My dad was a fireman.  Then he became the State Fire Marshall.  All my life I grew up in a home that had a sprinkler system and fire sensors with an alarm.  A huge alarm that was a brass bell.  It was located outside my bedroom door.  So when I got older and  stayed out too late, my dad would turn off the sprinkler system, put a match to the alarm to set it off to get me up!  

Every year we had our annual E.D.I.T.H. fire escape drill.  I lived in a  modest, middle-class, two-story house, so this meant having to go down a metal chain ladder.  It wasn't easy because it moved a lot.   Somehow, word always got around  the neighborhood when we were having our fire drills.  I was so embarrassed I wasn't the source!

 So, all the kids would come to watch and some even wanted to go down the ladder too.  It got to be an annual neighborhood event.  Embarrassing for me (because it was MY bedroom that got used as the escape room)  when young but now it's a joke with friends who say,
 "I remember your fire drills."

 And that's the reason for EDITH.  To get you to remember what to do in case something happens.  I feel now that "Actions teach greater than words." And that kids remember because they DID IT more than if they READ IT. 

I was fortunate because all those drills were just embarrassing  annual family events and never really had to be put into real practice.  But the memories are there for me and for a lot of kids in my neighborhood to this day.

So have an EDITH party!

For more information on how to set up an EDITH practice go to 

Berk's County Kid's Safety House . 

It has a great page on EDITH as well as other information on teaching kids and babysitters fire safety in your home.