Carlow County Fire and Rescue Service Primary Schools Programme seeks to educate primary school children about Fire Safety in the home. It was researched and developed as part of the Community Fire Safety pillar of the Fire Services Change Programme 2005 – 2007 and was first rolled out during the 2006/2007 school year.
The programme is designed to teach children about the dangers of fire, smoke alarms, and how to use a simple home safety check. As a result of the programme, approximately 56,000 children nationally (approximately 1100 in Carlow) are being educated about fire safety each year and they in turn are expected to convey the message to their families.
The programme is delivered by local firefighters to third class primary school students (8-9yr olds). The programme was originally devised by the Northern Ireland Fire Service (and adopted by NDFEM) based on evidence that the particular message in this format to this age group was most effective.
The primary schools programme involves two firefighters attending each school on their station ground area and presenting an approximately 1hr fire safety lesson using props and prompts. This is an interactive lesson with ‘homework’ involving a basic home fire safety check.