The ‘What’s Hot? What’s Not?’ activities give preschool educators a practical way to teach young children about hot objects, burns, matches, lighters and safe choices. Alongside firefighter helper lessons, smoke alarm practice, exit signs and home fire escape mapping, the guide is aimed at early years fire safety teaching for children aged 3 to 5 in classrooms, nurseries and community safety sessions.
Use it to plan a preschool fire safety lesson, support a classroom safety week, or add Sesame Street songs and stories to everyday early years routines. The material is designed for educators working with young children, especially nursery staff, preschool teachers, childminders and fire safety visitors supporting families.
Content is organised into four main sections: firefighters as special helpers, hot and not hot items, smoke alarm safety, and making a fire escape map. Each area includes child-friendly messages such as ‘Smoke alarms go BEEP, BEEP, BEEP’, ‘Hot, hot, stay away’, ‘Get outside and stay outside’, and ‘Exit is the way out’.
Activities include read-aloud stories, play and practice sessions, songs, chants, a class trip idea for visiting a fire station, family newsletters and checklists. The printable materials listed include puppet patterns, colouring pages, a smoke alarm activity, a low-crawl maze, exit finders, a home fire escape map and a certificate of participation.
Teachers can use the guide to introduce fire safety vocabulary, practise emergency routines, rehearse safe meeting places and involve parents or carers in home fire escape planning. Prepared for FEMA’s U.S. Fire Administration with expert guidance from Sesame Workshop, it combines familiar characters with clear fire prevention and burn safety messages for young children.
