Ok, I am embarassed to admit this, but it’s true… the first year I put up my very own live Christmas tree, it never ocurred to me that I was supposed to water it every day. Or at all. That’s right. A fully decked out tree, bedazzled with lights, near the heating vent and electrical outlet, in my house for an entire month… without a single drop of water given to the plant. When I finally took it down, it was so brittle and dry that it practically disintegrated right in my hands.
How clueless!! We were fortunate. That was a definite fire hazard just waiting to combust; but we made it through the holidays without incident. Liberty Mutual wants to educate people on fire safety to help avoid dangerous mishaps like the one I created simply because I did not have the information or the knowledge. So they have created an entire website, BeFireSmart, which is an interactive approach to fire safety.
The site is divided into 4 sections: Parents, Educators, Children, and Fire Fighters. Of course I paid close attention to the Children’s Section which has several fun games for the young ones to play online. There is also a downloadable coloring book featuring “Firefighter Joe”. That is an automatic slam dunk in my house of boys. 
My favorite activity is the Winter Safety Quiz. It reminds us (in an entertaining way) that with all the heating and cooking we do in the cold months, we are in fact at the greatest risk for fire than any other time of year. Additionally there are games testing your escape plan and your fire IQ. So even the grownups get to play their own versions of games using online interaction. You can also download a list of Winter Safety Tips which are relevant to any household, and a good idea to keep in mind while going through the daily routine.
There’s much more available on the site than what is mentioned here. Take a little time out of your busy holiday schedule to check it out. Explore it together with your kid, and you might both learn something new. And who would disagree that learning about Fire Safety should be tops on any parent’s list? Just use me and my dying Christmas Tree as an example.. a simple mistake could have had some pretty dire consequences. Since knowledge is power, Liberty Mutual is turning you into a Fire Super Hero with this site.
