Reader 1A
www.homesafetyliteracy.org
The Home Safety Literacy Project is supported by the Home Safety Council
along with 2003 and 2004 Fire Prevention and Safety Grant funding through the
U.S. Department of Homeland Security/Office of Domestic Preparedness.
The copyrighting of this publication is not intended to prevent use of the material for
injury prevention purposes. You may freely duplicate the Project materials, including the
addition of your agency logo. Changing the content is not permissible. Please use with
attribution to the Home Safety Literacy Project, Copyright 2006, Home Safety Council.
www.homesafetycouncil.org
Get Out Alive:
Have Smoke Alarms That Work
By Cynthia Nye
Jim says, “Sometimes they make the noise when there is no fire.
Sometimes they make the noise when you cook.
If food spills on the burner, the smoke alarm may make a noise.”
So I won’t put one in the kitchen.
And I won’t put one in the bathroom.
Steam from the shower can make the alarm sound.
Ben asks, “What should I do if the alarm makes the noise while
I am cooking?”
Jim says, “If you know the smoke is from cooking and not from
fire, fan it away.
Fan the smoke away from the alarm.
Use paper or a towel to fan the smoke.
Then open the door or the window. Let the smoke out.
But don’t cover the smoke alarm.
Don’t take the smoke alarm down.
And don’t take the battery out.
Your smoke alarm can save your life.
It will not save your life if it doesn’t work.”
“You’re right,” says Ben. “Thank you, Jim.”
“You’re welcome,” says Jim.
Jim takes his ladder and the box of smoke alarms.
He goes to the next apartment.
Ben goes to his new smoke alarm.
He presses the button.
BEEEEEP! BEEEEEP! BEEEEEEP! …
BEEEEEP! BEEEEEP! BEEEEEEP! …
Ben smiles. He thinks,
“That is a very loud noise!
That noise will wake me up if there is a fire.
Then I can get out. I can get out alive.
It is good to have a smoke alarm that works!”
20
Chapter 1
Get Out Fast
It is the middle of the night.
Ben is sleeping.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Someone bangs on Ben’s door.
A woman yells, “Fire! Fire! Wake up!
Get out! Get out fast!”
Ben wakes up fast.
He goes to the door and opens it.
He sees a firefighter in the hall.
She is banging on another door.
She is yelling,
“Wake up! Get out! Get out fast!
There is a fire!
There is a fire in the building next door!”
Ben gets out fast.
He walks down the hall and out the front door.
1
Ben sees one fire truck in the street.
Another fire truck arrives. It has a loud siren.
When the fire truck stops, the siren stops.
The night is dark, but the fire trucks have lights.
The lights are very bright.
Ben sees firefighters working around the trucks.
Ben is not sure what to do.
He is not sure where to go.
A firefighter sees Ben.
The firefighter says, “Go over there.”
He points across the street.
He says, “That is a safe place to wait.”
Jim talks to Ben while he works.
He tells Ben, “One smoke alarm is enough for your apartment.
Big homes need more alarms.
They need a smoke alarm on each level.
They need a smoke alarm in or near each bedroom.
But your apartment is small.
It is on one level.
Your smoke alarm is in the hall.
And it is near the bedroom.
It is in an open space.
Smoke can get to it.
If there is smoke, the alarm will work.
You will hear it. You will be safe.”
Jim tells Ben more about smoke alarms.
He says, “Smoke alarms make a loud noise.”
Ben walks across the street.
There are a lot of people on the sidewalk.
Some live in Ben’s building.
Some live in buildings near Ben’s building.
Ben stands with the people on the sidewalk.
It is a safe place to wait.
Jim tests the alarm.
He pushes the button.
2
19
Chapter 7
Ben Gets a Smoke Alarm
Chapter 2
Stay Out!
It is one hour after the meeting.
Ben is home.
Jim comes to Ben’s apartment.
He knocks on the door.
Ben looks across the street.
The building next to his building is burning.
Ben sees the fire in the windows on the third floor.
Ben’s friend Kim lives in that building.
She lives on the third floor.
“Please come in,” says Ben.
Jim has a ladder.
He has a big box full of new smoke alarms.
Jim takes out one smoke alarm.
He shows Ben the alarm.
Then Jim goes up the ladder.
He uses tools to install the smoke alarm.
He uses a screwdriver and two screws.
He installs the smoke alarm on the ceiling outside
Ben’s bedroom.
18
Ben thinks, “Is Kim out? Is she safe?”
Ben looks at the crowd on the sidewalk.
He does not see Kim!
Ben gets off the sidewalk.
He wants to find Kim.
Maybe she is still in the building!
3
Linda points to number 2 on the paper.
She tells the tenants, “Keep the alarm clean.
Don’t let dust stay on the alarm.
Don’t let dust get inside the alarm.
The alarm may sound when there is too much dust.
It may sound when there is dust and not smoke.”
Linda points to number 3 on the paper.
She says, “Don’t cover the alarm.
If you paint your wall or ceiling, don’t paint the alarm.
Don’t put tape on the alarm.
Don’t put anything on the alarm.
If you do, the alarm may not work.”
Then Linda says,
“If you don’t have a smoke alarm, we will give you a new one.”
She looks at her partner, Jim.
She says, “Jim will help with the new alarms.
He will install your smoke alarms.
Talk to Jim if you need a new smoke alarm.”
A firefighter stops Ben.
Ben yells, “Let me go in!
I have to find Kim!”
“Where does Kim live?” asks the firefighter.
“She lives on the third floor,” says Ben.
“Let me go in! I have to find her!”
Then Linda says,
“The meeting is over.
If you have questions, please stay and talk. I will answer your
questions.
If you don’t have questions, you can go home.
Thank you for coming tonight.”
“NO!” says the firefighter.
“Stay out! You must wait here!
The firefighters will get the people out.
Let the firefighters work!”
Ben waits on the sidewalk.
Finally, he sees Kim.
He calls to her, “Kim! Kim!”
4
17
Chapter 6
How to Take Care of a Smoke Alarm
Kim gets to Ben. They hug.
Then they wait on the sidewalk together.
Linda says, “You have to take care of your smoke alarm.
There are three important things you have to do.”
Kim tells Ben, “My smoke alarm woke me up.
It saved my life!”
Linda puts a big sheet of paper on the wall.
She reads the words to the tenants.
Linda says, “Let’s talk about these three things.”
She points to number 1 on the paper.
She says, “Make sure the alarm works.
You can test the alarm.
Press the button.
The alarm will make the loud noise.
BEEEEEP! BEEEEEP! BEEEEEEP!…
BEEEEEP! BEEEEEP! BEEEEEEP!…
The alarm is working when it makes this noise.”
16
5
Another woman says,
“I have a smoke alarm, too.
But my smoke alarm does not work.”
Ben says, “I do not have a smoke alarm.”
Linda says, “The Fire Department can help.
We can give you a smoke alarm.
And we can install the smoke alarm for you.”
Linda tells the tenants,
“You can buy smoke alarms, too.
You can put them up.
The alarms come with directions that tell you what to do.”
Chapter 3
Firefighters at Work
The firefighters work hard.
They use big fire hoses to put water on the fire.
She says,
“Smoke alarms can go on the ceiling.
Or they can go on the wall.
But the smoke alarm has to be up high.
It has to be high because smoke goes up.”
Some firefighters get a ladder.
They take it off the fire truck.
They put the ladder on the burning building.
Two firefighters go up the ladder.
They go on the roof.
One firefighter has a chainsaw.
He uses the chainsaw to cut a hole in the roof.
Smoke comes out of the hole.
6
15
The noise tells you there is smoke.
It tells you to get out.
It tells you to get away from the smoke and fire.
It tells you to get your family out.”
Another firefighter goes up a ladder to the third floor.
He breaks a window.
Smoke comes out the window.
Linda tells the tenants,
“The noise will wake you if you are sleeping when a fire starts.
You won’t wake up without the noise.
If you don’t wake up, you will die from smoke.
If you don’t wake up, your family can die, too.”
She says, “You must get under the smoke.
The air is cleaner near the floor.
Crawl or get down low, and get out fast.”
Water goes into the building.
The water comes from the fire hoses outside.
It goes on the fire.
The firefighters put water on Ben’s building, too.
They don’t want the fire to jump to another building.
The firefighters work hard for a long time.
Finally, they put out the fire.
The third floor is black, and the roof is black.
But the fire is over.
Linda asks the tenants, “Do you have smoke alarms in your
apartments?”
One woman says, “I have a smoke alarm.”
14
7
A firefighter comes to the sidewalk.
She tells the crowd, “It is safe now.
Most of you can go home.
But no one can go into the building that burned.
If you live in that building, come with me.
I will help you.”
Ben can go home.
But Kim can’t go home. Her home is gone.
Kim goes with the firefighter.
Kim tells Ben, “Don’t worry.
I will be OK.
I will call you in a few days.”
Chapter 5
Learning About Smoke Alarms
Linda says, “The building that burned had smoke alarms.
All the apartments had smoke alarms.
The smoke alarms worked.
The people got out.
The smoke alarms saved their lives.
Your building has smoke alarms in the halls.
But you need smoke alarms in your apartments, too.”
Linda holds up a smoke alarm.
She says, “This is a smoke alarm.
A smoke alarm can save your life.
It can save you from smoke and fire.”
A man asks, “How does it work?”
Linda says,
“If there is smoke, the alarm makes a loud noise like this:
BEEEEEP! BEEEEEP! BEEEEEP!…
BEEEEEP! BEEEEEP! BEEEEEP!…
8
13
Linda says, “The man did not hear the fire.
The smoke filled his bedroom.
Smoke moves fast. It is silent.
And smoke can kill you.”
Linda tells the people,
“The man didn’t smell the smoke.
But his smoke alarm made a loud noise.
That woke the man.
The smoke made the room very dark.
The man couldn’t see.
The smoke made him cough. It hurt his eyes.
But he found the door.
He got out in time. He got out alive.”
Linda says, “Smoking starts a lot of fires.
If you smoke, you must be careful.
Do not smoke in bed.
Do not smoke when you are sleepy.
Some medicines make you sleepy.
Don’t smoke when you take these medicines.”
Anna says, “Thank you for telling us about the fire.
My sister had a fire in her home.
Her son was playing with matches.
Now she keeps the matches in a box with a lock.
She keeps her candles and lighters there, too.”
Linda says, “That’s good.
We all need to think about how to stop fires
before they start.”
12
Chapter 4
Meeting with the Firefighters
The next day, Ben goes to work.
At 5:00 p.m., he comes home.
At 6:00 p.m., there is a meeting in his building.
The meeting is about the fire.
Ben goes to the meeting.
Seven people are sitting in chairs.
The people live in apartments in Ben’s building.
They are tenants like Ben. Ben sits with them.
Two people are at the front of the room.
One is a man. One is a woman.
They are from the Fire Department.
9
The woman starts the meeting.
“Hello,” she says. “My name is Firefighter Linda King.
And this is my partner, Firefighter Jim Oda.
We are here to help you.
I was here last night. I came to fight the fire.
I woke you and helped you get out.
You got out fast. That was good.”
Linda looks at Fred.
She says, “That is a good question.
The firefighters do this to let the smoke and heat out.
Then the building is safer.
It is safer for the firefighters to work inside.
They can see and breathe easier.
They can find people who need help.”
Fred looks at Linda.
He says, “Thank you. Now I understand.
But it is hard to watch someone make a hole in a new roof.”
Another tenant stands up.
Her name is Anna.
She asks, “How did the fire start?”
Linda tells the tenants about the fire.
She says, “The fire started with a cigarette.
A man was smoking in bed.
He fell asleep. The cigarette fell out of his hand.
It started the fire.”
One of the tenants stands up.
His name is Fred, and he is angry.
He yells, “The firefighters broke the windows in the building!
They made a hole in the roof!
That is my friend’s building.
The roof is new. It cost a lot of money.
Why did they do that?”
10
11
The woman starts the meeting.
“Hello,” she says. “My name is Firefighter Linda King.
And this is my partner, Firefighter Jim Oda.
We are here to help you.
I was here last night. I came to fight the fire.
I woke you and helped you get out.
You got out fast. That was good.”
Linda looks at Fred.
She says, “That is a good question.
The firefighters do this to let the smoke and heat out.
Then the building is safer.
It is safer for the firefighters to work inside.
They can see and breathe easier.
They can find people who need help.”
Fred looks at Linda.
He says, “Thank you. Now I understand.
But it is hard to watch someone make a hole in a new roof.”
Another tenant stands up.
Her name is Anna.
She asks, “How did the fire start?”
Linda tells the tenants about the fire.
She says, “The fire started with a cigarette.
A man was smoking in bed.
He fell asleep. The cigarette fell out of his hand.
It started the fire.”
One of the tenants stands up.
His name is Fred, and he is angry.
He yells, “The firefighters broke the windows in the building!
They made a hole in the roof!
That is my friend’s building.
The roof is new. It cost a lot of money.
Why did they do that?”
10
11
Linda says, “The man did not hear the fire.
The smoke filled his bedroom.
Smoke moves fast. It is silent.
And smoke can kill you.”
Linda tells the people,
“The man didn’t smell the smoke.
But his smoke alarm made a loud noise.
That woke the man.
The smoke made the room very dark.
The man couldn’t see.
The smoke made him cough. It hurt his eyes.
But he found the door.
He got out in time. He got out alive.”
Linda says, “Smoking starts a lot of fires.
If you smoke, you must be careful.
Do not smoke in bed.
Do not smoke when you are sleepy.
Some medicines make you sleepy.
Don’t smoke when you take these medicines.”
Anna says, “Thank you for telling us about the fire.
My sister had a fire in her home.
Her son was playing with matches.
Now she keeps the matches in a box with a lock.
She keeps her candles and lighters there, too.”
Linda says, “That’s good.
We all need to think about how to stop fires
before they start.”
12
Chapter 4
Meeting with the Firefighters
The next day, Ben goes to work.
At 5:00 p.m., he comes home.
At 6:00 p.m., there is a meeting in his building.
The meeting is about the fire.
Ben goes to the meeting.
Seven people are sitting in chairs.
The people live in apartments in Ben’s building.
They are tenants like Ben. Ben sits with them.
Two people are at the front of the room.
One is a man. One is a woman.
They are from the Fire Department.
9
A firefighter comes to the sidewalk.
She tells the crowd, “It is safe now.
Most of you can go home.
But no one can go into the building that burned.
If you live in that building, come with me.
I will help you.”
Ben can go home.
But Kim can’t go home. Her home is gone.
Kim goes with the firefighter.
Kim tells Ben, “Don’t worry.
I will be OK.
I will call you in a few days.”
Chapter 5
Learning About Smoke Alarms
Linda says, “The building that burned had smoke alarms.
All the apartments had smoke alarms.
The smoke alarms worked.
The people got out.
The smoke alarms saved their lives.
Your building has smoke alarms in the halls.
But you need smoke alarms in your apartments, too.”
Linda holds up a smoke alarm.
She says, “This is a smoke alarm.
A smoke alarm can save your life.
It can save you from smoke and fire.”
A man asks, “How does it work?”
Linda says,
“If there is smoke, the alarm makes a loud noise like this:
BEEEEEP! BEEEEEP! BEEEEEP!…
BEEEEEP! BEEEEEP! BEEEEEP!…
8
13
The noise tells you there is smoke.
It tells you to get out.
It tells you to get away from the smoke and fire.
It tells you to get your family out.”
Another firefighter goes up a ladder to the third floor.
He breaks a window.
Smoke comes out the window.
Linda tells the tenants,
“The noise will wake you if you are sleeping when a fire starts.
You won’t wake up without the noise.
If you don’t wake up, you will die from smoke.
If you don’t wake up, your family can die, too.”
She says, “You must get under the smoke.
The air is cleaner near the floor.
Crawl or get down low, and get out fast.”
Water goes into the building.
The water comes from the fire hoses outside.
It goes on the fire.
The firefighters put water on Ben’s building, too.
They don’t want the fire to jump to another building.
The firefighters work hard for a long time.
Finally, they put out the fire.
The third floor is black, and the roof is black.
But the fire is over.
Linda asks the tenants, “Do you have smoke alarms in your
apartments?”
One woman says, “I have a smoke alarm.”
14
7
Another woman says,
“I have a smoke alarm, too.
But my smoke alarm does not work.”
Ben says, “I do not have a smoke alarm.”
Linda says, “The Fire Department can help.
We can give you a smoke alarm.
And we can install the smoke alarm for you.”
Linda tells the tenants,
“You can buy smoke alarms, too.
You can put them up.
The alarms come with directions that tell you what to do.”
Chapter 3
Firefighters at Work
The firefighters work hard.
They use big fire hoses to put water on the fire.
She says,
“Smoke alarms can go on the ceiling.
Or they can go on the wall.
But the smoke alarm has to be up high.
It has to be high because smoke goes up.”
Some firefighters get a ladder.
They take it off the fire truck.
They put the ladder on the burning building.
Two firefighters go up the ladder.
They go on the roof.
One firefighter has a chainsaw.
He uses the chainsaw to cut a hole in the roof.
Smoke comes out of the hole.
6
15
Chapter 6
How to Take Care of a Smoke Alarm
Kim gets to Ben. They hug.
Then they wait on the sidewalk together.
Linda says, “You have to take care of your smoke alarm.
There are three important things you have to do.”
Kim tells Ben, “My smoke alarm woke me up.
It saved my life!”
Linda puts a big sheet of paper on the wall.
She reads the words to the tenants.
Linda says, “Let’s talk about these three things.”
She points to number 1 on the paper.
She says, “Make sure the alarm works.
You can test the alarm.
Press the button.
The alarm will make the loud noise.
BEEEEEP! BEEEEEP! BEEEEEEP!…
BEEEEEP! BEEEEEP! BEEEEEEP!…
The alarm is working when it makes this noise.”
16
5
Linda points to number 2 on the paper.
She tells the tenants, “Keep the alarm clean.
Don’t let dust stay on the alarm.
Don’t let dust get inside the alarm.
The alarm may sound when there is too much dust.
It may sound when there is dust and not smoke.”
Linda points to number 3 on the paper.
She says, “Don’t cover the alarm.
If you paint your wall or ceiling, don’t paint the alarm.
Don’t put tape on the alarm.
Don’t put anything on the alarm.
If you do, the alarm may not work.”
Then Linda says,
“If you don’t have a smoke alarm, we will give you a new one.”
She looks at her partner, Jim.
She says, “Jim will help with the new alarms.
He will install your smoke alarms.
Talk to Jim if you need a new smoke alarm.”
A firefighter stops Ben.
Ben yells, “Let me go in!
I have to find Kim!”
“Where does Kim live?” asks the firefighter.
“She lives on the third floor,” says Ben.
“Let me go in! I have to find her!”
Then Linda says,
“The meeting is over.
If you have questions, please stay and talk. I will answer your
questions.
If you don’t have questions, you can go home.
Thank you for coming tonight.”
“NO!” says the firefighter.
“Stay out! You must wait here!
The firefighters will get the people out.
Let the firefighters work!”
Ben waits on the sidewalk.
Finally, he sees Kim.
He calls to her, “Kim! Kim!”
4
17
Chapter 7
Ben Gets a Smoke Alarm
Chapter 2
Stay Out!
It is one hour after the meeting.
Ben is home.
Jim comes to Ben’s apartment.
He knocks on the door.
Ben looks across the street.
The building next to his building is burning.
Ben sees the fire in the windows on the third floor.
Ben’s friend Kim lives in that building.
She lives on the third floor.
“Please come in,” says Ben.
Jim has a ladder.
He has a big box full of new smoke alarms.
Jim takes out one smoke alarm.
He shows Ben the alarm.
Then Jim goes up the ladder.
He uses tools to install the smoke alarm.
He uses a screwdriver and two screws.
He installs the smoke alarm on the ceiling outside
Ben’s bedroom.
18
Ben thinks, “Is Kim out? Is she safe?”
Ben looks at the crowd on the sidewalk.
He does not see Kim!
Ben gets off the sidewalk.
He wants to find Kim.
Maybe she is still in the building!
3
Ben sees one fire truck in the street.
Another fire truck arrives. It has a loud siren.
When the fire truck stops, the siren stops.
The night is dark, but the fire trucks have lights.
The lights are very bright.
Ben sees firefighters working around the trucks.
Ben is not sure what to do.
He is not sure where to go.
A firefighter sees Ben.
The firefighter says, “Go over there.”
He points across the street.
He says, “That is a safe place to wait.”
Jim talks to Ben while he works.
He tells Ben, “One smoke alarm is enough for your apartment.
Big homes need more alarms.
They need a smoke alarm on each level.
They need a smoke alarm in or near each bedroom.
But your apartment is small.
It is on one level.
Your smoke alarm is in the hall.
And it is near the bedroom.
It is in an open space.
Smoke can get to it.
If there is smoke, the alarm will work.
You will hear it. You will be safe.”
Jim tells Ben more about smoke alarms.
He says, “Smoke alarms make a loud noise.”
Ben walks across the street.
There are a lot of people on the sidewalk.
Some live in Ben’s building.
Some live in buildings near Ben’s building.
Ben stands with the people on the sidewalk.
It is a safe place to wait.
Jim tests the alarm.
He pushes the button.
2
19
Jim says, “Sometimes they make the noise when there is no fire.
Sometimes they make the noise when you cook.
If food spills on the burner, the smoke alarm may make a noise.”
So I won’t put one in the kitchen.
And I won’t put one in the bathroom.
Steam from the shower can make the alarm sound.
Ben asks, “What should I do if the alarm makes the noise while
I am cooking?”
Jim says, “If you know the smoke is from cooking and not from
fire, fan it away.
Fan the smoke away from the alarm.
Use paper or a towel to fan the smoke.
Then open the door or the window. Let the smoke out.
But don’t cover the smoke alarm.
Don’t take the smoke alarm down.
And don’t take the battery out.
Your smoke alarm can save your life.
It will not save your life if it doesn’t work.”
“You’re right,” says Ben. “Thank you, Jim.”
“You’re welcome,” says Jim.
Jim takes his ladder and the box of smoke alarms.
He goes to the next apartment.
Ben goes to his new smoke alarm.
He presses the button.
BEEEEEP! BEEEEEP! BEEEEEEP! …
BEEEEEP! BEEEEEP! BEEEEEEP! …
Ben smiles. He thinks,
“That is a very loud noise!
That noise will wake me up if there is a fire.
Then I can get out. I can get out alive.
It is good to have a smoke alarm that works!”
20
Chapter 1
Get Out Fast
It is the middle of the night.
Ben is sleeping.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Someone bangs on Ben’s door.
A woman yells, “Fire! Fire! Wake up!
Get out! Get out fast!”
Ben wakes up fast.
He goes to the door and opens it.
He sees a firefighter in the hall.
She is banging on another door.
She is yelling,
“Wake up! Get out! Get out fast!
There is a fire!
There is a fire in the building next door!”
Ben gets out fast.
He walks down the hall and out the front door.
1
Reader 1A
www.homesafetyliteracy.org
The Home Safety Literacy Project is supported by the Home Safety Council
along with 2003 and 2004 Fire Prevention and Safety Grant funding through the
U.S. Department of Homeland Security/Office of Domestic Preparedness.
The copyrighting of this publication is not intended to prevent use of the material for
injury prevention purposes. You may freely duplicate the Project materials, including the
addition of your agency logo. Changing the content is not permissible. Please use with
attribution to the Home Safety Literacy Project, Copyright 2006, Home Safety Council.
www.homesafetycouncil.org
Get Out Alive:
Have Smoke Alarms That Work
By Cynthia Nye