Fire or Quake: What I Do
A school fire drill is a game of being ready. Today you learn what you do on the way out — when there is smoke, when a door is warm and when the ground has stopped shaking.
For the parent: a one-page guide — the family plan and the “warm door” drill.
01Remember
Think about each question, then open the answer.
What is the fire rule?
I get out · I stay out · an adult calls 112. Like in the lesson “Smoke and Heat”.
What do you say on 112?
What is happening, where you are and who you are — like in the lesson “Call 112”.
What do you do while the ground is shaking?
Drop, Cover, Hold — like in the lesson “The Siren and the Message to Everyone”.
02Story
This story is made up.
There is a drill at school. In the corridor the teacher has stretched a grey sheet — that is the “smoke”.
“How do we get through?” Nia asks.
“Low, like kittens,” says Bobby and bends down. Under the sheet the way can be seen.
In front of one door there is a sign: “warm”. Bobby holds the back of his hand near it.
“It's warm! We don't open it. There is a second way.”
The class goes down the other staircase and gathers at the meeting point. The teacher counts.
“And if it's an earthquake?” Nia asks.
“While it shakes — under the table. When it stops, we go out calmly with the teacher and stay in the open, away from buildings and power lines.”
03Worked example
In a fire: get out, stay out, call 112. On the way:
| If… | You… |
|---|---|
| 🎒 You want to take something | Do not waste time on things. Get out at once. |
| ☁️ There is smoke | Keep low — the air is clearer down there. |
| 🚪 You must go through a door | First check whether it is warm. If it is warm, do not open it — fire is on the other side. Look for the second way. |
| 🛗 There is a lift | Do not use it. Take the stairs. |
| ⛔ The way is blocked | Go into a room with a window and close the door. Put a blanket or clothes along the gap under the door. Call 112. Open the window and shout “Help, fire!”. |
| 🔥 Your clothes catch fire | Stop, Drop and Roll. Do not run — that makes the flames bigger. |
In an earthquake:
| Where you are | You… |
|---|---|
| 🏫 Inside | Drop, Cover, Hold. Do not run outside. |
| 🛏️ In bed | Turn face down and put the pillow over your head and neck. |
| 🌳 Outside | Go to an open area, away from buildings, trees, streetlights and power lines. |
| ✅ The shaking stopped | More shakes may come — be ready to drop and cover again. If the building is damaged, go out with the adult and move away from it. Do not go into damaged buildings. |
04Try it now
1 · Predict
There is smoke in the corridor. Why do you keep low?
2 · Run: what do you do?
This is a game. Read what is happening and choose the first step.
3 · Change: the way is blocked
Put the four steps in order. Tap them in the right order.
05No screen: low, and the back of the hand
You need: an adult with you, a blanket and a door.
The adult holds the blanket up high — that is the “smoke”. Go under it low, on hands and knees.
At the door, hold the back of your hand near it without opening it. It is cool — so the drill is done.
Show Stop, Drop and Roll on the rug.
06Make your own
Make the family plan “How we get out”.
- Draw your home and, with two different arrows, two ways out.
- Draw the meeting point outside (a tree, a corner, a bench).
- At the bottom: “Get out · stay out · 112” and “Stop, Drop and Roll”.
07What I learned
- In a fire: no things, low under smoke, a warm door stays shut, no lift.
- The way is blocked: a room with a window, the door shut, clothes at the gap, 112, shout at the window. Clothes on fire: stop, drop and roll.
- After a quake: more shakes may come; from a damaged building — out with an adult, into the open, away from buildings and power lines.
When you have a bath, the steam rises to the ceiling. Smoke does the same — that is why it is clearer down low.
Check yourself
1. There is smoke in the corridor. How do you walk?
2. The door in front of you is warm. What do you do?
3. The shaking stopped and the building is damaged. What do you do?
It is yours when you show how to keep low, how to check a door and Stop, Drop and Roll. 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: Fire or Quake: What I Do (DB-PZ-12) · Author: Children's Library, East Accelerator Foundation · Source: original content and original game code, 2026 · Rights: CC BY-SA 4.0.
- UK Home Office — “Fire safety in the home” (PDF, pp. 17–19): do not waste time on valuables; in smoke keep low where the air is clearer; check whether a door is warm before opening — if it is, do not open it; if the way is blocked — one room with a window, bedding along the bottom of the door, call and shout “Help, fire!”; if clothes catch fire — Stop, Drop and Roll; avoid lifts. Checked 03.11.2026.
- FEMA (USA) — “Earthquakes” on ready.gov: indoors — stay, do not run outside, avoid doorways; outdoors — an open area away from buildings, trees, streetlights and power lines; in bed — face down, a pillow over your head and neck; after the shaking expect aftershocks and Drop, Cover and Hold On again; from a damaged building — go outside and away from it, do not enter damaged buildings, watch for downed power lines. Checked 03.11.2026.
- New Zealand Civil Defence — “When an earthquake happens: Drop, Cover, Hold” (PDF): drop to your hands and knees, cover your head and neck under a sturdy table, hold on until the shaking stops; do not run outside or stand in a doorway. Checked 03.11.2026.
- 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.
- 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.