitat for wildlife. Children and adults are sometimes hurt or even die from these fires.

PLAYING WITH MATCHES AND LIGHTERS •IS NEVER APPROPRIATE.

MATCHES AND LIGHTERS ARE TOOLS •NOT TOYS.

rangerS wiLL be abLe to: a. identify five correct fire prevention behaviors when dealing with matches and lighters;

b. Develop a personal list of fire safety rules and pledge to follow those rules. Lesson 6 • appropriate for ages 8-12 o

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Materials Needed:(copy, as needed)

ranger PageS•

DiLeMMa CarD SetS•

“My Safety ruLeS for •MatCheS, LighterS, anD fireworkS”

KEEP OREGON GREEN ASSOCIATION PO BOX 12365, SALEM, OR 97309-0365 503.945.7498Developed by David Heil & Associates, Inc., Portland, Oregon

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Fourth Leading Human-caused Wildfire in Oregon:

Fire is usually a friend to people – by warming them and cooking their food. Sometimes, however, fire gets out of control. Wildfires burn thousands of acres in Oregon every year, destroying forests, rangelands, and property. In an average year, about 1,000 wildfires burn on state and private forestland, and about 70% are caused by humans.

All of these human-caused fires COULD BE PREVENTED if people simply practiced good fire-prevention behaviors. The four leading situations in which humans cause wildfires in Oregon are:

1. improper debris burning

2. unsafe equipment use

3. unattended or unsafe campfires

4. children playing with matches or lighters

Since children playing with matches and lighters is the fourth most common cause of human-caused wildfires in Oregon, it is important for children to understand the correct behavior when they encounter matches and lighters.

Wildfires and Children: Every year several hundred children die in fires that they or other children started. Most of the children who play with matches and lighters are are simply curious about fire, but the effect can be devastating. In Oregon alone during one five-year period, 239 wildfires were set by children playing with matches and lighters, burning 540 acres of state and private forest land, and costing about $1 million to supress.

Matches and lighters should always be kept out of the reach of children, preferably in a locked cabinet.

Small children should be taught that matches and lighters are tools, not toys. Some may look like toys – especially some lighters. If a child finds matches or lighters out in the open, he or she should tell an adult.

Lesson 6Match and Lighter Safety


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Activity Sequence:

1. Print the Dilemma Cards as needed. Each group should have one set of the five cards. Decide whether you want to use the back of the cards as a place to write the solution and any comments; if so, there is a form that can be printed on the card back provided on page 6-9.

2. Have RANGERS form groups of three or four.

3. You can approach the activity in several ways. The cards can be shuffled and the groups can work with the Dilemma Cards until they are finished with all five cards. The cards can be distributed one at a time so that the entire larger group is working on the same dilemma at one time. In this case, you could discuss each dilemma as the groups finish dealing with them. Or, the cards can be used as “homework” to be discussed with parents and brought to the next meeting. However, interaction with peers is preferred for this activity. If reading the cards is a problem with your RANGERS, you can read each one for them.

4. As the small groups deal with the Dilemma Cards, move around to make sure each group is “on task.”

5. Again, it is important to let them come to their own solutions. Each solution can later be compared to the expert’s response to let them experience that point of view.

Dilemma Card SolutionsThe Experts’ Advice…

Here is how fire fighters and fire safety experts said they would react to

the five dilemmas. Use this expert advice to stimulate your RANGERS’

thinking as they compare their reactions. Let the entire group discuss

each dilemma and the various solutions before sharing the experts’

advice.

Dilemma 1: Choice “c” is the best answer. You could also leave them

where you found them, but that leaves them available for other young

children. Getting them to an adult as soon as you can is the safest

solution. Do not put the matches in your backpack (or pocket). You might

forget they are there, and they could accidentally start a fire right in your

backpack! (Here you may want to discuss what to do if the matchbook is

open. Show RANGERS how to close a matchbook, and tell them that an

open book of matches is even more dangerous than one that is closed.)

Dilemma 2: Choice “b” is the best answer. By telling an adult, your

brother will get the chance to learn from an adult, and the adult will be

alert to storing lighters and matches out of the reach of your brother.

Getting your brother to give you the lighter might be hard to do. Don’t

force him to give it to you – tell an adult right away so the adult can take

charge of the lighter.



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Dilemma 3: Choice “b” is the best answer. Water

will put the match “dead out.” If your mother doesn’t

have any water nearby, she should wait until the match

cools enough to touch it – otherwise she might burn her

fingers. People who throw matches that are not “dead

out” into trash cans or on the ground start many fires

every year.

Dilemma 4: Choice “a” protects small children in

your family from finding matches and lighters, and you

are alerting your parents to the danger of storing them

unsafely. In any case, your parents need to be told

immediately. If you chose “c,” your parents might wonder

what happened to their matches and lighters when they

need them!

Dilemma 5: Answer “c” is the best answer. A bucket

of water placed near a campfire is a good idea. If the

campfire suddenly got out of control, the water could be

used to control the fire. Using the water to drown a match

“dead out” is the safest way to handle matches. Your

father could also throw the match in the campfire since

you are trying to start a fire there anyway.

Wrap-up:

Once you have discussed the dilemmas, have each group (or each RANGER) develop their own rules for matches and lighter safety and write them on the pledge sheet on RANGER Page 6-9. Having RANGERS develop their own rules is a good way to check on how well they understand fire safety, and it is a proven motivator of kids and adults to alter their behavior. You may want to discuss each of the pledge sheets and post them, or let each group (or RANGER) read their rules to the entire group.


Additional Resources

www.keeporegongreen.org

http://about.newsusa.com/article-site.asp?ArticleId=3083

http://www.ci.phoenix.az.us/FIRE/matchlit.html

http://www.communitysafetynet.com/kids/safetytips.html


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You are playing in the park with your friends on a clear morning. You find a closed book of matches dropped on the sidewalk. What should you do?

a. Leave the matches where they are.

b. Throw them in a garbage can.

c. Pick up the matches and take them to the nearest adult.

d. Or something else?

Dilemma Cards

What Should You Do? 1


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At your sister’s birthday party, you see your mother light the candles on the birthday cake and blows out the match. What should your mom do next?

a. Throw the match on the ground or in the trash and begin singing “Happy Birthday.”

b. Drown the match in water in the sink, and then throw it away.

c. Feel the match to see if it’s cold, and then throw it in the trash.


You come home from school and find your little brother and some of his friends playing with a lighter they found. They are trying to light some dry grass on fire. What should you do?

a. Show your brother and his friends how to light the grass.

b. Tell an adult and ask them to take the lighter from your brother and his friends.

c. Make your brother give you the lighter. Tell him and his friends how dangerous playing with lighters and matches is.





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You are camping and helping your parents build a safe place for a campfire. When all is ready, your father strikes a match and lights the campfire. He then waves the match back and forth in the air quickly to put it out. What should he do next?

a. Throw the match on the ground.

b. Throw the match in the campfire.

c. Drop the match in a bucket of water placed nearby


You are in your garage looking for a screwdriver to fix your skateboard. In a drawer that was left open, you find matches and two lighters. What do you do?

a. Close the drawer and immediately remind an adult that the matches and lighters should be kept out of reach of children.

b. Close the drawer and continue to look for the screwdriver.

c. Take the matches and lighters out of the drawer and put them on a high shelf where your little brother can’t reach them.





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Write the letter of your answer to this dilemma here: _____

Explain your answer. If you chose “d,” describe what you would do:

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

OPTIONAL: Back of Dilemma Cards (copy if desired)

Write the letter of your answer to this dilemma here: _____

Explain your answer. If you chose “d,” describe what you would do:

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________________


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I PLEDGE TO FOLLOW THESE RULES ALWAYS, AND TO BE EXTRA CAREFUL WHEN I AM IN FORESTS.

SIGNED __________________________________________ DATE _____________

Now that you have dealt with a number of situations that could happen any day, you are ready to write a set of rules for matches and lighter safety. Look back at the five dilemmas and your reactions to them. Study the reactions of the fire fighters and fire safety experts, and then write your own set of rules below.

You may be able to write one rule for every story, but it’s up to you.

When you finish your set of safety rules, read the pledge and sign and date it at the bottom. Present the set of signed rules to your parents, teacher, leader, or another adult. Then, as a KEEP OREGON GREEN RANGER, live by the rules!

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My Safety Rulesfor Matches and Lighters



match and lighter safety objective · with matches and lighters are are simply curious about fire,...

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