PZ · The Guardians (safety systems for children) · lesson 4 of 8
level
Explorer (use · recognise · explain in words) · two levels: ages 7–10 (grades 1–4) and an extra task for ages 11–13 (grades 5–7)
duration
10–15 min on screen + 10–15 min without a screen (with other children or an adult)
school link
Bulgarian schools hold evacuation drills at least twice a year (Ordinance No. 8121з-647, art. 11); the lesson prepares children for the school drill and supports safety lessons and Human and Nature as a cross-curricular topic
publisher
East Accelerator Foundation (Фондация „Източен Акселератор“) · host: kagami.bg
access
free · no account · no data collected · works offline
Tell a smoke alarm from a heat alarm: a smoke alarm notices smoke and goes on the ceiling in the hallway and in rooms; a heat alarm notices a rapid rise in heat and goes in the kitchen instead of a smoke alarm
Explain why there is no smoke alarm in the kitchen or bathroom: cooking fumes and steam can set it off by mistake
Draw a route from a bedroom to the front door on a home plan and find a second route when the usual one is blocked
Say the family rule calmly: I get out · I stay out · an adult calls 112
(ages 11–13) Describe the chain alarm → sound → everyone hears → the group leader leads along the plan → meeting point → an adult calls 112; count doors to the stairs; no lift
KEY CONCEPTS
smoke alarm notices smoke; heat alarm notices a rapid rise in heat and is not set off by cooking fumes (London Fire Brigade)
smoke alarms on the ceiling, in the middle of a room, in the hallway and on the landing; not in or near kitchens or bathrooms, where smoke or steam can set them off by accident (UK Home Office)
escape plan: plan a route, everyone knows it, exits kept clear, the usual way in and out is the best route, think of a second route in case the first is blocked, practise, keep keys where everyone can find them (UK Home Office)
get out, stay out and call — in Europe the number is 112 (European Commission); avoid lifts; in a block of flats count the doors to the stairs (UK Home Office)
some alarms are linked so that they all sound together (London Fire Brigade)
the blocking object in the game is a neutral ‘big box’; no fire, flames or smoke are shown
STRUCTURE
goal → 1 Remember (3 warm-up questions: the building's nose and skin, the green exit signs, why smoke rises to the ceiling) → 2 Story (invented: Nia, Bobby and Grandma draw the family escape map; Bobby is the group leader; meeting point the old linden tree; 60–90 s) → 3 Worked example (table smoke alarm ↔ heat alarm: what it notices, where it goes, where not) → 4 Try it (Predict: which alarm for a steamy kitchen? → Run: five rooms, choose smoke / heat / none → Change: escape-map adventure on a 6×5 home plan: tap cells from the bedroom to the front door, then a big box blocks one cell of the child's route and the child finds a second route; rules card appears) + extra box for ages 11–13 (the chain, linked alarms, counting doors to the stairs, no lift) → 5 Unplugged (the evacuation map adventure at home: draw the home, two ways out, meeting point outside, practise walking calmly; school drills) → 6 Make your own (a family plan card for the fridge; ages 11–13: plan for a block of flats or a classroom) → 7 What I learned (3-question check + skill badge, no points) → 8 I have a question (form: the child writes ≤280 chars, the parent enters an e-mail and consents; double opt-in; plus "Was it useful?" / "We did the lesson" buttons — aggregate counts only)
ANSWERS
predict: heat alarm (steam and cooking fumes can make a smoke alarm sound for nothing)
map: any connected route of adjacent corridor cells from the bedroom to the front door; after the box appears, any route avoiding the box cell (the box is always placed on a cell whose removal keeps the home connected)
check: q1 c (the heat alarm) · q2 a (take the second route we planned) · q3 b (at the meeting point outside, e.g. by the tree)
SAFETY
no fire, flames or smoke pictures; no experiments with fire or candles; the obstacle is a neutral box
practice: walk, don't run; do not touch alarms, fire extinguishers or alarm buttons; at school follow the teacher
the test button is pressed only by an adult (at least monthly, UK Home Office); adults agree who wakes children who may not wake to alarms
nothing to buy; no personal data entered or stored; the page works offline
link only, facts retold in our own words: London Fire Brigade, Smoke alarms and heat alarms (london-fire.gov.uk) — smoke vs heat alarms; heat alarm in the kitchen; checked 2026-11-01
link only, facts retold in our own words: UK Home Office, Fire safety in the home (PDF, gov.uk) — monthly test, escape plan, second route, get out/stay out/call, avoid lifts; checked 2026-11-01
link only, facts retold in our own words: European Commission, 112 policy page (digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu) and Your Europe 112 FAQ — free, EU-wide, fixed and mobile, emergencies only; checked 2026-11-01
link only, facts retold in our own words: Bulgarian Ordinance No. 8121з-647/2014 on fire safety (amended SG 43/2025), art. 11 — evacuation drills at schools at least twice a year; checked 2026-11-01
licence: CC BY-SA 4.0 · https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
METADATA
path
6 · social impact
determinant
physical environment
sdg_target
4.7
who_criterion
accessibility
impact_type
prevention · education
DIGCOMP 3.0
framework
DigComp 3.0 (JRC144121, doi:10.2760/0001149)
primary
none (technology-understanding lesson: how safety systems work; no primary DigComp 3.0 competence)
secondary
4.3 Protecting health and well-being
mapping
proposed 2026-11-01 by the lesson goal · confidence: medium · not a measured outcome
VERIFIED · 01.11.2026AI help: yesreviewer: awaiting teacher and psychologist
Smoke and Heat
A building has a nose — the smoke alarm. It also has skin — the heat alarm. Today you will find out where each one lives. Then you become the group leader and draw the way out.
⏱ 10–15 minExplorerThe Guardians · 4grades 1–7 · two levels
You will be able to tell a smoke alarm from a heat alarm and show two ways out of your home.
For the parent: a one-page guide — a family escape plan and a calm practice at home.
progress0%
01Remember
Think about each question, then open the answer.
Which “sense” of the building notices smoke? And which one notices heat?
The smoke alarm is the nose. The heat alarm is the skin. You know them from the lesson “The Building's Senses”.
What do the green signs with a little person running to a door show?
The way out. You saw them on the sense hunt.
Why is the smoke alarm on the ceiling and not on the floor?
Because smoke rises. The building's nose waits up high.
02Story
This story is made up.
It is Sunday. Grandma puts a big sheet of paper and coloured pencils on the table.
“Today we will draw a map of our home,” she says. “And we will find the way out.”
Nia draws the rooms as squares. Bobby draws the doors as gaps.
“From our room we go into the hallway, then through the front door,” Nia shows with her finger.
“And what if there is a big box of new books in the hallway?” asks Grandma.
Bobby thinks. “Then we go through the living room. That's the second route!”
“Well done. And where do we meet once we are outside?”
“By the old linden tree in front of the building!” says Nia.
Grandma smiles. “Bobby, today you are the group leader. Lead us calmly.”
And the three of them walk the route slowly, like on a stroll. Under the linden tree Bobby raises his hand: “We're all here!”
03Worked example
The two alarms are friends, but each one has its own place:
⚪ Smoke alarm
🌡️ Heat alarm
What it notices
smoke in the air
when it suddenly gets very hot
Where it lives
on the ceiling — in the hallway and in the rooms
in the kitchen
Where it does not go
in the kitchen and in the bathroom
—
Why
steam and cooking fumes can make it sound for nothing
it is not bothered by cooking fumes
And what do people do when an alarm sounds? They know their escape plan. The usual way out is the best one. But everyone also has a second route.
The rule is short: I get out · I stay out · an adult calls 112.
04Try it now
1 · Predict
Someone is cooking soup in the kitchen and there is a lot of steam. Which alarm is better there? Choose before you check.
2 · Run: which alarm for which room?
You are the engineer of the home. Choose an alarm for each room.
3 · Change: the map adventure
You are the group leader. Tap the hallway squares one next to the other — from the bedroom 🛏️ to the front door 🚪. If you make a mistake, tap the last square and it will go away.
For older children · ages 11–13Put the chain in order: the smoke alarm in the hallway notices smoke → it sounds → everyone at home hears (some alarms are linked — when one sounds, they all sound) → the group leader leads along the plan → everyone meets at the place outside → an adult calls 112. If you live in a block of flats, count how many doors there are from yours to the stairs. The lift is not used. Think: why is there no “I pick up my toys” in the chain?
05No screen: the evacuation map adventure
You need: a big sheet of paper, coloured pencils and your family. It takes about 15 minutes.
Draw your home: rooms are squares, doors are gaps. Put a ⚪ sign where there is a smoke alarm and 🌡️ where there is a heat alarm.
Draw the usual way out in one colour. Draw the second route in another colour.
Choose a meeting point outside: a tree, a lamp post, the corner of the fence. Draw it.
Choose a group leader. Then walk the route all together — slowly and calmly, like on a stroll. At the meeting point the leader counts everyone.
At school you do the same at least twice a year — it is the evacuation drill. Now you know why.
For older children · ages 11–13Draw the plan to scale — in steps. Check that nothing is in the way on either route. Write down how many doors there are to the stairs. Ask where the door keys are kept — they should be in a place everyone knows.
✋
Calm and slow
We walk, we don't run. We don't touch alarms, fire extinguishers or alarm buttons. At school we follow the teacher.
06Make your own
Make a plan card for the fridge door.
Draw the two ways out in two colours.
Draw the meeting point.
Write who the group leader is.
At the bottom, write the rule: “I get out · I stay out · an adult calls 112”.
For older children · ages 11–13Make a plan for the whole entrance of your block of flats or for your classroom. Mark the stairs, the exits and the green signs. Write a short three-step practice that the class can do with the teacher.
07What I learned
A smoke alarm notices smoke and lives on the ceiling — in the hallway and in the rooms. A heat alarm notices fast warming and lives in the kitchen.
Every home has a usual way out and a second route in case the first one is blocked.
The rule: I get out · I stay out · an adult calls 112. We walk calmly and don't use the lift.
How many steps is it from your bed to the front door?
Check yourself
1. Which alarm goes in the kitchen?
2. A big box blocks the usual way. What do you do?
3. Where does the family meet once they are out?
🧭
Skill badge: “Group leader” It is yours when you can show two ways out of your home and the meeting point. No points and no ranking — only a skill.
08I have a question
Do you still have a question? Write it here. It goes to your parent, not to strangers. Your parent confirms their e-mail first.
The form is loading… If it does not appear, write your question on paper and show it to a parent or teacher.
·Sources
Title: Smoke and Heat (DB-PZ-04) · Author: Children's Library, East Accelerator Foundation · Source: original content and original game code, 2026 · Rights: CC BY-SA 4.0.
London Fire Brigade — “Smoke alarms and heat alarms”: smoke alarms detect smoke, heat alarms detect rapid increases in heat; a heat alarm goes in the kitchen instead of a smoke alarm. Checked 01.11.2026.
UK Home Office — leaflet “Fire safety in the home” (PDF): test smoke alarms at least monthly; plan an escape route and a second route; “get out, stay out and call”; avoid lifts. Checked 01.11.2026.
European Commission — “112”: 112 is the European emergency number, free of charge, everywhere in the EU, from fixed and mobile phones; and Your Europe — 112 FAQ: only for emergencies, not an information line. Checked 01.11.2026.
Bulgarian Ordinance No. 8121з-647 of 2014 on fire safety rules (text on the MRRB website, in Bulgarian; amended 2025), art. 11: schools and kindergartens hold an evacuation drill at least twice a year. Checked 01.11.2026.
Licence:CC BY-SA 4.0 · Children's Library, East Accelerator Foundation, 2026. You may share and adapt this lesson if you credit the author and keep the same licence. Learning is free forever.
