This firefighter has shared life-saving advice.
While it can be comforting for a child to feel that they can come find mummy or daddy quickly if they need them during the night by leaving the door ajar, you may want to reconsider doing so.
By fully closing the door, reassurance will be passed over to you, the parent, according to a firefighting department’s safety message.
They have issued a warning to parents that may save the lives of their children in the event of a house fire.
In a Facebook post written by the Cold Spring Harbor Fire Department, an emergency responder who is also a parent explained how shutting a child’s bedroom door can make all the difference if a fire breaks out in the family home.
“As a parent it’s hard to convince little kids to sleep with the door closed, they always want it open just a little.
“I do a lot of fire prevention at schools, so one thing I try and stress to kids is, how important it is to sleep with the doors closed,” they wrote.
To emphasise their point, they shared photographs of a fire in a home in a neighbouring area, where one side of the door to a bedroom was blackened and charred, and the other side was still white, as if untouched by the blaze.
“The photos below are a great example of the importance of keeping bedroom doors closed while sleeping.
“If this were an occupied bedroom the closed door could have saved a life,” they stressed.
Thankfully, the homeowners and family dog who were involved in this fire are all okay, according to the emergency responder.
However, next time your little one begs to keep the door open, it may be worth explaining why it should be closed.
If they’re too young to understand, perhaps obliging their request and waiting until they’ve dozed off to close the door may be the best port of call.
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