Introduction
Parents and society at large must ensure that children of all ages are protected from fire and related accidents. Children’s safety is an important feature of family wellbeing. Therefore equipment that exposes children to risks of fire like loaded matchboxes which are accessible to them or openly burning fires like those used to burn litter and garbage increase the chances of starting a fire and hence putting children at risk. Such things therefore should be handled carefully and put away from young children. Open fires like those of burning garbage should have adult supervision or be put out so that children can not find and play with them.
Body
At residential places, children can play with electrical plugs, matches as well as naked flames. The Government Firework Code should act as a guide to parents as they endeavor to keep homes and schools a safe place for young children. Educative resources on fire safety for children at school and residential places include worksheets, interviews, interactive actions, and pictures to paint for small children.
A larger section of Houston is found on the coastal plains of the gulf which favors forests and grasslands of temperate vegetation. The city is mainly flat and this is an explanation for frequent floods that affect the city during rainy seasons. Before the city was built, the area the city seats on used to be occupied by quagmires, forest land, marshland, and pampas. The city has an altitude of fifteen meters above the level of the sea and depends on lakes; Houston, Livingstone, and Conroe as the main sources of water.
Although Houston is the main city and capital of Texas, most of its fire safety measures are basic and mainly focus on business premises and general commercial buildings like banks, companies, hotels, and so on. Few entrepreneurs have ventured into fire safety for children because the returns from this venture are not as lucrative as those of related businesses (Gotham, 2004).
Houston is a metropolitan city and people from all backgrounds of the world live together. Its economy greatly relies on the numerous academic institutions which exist in the city, powerful manufacturing industries, and the port. A big percentage of Houstonians are young people with children and hence the focus of this project. The 2010 census report indicated that Houston had a population of 2,099,451 people living in an area of about seventeen hundred kilometers square. The majority of its citizens are of the middle class with an estimated income of dollars; thirty-seven thousand and forty thousand for household and family respectively.
More men than women are in business and employment and the disparity between the incomes of the two genders is five thousand dollars. A smaller segment (about nineteen percent) is reported to be living below the poverty line according to the USA census bureau. Reports by percentage indicate that the whites are the majority being 51 percent of the total population of Houston. Other races make up 26 percent, 24 percent, and 0.7 percent for non-Hispanic whites, blacks (African American), and American Indians respectively. Houston has attracted numerous immigrants who are estimated to be about four hundred thousand. Many of them have come to work in various economic sectors of Houston while a bigger percentage is there to learn in numerous academic institutions present in the city.
Ethnically, almost all the races of the world are represented in Houston. Whites, black Americans, Indians, Vietnamese, Chinese, Indians, Pakistani, Filipino, Korean, Japanese, and so on life together. However, a large percentage (about 44%) have their origin from Latino, about 32 % originate from Mexico among other numerous groups with diverse origin.
The population is made up of mainly middle-class people mostly working in the main industries of Houston (financial, service, and manufacturing industries); others work in numerous academic institutions that are present in the city.
The above demographic report indicates that most families in Houston have young children whose safety is a concern to both their parents and the federal government. Most of the time, these children are with their teachers at school or with their parents at home. Protective measures should therefore be implemented at school and home. The main focus of the project is therefore to carry out a lot of awareness on child protection against fire-related accidents as well as publicize available organizations which are involved in child protection.
The first protective measure is to prevent the fire from occurring. At home, it is a little bit easier to keep children from fire-related accidents especially if there is a responsible adult who stays with them. Basic preventative measures include putting off unused flames as well as ensuring that children are kept away from burning flames. The risk of getting burnt however is higher in toddlers and infants around the age of two years who are at an explorative stage of their childhood. It is also important to put out fires outside the house especially in places where children can reach them (Johnston, 1991).
Schools are riskier than homes and therefore utmost attention should be given to ensure that children in school especially those boarding do not fall victims to a fire outbreak. Schools should always have fire fighting equipment and teachers, subordinate/support staff and parents should be taught how to use this equipment and other fire fighting skills. Older children should be taught how to escape whenever a fire breaks out both at school and home.
Fundamentally, parents and teachers should know potentially hazardous places both at school and home and should put measures in place to prevent fire from erupting in such places. In addition, it is recommended to confirm that home’s/ school’s electrical connections, electrical appliances and cords are in good condition. Do not overuse extension cords and always use correct voltage bulbs. Repairs and replacements of electrical devices should be done by an expert especially those that are overheated, produce abnormal smells as well as those that remove sparks (Bernard, 2007).
Children should be supervised while completing assignments that require the application of electricity and those intending to use pieces of equipment in the kitchen. It is also important to ensure that lamps and bulbs do not reach drapes, bed covers, and other fabrics in sleeping rooms.
Conclusion
Conclusively, parents, teachers, and guardians should be educated on how to protect children from fire-related accidents both at home and school. They should also be taught basic fire management skills so that whenever an instance of fire outbreak occurs they should know how to appropriately respond to it as emergency firefighters are called to rescue and mitigate the effects of a fire outbreak.
Reference list
Bernard, K. (2007). Structural Fighting: Strategies and Tactics. New York City: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.
Gotham, E.T. (2004). Sabine Pass: the Confederacy’s Thermopylelae. Austin, Texas: University Of Texas Press.
Johnston, M. (1991). Houston, the Unknown City, 1836-1946. Texas: Texas University Press.