Applications of cognitive theories to children's fire safety education

Children under five have the highest rate of fire-related accidents (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2001). It is therefore essential to develop effective fire safety education programs to prevent casualties due to a fire. At present, there are fire education programs conducted across Australia for primary school children. However, it is vital that these programs get their message across to the children in the most efficient manner to help children retain the information. The present study evaluated the effectiveness of the 'Fire Ed' program conducted in Victoria and assessed the retention of fire safety information in children in preparatory and Grade five levels. The findings suggest that the information is not retained over long periods of time. Suggestions are made to provide fire safety education in line with
theories of cognitive development to make it more effective.