15+ Campfire Safety Tips for Kids

Check out these campfire safety tips for kids! When in the great outdoors, teaching young children how to be safe around an open flame is super important. Younger children love open fires because that means s’mores – and as long as they follow the campfire safety rules, they’ll be good to go! 

To avoid camping injuries, talk to the kids about how to stay safe around the fire pit during your camping trip. This is also a great learning lesson to increase their outdoor skills. ​

Campfire Safety Tips for Kids 

These tips are the best way to prevent fire-related deaths and injuries. No matter if you are making backyard campfires or just need to educate your child for the future, these tips can help keep everyone safe! 

Stay Back: Always keep a safe distance from the campfire. A good rule is to stay at least five feet away from the fire open area. This is good to do even with smaller fires as it keeps them clear of the flames. 

Adult Supervision: Never start or maintain a campfire without adult supervision. This is fire safety education 101. Teaching kids to never start or be near the fire without adult supervision is of utmost importance. 

No Running: Avoid running or playing near the campfire to prevent accidental falls or burns. Many severe burns happen from careful injuries. 

Proper Clothing: Wear non-flammable clothing, and avoid loose-fitting garments that can easily catch fire.

No Throwing: Never throw items into the fire, especially flammable materials. The only thing that should be added to the campfire is extra wood. Anything else is posing a high risk or fire issues. 

Fire Ring: Only build fires within a designated fire ring or pit to contain the flames. This is the only safe location to build a roaring fire. 

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Tend Carefully: Never leave the campfire unattended. An adult should be by the campfire at all times. 

Water Source: Keep a bucket of water or a fire extinguisher nearby in case of emergencies. This is important because if a fire were to burn out of control, you don’t have a lot of time to react and put it out. 

No Roughhousing: Avoid rough play around the campfire to prevent accidents. Older children and younger children need to remember this! 

Long Tools: Use long tools, such as skewers or tongs, to cook food over the fire to keep a safe distance from the flames. 

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Stop, Drop, and Roll: Learn and practice the “stop, drop, and roll” technique in case clothes catch on fire. This is safe campfire practice to show kids how to react to potential hazards that might occur. 

Fire Respect: Treat fire with respect and understand its dangers. It’s not a toy or something to play with. 

Extinguish Properly: Make sure the fire is completely out before leaving the site. Use water, dirt, or sand to extinguish it. It’s also a good idea to pour cool water on it as well. 

No Sitting: Avoid sitting on the edge of the fire ring or pit to prevent falling into the fire. 

Wind Awareness: Be mindful of the wind direction. During windy conditions, sparks can fly and start fires elsewhere, and it can happen very quickly. If there are burn bans in place, be sure that you’re paying attention to them while you are camping. 

Use fire starters: When you’re camping, don’t try and guess how to start a fire. The safest way to start a fire is to use fire starters. 

Create a safety zone: Make sure that everyone knows where to meet up away from the campfire in case there are fire issues. Inform the kids to not go inside the camper, but rather away from the fire. This is because they don’t want to be trapped, and there is sure to be a lot of smoke happening in a short period of time. 

Know how to phone for help: Make sure that the kids are away how to call the fire department in case there is a need for help. Even preschool children can call 911 if the fire gets out of hand! 

There’s no denying that campfires are some of the best parts of camping, but that doesn’t mean that you should ignore fire safety tips and local fire regulations.

These fire tips are a great way to be aware of a small fire, large fire, and how to stay safe around the fire area.