Fire Safety Campaign: "Hug a Banana"

[mgb_phys]

I heard about a fire safety campaign called "hug a banana" (or similair)
The idea was to encourage kids to run toward a large scary shape in yellow overalls and breathing apparatus if they come into your smoke filled bedroom - instead of running and hiding.

Since US firefighters wear yellow coveralls I assume it was a US/Canadian idea - does anyone know anything about it or am I imagining things?

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

just the campaign a pedophile was looking for

 

[Sorry!]

I heard about a fire safety campaign called "hug a banana" (or similair)
The idea was to encourage kids to run toward a large scary shape in yellow overalls and breathing apparatus if they come into your smoke filled bedroom - instead of running and hiding.

Since US firefighters wear yellow coveralls I assume it was a US/Canadian idea - does anyone know anything about it or am I imagining things?

Would that even work in real life?

I'm certain the children are much more afraid of the fire and probably were already hiding. As well how can you tell exactly what colour the firefighters jacket is through smoke and fire anyways?

 

[rootX]

Would that even work in real life?

I'm certain the children are much more afraid of the fire and probably were already hiding. As well how can you tell exactly what colour the firefighters jacket is through smoke and fire anyways?

special jackets...?

 

[DaveC426913]

Geez, Marty McFly really could have benefited from that if they'd taught it to farmers in the 50s...
http://www.bttfblog.com/images/back-to-the-future-costumes/radiation-suit-costume.jpg

 

[Moonbear]

I don't think I've ever seen a firefighter in yellow. They are usually wearing some sort of brown gear with lots of reflective stuff on it.

Hug a banana sounds more like something you'd want to tell the moms than the kids.

 

[leroyjenkens]

Hug a banana sounds more like something you'd want to tell the moms than the kids.

Wow, you're dirty. Or I'm dirty. One of us is dirty.

 

[Kurdt]

Can't they tell them to run towards a firefighter rather than confusing them by telling them they have to hug bananas? Kids aren't that dense.

 

[DaveC426913]

Can't they tell them to run towards a firefighter rather than confusing them by telling them they have to hug bananas? Kids aren't that dense.

I think they're trying to make it fun and non-scary.

 

[lisab]

Can't they tell them to run towards a firefighter rather than confusing them by telling them they have to hug bananas? Kids aren't that dense.

That's what I thought...besides, in a smoke-filled room, I'm not sure that yellow would look, well, yellow.

When my daughter was in kindergarten, a firefighter came to the class,wearing his full gear (tank and all!). He explained to the kids that if they're in a fire and they see someone dressed like that, go towards that person because they're there to rescue them. It was a great lesson, because a big man in that gear is pretty scary looking to a kid.

He looked *nothing* like a banana, btw...more like a Transformer or cyborg.

 

[DaveC426913]

That's what I thought...besides, in a smoke-filled room, I'm not sure that yellow would look, well, yellow.

I wonder who might best know what a firefighter's suit would look like in a smoke-filled room...
The fire department perhaps?

I wonder if the fire safety campaign might have consulted with the fire department...

 

[mgb_phys]

When my daughter was in kindergarten, a firefighter came to the class,wearing his full gear (tank and all!). He explained to the kids that if they're in a fire and they see someone dressed like that, go towards that person because they're there to rescue them. It was a great lesson, because a big man in that gear is pretty scary looking to a kid.

I think that was the idea - but I remember the scheme being called something about bananas.

 

[Sorry!]

That's what I thought...besides, in a smoke-filled room, I'm not sure that yellow would look, well, yellow.

When my daughter was in kindergarten, a firefighter came to the class,wearing his full gear (tank and all!). He explained to the kids that if they're in a fire and they see someone dressed like that, go towards that person because they're there to rescue them. It was a great lesson, because a big man in that gear is pretty scary looking to a kid.

He looked *nothing* like a banana, btw...more like a Transformer or cyborg.

I recall the same thing during school... we had a firetruck drive over during elementar school and there were about 4 firefighters that came. One got into full outfit and the others were just wearing those big pants with their regular shirts. They also had a dog which showed us stop-drop-roll.

I remember this day pretty vividly because this one kid in my grade started to cry a lot when the truck turned on its siren for a bit to show us with the lights and horns. He had to go home for the rest of the day--lucky.

 

[rolerbe]

Probably well intentioned, but reminds me of the era not long ago when they would call dinosours "long necks" in preschool, because they didn't think kids could say or relate to "brontosaurus" -- too big of a word, etc.

Kids have no problem with brontosaurus. At that age they don't have the concept of "big words" vs "little words", they're just words. And kids of that age suck up words better than a 'Bounty' ad. I say call a firefighter a firefighter.

 

[Galteeth]

Can't they tell them to run towards a firefighter rather than confusing them by telling them they have to hug bananas? Kids aren't that dense.

It seems as though once people get past the age of forty or so, they seem to adopt the belief that everyone under 25 is a retarded fish.

 

[Borek]

It seems as though once people get past the age of forty or so, they seem to adopt the belief that everyone under 25 is a retarded fish.

You mean those past 25 are not?