Sunday, January 24, 2010

Sparkles the Fire Safety Dog

*****I forgot to write that I'd choose the 2 winners on Friday, Jan. 29th*****



Tango (Sparkles the Fire Safety Dog's friend) along with fire safety items from Firefighter Dayna and First Alert.

I know a lot of my readers have young children. Did you know that the very young (those under five) have a much greater risk of fire related deaths than other children? The group accounts for 11% of fire-related deaths~ the highest population for any age group (United States Fire Administration is the source). Scary, isn't it?

Firefighter Dayna Hilton has written a fire safety book for children and my readers will have the opportunity to win a special edition copy of the book and audio book, Sparkles the Fire Safety Dog. These limited edition copies will be signed by Author Firefighter Dayna Hilton and her son, Michael, who is also featured in the book. In addition, copies of the book will be “pawed” by Sparkles the Fire Safety Dog!

Firefighter and nationally recognized fire safety expert, Dayna Hilton, known as “Firefighter Dayna” to millions of children and their caregivers, is the author of this critically acclaimed award-winning children’s book. The book has been credited with saving several lives. Inspired by her work as a firefighter and her four-legged friend, Sparkles, Firefighter Dayna created a heart-warming story about Sparkles. As children learn of the adventures of Sparkles the Fire Safety Dog, they learn valuable fire safety tips enabling them and their families to keep fire safe. These tips include recognizing the firefighter as a helper and a friend, knowing the sound and purpose of a smoke alarm, learning how to crawl low under smoke, and understanding the importance of practicing a home fire drill using an escape map.

Two winners will each also receive several life saving products from Firefighter Dayna and First Alert, including a combination smoke and carbon monoxide alarm, Tundra™ Fire Extinguishing Spray and escape ladder. This prize package is worth over $100! To enter the contest, simply share what you do to help keep you and your family fire safe. And check out Sparkles the Fire Safety Dog's website for more helpful information, tips, videos, activity sheet, and photos HERE!

62 comments:

Laura G said...

At the urging of my 8 year old, I now take my cell phone to bed w/ me, so we have a phone in bedroom in case of emergency. I also review our escape plan w/ my kids every few months, and reassure them that we live near fire station so would quickly receive help. (I have one child who's anxious about the risk of fire, so these reviews help)
Would love this package, esp. to help my littlest understand!
Laura
sewwhatwinnetka(at)comcast.net

Quality Chick said...

Great giveaway! In my household my son is obsessed with fire alarms and loves to find them wherever he goes. It gives us lots of opportunities to discuss fire safety, over and over and over, in all locations not just home.

Lynn J. said...

Is this where I admit I've not done much to teach my 5 year old about fire safety? We've read one book and talked about the masks firefighters wear...not enough, now that I'm aware of it I'll do more. Thanks!

Amanda H said...

Hi Dawn!

I would love to win this!!

Unknown said...

I clean my dryer lint out regularly so that doesn't catch on fire and also have the furnace checked and cleaned every fall.

Robin said...

We have interconnected smoke detectors, and my son knows where to meet us in case of fire--out back by the swingsets. He knows not to go back in the house either.

Missy Johnson said...

My girls are 5 and 3 so in my house once a month we test the alarm and practice what to do if the alarm goes off. We practice getting down on the floor and crawling to the door. We did put the tot finder stickers on their bedroom doors for the firemen just in case also. I would love to get the Sparkles the fire safety dog book and other items. Thanks

Anonymous said...

We change our batteries in the smoke/carbon monoxide detectors when we spring forward and fall back. We also try to remind ourselves what we should do and where we need to meet if there is a fire. I have to tell you it would be great to have the ladder for my sons room, he has a long jump to concrete if he couldn't get out of his room. Thanks for the chance Dawn!
Angie

Ashley said...

Ever since we moved into a 2 story house my daughter has periodically worried about "what if there's a fire?". We'd LOVE to receive the gift pack, especially for the ladder.

Juliana said...

We check the batteries in the smoke detector often. We just moved into a house, and the first thing we did was check the smoke detectors and make sure there were enough.

Kara said...

I've been meaning to have a lesson with my little boys about fires and what to do in an emergency, but keep forgetting. One of my biggest fears is something happening to my kids. All our bedrooms are upstairs and we sleep with the door closed so I'm always afraid that if our house caught fire I wouldn't realize it until too late (which is actually pretty silly since every tiny thing wakes me up lol). I've actually wanted an escape ladder just because our rooms are all upstairs, and a book like that would make it easier to help my kids understand fire safety.

Tammy said...

I rarely burn candles anymore. Only in the kitchen when I'm cooking, really. Before kids I burned them daily.

Grammy Jackie said...

This is such a wonderful giveaway! Very important stuff. With all my grandkids living with me I have seen this on Sprout! I would love to win this!

Blended said...

omg I so want this. My hubby is a fireman. We have a fire plan and the kids know it but I am afraid that if it doesn't work then I need a ladder like that for the kids....We are not too high up but my boys window is right by our drive way. So my 5yr old and 2 yr old would be jump on to cement! Hubby and I looked at one over the weekend but I would love to win this!

Unknown said...

Dh and I volunteer in our local fire dept.

Tina said...

I have 4 kids in the 0-5 range and their windows are too far off the ground to climb out of. The ladder is great!!

We are very picky about keeping the batteries in our smoke detectors fresh. To me, with such young children who can't really understand the ins and outs of fire safety, that to me is one of the best things we can do to keep them safe!

Unknown said...

Growing up in the and of wildfires, mudslides, floods, and earthquakes (aka as southern california) fire and earthquake safety become ingrained in your head. Although my daughter isn't a year old, as soon as we moved to our new house I made my husand practice fire drills with our daughter in different rooms (sleeping at night, playing in the play room, eating lunch, etc). I also religiously check the smoke alarms. Plus we have a 30 second box (items to save if you only have 30 seconds to get out, insurance info, precious family photos, passports, etc) and a 5 minute box. Oh! and always a flashlight and pair of shoes by the bed.

Lisa said...

What a great give away! I keep meaning to get emergency ladders for the bedrooms on the second floor. I forget that I want to do that, then few months later I remember again. It doesn't help that my husband doesn't seem concerned at all about how we would get out of the house in a fire. Maybe he thinks if he ignores it, it won't happen. Hopefully that is the case, but in the mean time, I guess I will have to be the one to prepare us.

Nikki said...

We talk talk talk so it's really in the children's brain. This is a great give away.

Jayne V. said...

Our kids school has been great about introducing fire safety to the kids and encouraging our family to create an escape plan and a meeting place. Both my little ones know to stay low and meet at our neighbors' house if ever there's a fire.

Kaye said...

I'm ashamed to admit that we don't do enough. We've discussed what the smoke alarms are and what it means when they are going off, but have hesitated to tell our son to try to get out of the house from his 2nd story room (our room is on the 1st floor) because I'm afraid he'll try to find us, get trapped somewhere else and we won't know where to find him! So we've told him to stay put and we or the firefighters would come get him. That terrifies me though.

I would love to get this so we do have a good means for him to get out if needed.

Garth and Becky said...

We check the batteries on our smoke detectors, talk about an escape route, and what to do if a fire occurs in the middle of the night.

Unknown said...

Hi! We go yearly to our volunteer fire department for first aid and fire safety seminars. It's been really helpful, tho not always kid friendly. My kids know what noise the fire alarm makes and we have an escape plan to get out safely. Sure helps you sleep better at night knowing you have a plan for everything that could go wrong. Speaking of, we also have a terrorist plan, a nuclear war plan, and tornado plan. Uh I might be a little paranoid lol but better safe than sorry right? Right?!

Shane said...

We heat with wood, so not only do we check our smoke detectors regularly, but we keep our carbon monoxide detector up to date and check it. I also check the furnace and the woodstove regularly to make sure there are no dangers of fire from bad ventilation

KimH in GA said...

We have smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors on both floors and I change batteries with the time change. We have two fire extinguishers and the 6 years old (this is good & bad) knows to dial 911 (decided to give it a test run 2 years ago...police not happy neither was I)...Could really use the ladder especially.

Syar said...

I'm manic about checking that the dryer is off before we leave the house. We picked our two story house because it had 2 staircases to escape from if there was a fire. WE have smoke detectors in every single room upstairs as well.

Sharon said...

CHECK SMOKE DETECTORS NOW---they do save lives.
Also, if you move but keep your same landline phone number--notify your local emergency response team. Three months after moving into our new home, we had a furnace fire. When 911 was activated, they had our old phone # still associated with present address. Lucky the dispatcher was confirming the address with me so fire and rescue were able to respond rapidly.

Mommy La said...

my kids are still small (2 and 1) but we check our fire alarms every month. We have electric alarms. We also remove the dryer lint. We remind the 2yr old about never ever putting things near the heater and showing him that its hot.

this is a great package

Jen said...

What a great giveaway! We have an escape plan that we go over every 6 months or so. We also constantly remind the kids (ages 6 and 4) that if they ever hear the smoke alarm it means we have to get out of the house quick (unless it's from cornmeal burning in the oven - which happens every time I bake bread or pizza).

Anonymous said...

I have taken and recommend the NIFAST on-line Residential Fire Safety Course. Find out more at http://www.nifast.org/homeoccupancy.php

Nina said...

I've talked to my son about fire safety. we do get low and go and we review it pretty frequently. I've worked out a safety plan in our house (our bedrooms are in the basement so that concerns me sometimes), make sure I always have towels to wet available in the bathroom, have enough fire detectors and test them frequently to make sure they are working.

Firefighter Dayna Hilton said...

Sparkles the Fire Safety Dog and I are feeling very generous today and since we like Dawn's blog and her readers so much, we are also going to throw in a battery operated talking combination smoke alarm and carbon monoxide detector from First Alert, worth over $60! The voice alarm is really easy to program even notifies you which hazard is being sensed.

How cool is that? Over $160 in fire safety goods for each of two of Dawn's lucky readers.

Sparkles and I love reading how you are keeping your family safe : )

Stay safe!

Firefighter Dayna and Sparkles the Fire Safety Dog

~Jenn said...

Every January and June we change the smoke detector batteries, and in January we recharge our fire extinguishers. We also practice our earthquake drill and a fire drill.

Crystal said...

We test our smoke alarms routinely. we also talk about fire escape plans and do fire drills every few months.

Michelle said...

We talk through what to do in a fire. And yesterday, I asked the perhaps mundane but oh so scary question of "Mommy, would I save my money if our house was on fire?" EGADS NO!

SisterhoodoftheTravelingStamps said...

We teach our daughter not to throw anything in the kitchen area. That way if the stove is on, the item won't land on it, preventing a potential fire. She's 2 1/2, so we'll teach her more and more fire safety as she gets older. We have smoke detectors and CO2 detectors as well.

Rox said...

Would love to win this! Thanks!

Wendi B. said...

We check our fire alarms regularly and talk about how firefighters and all emergency responders are safe people and will help. All of the goodies will sure help DS understand better and be better prepared. Thanks!

Tiesha G said...

Yeah my kids have given me the good ol' "What if the house catches on fire?" excuse not to sleep upstairs in their bed. So I made sure they were aware of the smoke detector. Now it's "What if the batteries go dead or I don't hear it?" Carbon monoxide poisoning is a justifiable fear of mine, so this would be great!

jackie r. said...

I have 7 kids, please pick me. I worry so much about fires and being able to get all of them out of the house. Thank you for the link to the website.

kiki H said...

We have smoke detectors and a fire extinguisher. I would love to have 1 of these kits because I don't feel like we are really prepared.

Cristen said...

We have smoke detectors 8 total in the house that is only 1800 sq. ft. We just talked about how to get out and where to meet. We have a 8 year old in the basement and a 1 year old up stairs with us... we have a plan!!

Janet said...

I would love to win this! I've been meaning to look into getting a ladder for the boys bedrooms in this new house. Our old house had pretty good access to outside from the 2nd story, but this one does not. Thanks for the review, it's a great reminder to go over the fire plan with the boys.

Bonnie said...

We have smoke alarms in the bedrooms and we have a fire plan where everyone knows where to go once they get out of the house to meet up with the others. My 7yr has been told if his daddy and I aren't out side to honk the horn to get the attention of the neighbors and to call 911 from the cell that is left in the car.

Betsy M said...

My 3 1/2 year old, Pete, is in a wonderful home day care that has regular fire drills and reinforces fire safety skills - we talk about this often. This would be wonderful for us!

Roger Miller said...

What a fantastic giveaway! It's such a vital thing to be teaching and reminding our children - not to the scary point, but to a level of comfort if this sad situation should ever arise.

Anonymous said...

My daughter would so love this, with 3 older brothers she tends to be a tom-boy :)

Bonnie said...

I would love to win this! With a 2 story house the ladder would come in handy!

Dawn said...

Would love to have the ladder. My son, when much younger leaned against his screen and fell 2 stories onto his back. Thank God, no injuries! Just scared. He's a mite bigger now, and would undoubtedly not 'bounce' as well. A ladder would be awesome. We already have the interconnected smoke detectors with battery back up, and 3 extinguishers. Hmm, need to check and possibly recharge them...

Dawn in MI

Amy Lynn said...

I worry about fire safety and have a couple of alarms; one on each end of our one story home. But the thing that really freaks me out is carbon monoxide poisoning. I heard about that family last week that just thought they had the flu but really they all almost died because of carbon monoxide poisoning! So scary!
I'd love to win this and help my little daughters understand more about fire safety and what to do in a dangerous situation.
Thanks Dawn.

Amanda E.

Unknown said...

we change our alarm batteries when they beep at us. We've discussed the fire ladder, because all our bedrooms are on the second floor. But, this is a good reminder to write down a real plan and practice with the kids.

Prudence said...

I change the batteries in our smoke detectors when we reset the clocks, never leave a room w/ a candle lit and always make sure iron, coffee maker, toaster & other appliances of that ilk are unplugged when not in use. Thanks!g

Karen Troncale said...

As a mother, grandmother, and teacher I applaud you for letting people share how they keep their families safe. Also, I think it's wonderful that you are having this contest. I love contests! I would like to share another contest with you: http://kidlit.com/kidlit-contest.

The Sadler Family said...

We talk with our 4 year old about:
1. Knowing how & why to call 911 & knowing our address.
2. Have an escape plan / practice it with the alarm chirping.
3. Never go back in the house after we go to our meeting spot if there's a fire. Leave your toys.
4. Keep towels and papers away from the stove and toaster.
5. Feeling a closed door before opening it with the back of our hand if the smoke alarm is beeping.
6. Staying low / on hands and knees/going backwards down stairs and feeling along the wall to exit the house.

Cropaddict said...

We have regular fire drills in the home and discuss where to meet outside. My daughter is in a wheelchair, so we have a specially made "mat" that she can be strapped onto and pulled out of the house if she is not in the wheelchair. We have both smoke and carbon dioxide detectors as well as some old fire extinguishers. We unplug all small appliances as a fireman once told me that they cause most fires.

Anonymous said...

We just recently installed all new smoke detectors(the smoke and smoldering fire detector kind) in our house. We had a whole house unit that had malfunctioned about a year ago and I thought that my husband had fixed it but instead he shut the whole thing off! Thank God we did not have a fire during those months! I would love a ladder to use if the unthinkable would happen. We had a neighbor's house burn down a year and a half ago and we have had lots of discussions with our children through that experience. He got out okay but only because his dog woke him.

Rebecca M. said...

With 4 children, we are always mindful of fire hazzards in our home. We have had "fire drills" in our home, and we take precautions to prevent fires as well. We also make sure that our stairs and hallways are free of toys/clutter at night so that if there were a fire while we were asleep, no one would trip over the eight thousand army men that are spread all over our house! We would love to win this so that we can step up our fire safety preparations in our home. Thanks

Nancy said...

We have had fire drills at our house as part of our school day. (We homeschool.) We took a field trip to the fire station in the fall.

Nancy
naburcaw(at)gmail.com

Susan said...

My son and I read books about fire safety. I would love a new book.

Barbara Techel said...

I think what Dayna is doing to teach fire safey with her dog, Sparkles is such a wonderful thing. I've come to know Dayna through the world of dogs, Facebook, and being an author, and she is the real deal, who truly cares and gives her all to help others. Keep up the great work, Dayna and Sparkles!!

Barbara Techel
Award winning author of the Frankie the Walk ‘N Roll Dog Book Series
My passion is bringing a positive face and voice to animals with disabilities
Frankie is Official Mascot for National Disabled Pets Day and
Wisconsin Pet Hall of Fame Companion Dog
http://www.joyfulpaws.com
http://www.frankiethewalknrolldog.blogspot.com

Kelly Hughes said...

my boy isn't old enough to know about fire safety. we make sure our fire alarms work and try to be very careful about our stove/dryer usage. other than that, we just PRAY for safety. :)

Betsy D said...

I took my 3 year old on a fire station tour and he had a blast! We talked about their uniforms and not to be scared of him. And thanks to my "awesome" cooking skills, he's very aware of the smoke detector sound. :)