Fire drills are an essential part of any workplace, school, or community setting. They are necessary to ensure that everyone knows what to do in case of a fire and can evacuate safely. However, fire drills can be stressful or feel chaotic, especially for students with special needs.
Try teaching your students a few basic rules to follow when going through a fire drill:
- Listen for directions: Fire alarms can be loud! Covering your ears with your hands or headphones is okay as long as you can still hear directions from your teacher.
- Line up quickly and quietly: When you hear the alarm, leave everything at your desk or wherever you are and line up with your classmates quickly and quietly so you can leave the building. And remain quiet so that you can hear other instructions.
- Walk carefully: Even though you want to move quickly, you should still be sure to walk, not run! This will keep everyone safe and help the evacuation run smoothly.
- Go to your assigned place: Your teacher will know where your class should meet during a fire drill. Make sure you know where to go and follow your classmates there!
- Stay with your class: Make sure you stay with your classmates in your assigned location. Your teacher will check to ensure everyone in the class is there, if you aren’t with your group, your teacher will need to search for you.
- Wait for the signal: When the building has been secured and it is safe to return inside, your teacher will give you a signal that you can follow along with. Wait for that signal before returning inside the building.
Teaching your students these basic rules as well as social skills such as communication, teamwork, and adaptability can help everyone stay safe and practice fire drills efficiently and minimize disruptions!
By working together and staying focused, we can all ensure that we are prepared in case of an emergency.
Are you looking for resources to help you teach your child or student the necessary social skills to handle fire drills with ease? We’ve prepared PowerPoint presentations along with activity worksheets, homework assignments, and more resources to help you support students in learning self-advocacy.
Author: Abby Martello, M.Ed.
Social Skills Power Point Presentations:
I Can Handle Fire Drills Facilitator’s Guide
I Can Handle Fire Drills PowerPoint Presentation
Social Skills Resource Materials:
I Can Handle Fire Drills Magnet Cards
I Can Handle Fire Drills Outline
I Can Handle Fire Drills Parent Note
I Can Handle Fire Drills Teacher Note