Babysitter Fire Safety Checklist

Dear Parent or Caregiver:

At some time, most families entrust their children to the care of babysitters. Every babysitter should be aware of home fire safety procedures, fire escape plans, and how to call the fire department from a neighbour’s home. Even when you are not at home, your fire escape plan can still protect your family if you take time to explain the plan to your babysitter. Show the babysitter your floor plan with escape routes marked and point out the telephone number of the fire department. The following precautions are important considerations for households that hire babysitters:

• The babysitter must be mature enough to be able to deal effectively with any emergency situation.
• The babysitter must be familiar with the locations of all bedrooms in which the children will be sleeping and all the exits.
• The babysitter must be familiar with the family evacuation plan and the designated meeting place outside the home.
• Leave emergency telephone numbers on a pad of paper next to the phone. Include your complete address so the babysitter will have all the correct information if there is a need to notify the fire department. Always leave the phone number where you can be reached in case of emergency. Make a duplicate copy of this information and give it to your babysitter to keep in his/her pocket. If the babysitter and children must go to a neighbour’s home to report an emergency, the babysitter will have this important information.
• The babysitter must understand that children should never be left alone for any reason.
• The babysitter should not be allowed to smoke while on the job.
• If there is a fire, the babysitter should get the children out of the home and call the fire department from a neighbour’s home. If it seems too dangerous to rescue the children, the babysitter should go straight to a neighbour’s and call the fire department. Let the fire department know that the children are still inside the home and exactly where they are.

A babysitter fire safety checklist is provided on the reverse side of this letter. Feel free to make copies so that you can post the information each time you use a babysitter. Fire Safety is an important part of your babysitter’s job!

BABYSITTER’S FIRE SAFETY CHECKLIST

Important Phone Numbers:

911 - Ambulance/Fire/Police - 911

Important Information

Children’s Family Name: ___________________________________________________

Children’s Address: ________________________________________________________

Town: ____________________________________________________________________

Phone Number: ___________________________________________________________

Neighbour’s Name: ________________________________________________________

Neighbour’s Phone Number: _________________________________________________

Address of Neighbour’s Home: _______________________________________________
(Parents should check to make sure the neighbour is home.)

Where to reach Parents:

Address: ___________________________________________________________________

Town: _____________________________________________________________________

Phone Number: ____________________________________________________________

Other Instructions: __________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________

Has the family home escape plan been reviewed with the babysitter? ___________