San Francisco Firefighters in Safety Education

Each point in the SFFISE cirriculum targets a danger related to scalds, fires, smoke inhalation and playing with matches or lighters. In the event of a fire, children are the most vulnerable members of a household. A contributing cause of death to children in home fires is a child’s unfamiliarity with the appearance of firefighters in their turnout uniforms and with full fire gear. Commonly, children hide from his or her rescuers in a closet or under a bed, with a serious risk of succumbing to smoke inhalation.  One goal of the SFFISE program is to familiarize children with their local firefighters, their job duties, and what they look like when they arrive at a fire. SFFISE volunteers facilitate presentations in uniform, but also don and doff firefighting gear, introducing the equipment they wear and explaining its use when fighting fires.