Country of Residence
United States
Age
15
Project title
Fire Smart Kids: Learn Today, Stay Safe Tomorrow
Project Summary: Describe your project in one sentence
Fire Smart Kids is a youth-led initiative that teaches elementary school children how to prevent burns and stay safe around fire. Inspired by my own experience as a burn survivor, I worked with adult volunteers to deliver interactive school assemblies that make fire safety fun, memorable, and easy to understand. My goal is to expand to more schools, involve other young people in fire-safety education, and provide children with educational materials they can share with their families.
Website URL(s) or social media handles.
Project Category
My project is a brand new / emerging idea
Project Stage
Idea (We’re hoping to get started in the future)
Founding Story: What was the spark that led you to start your project? What was the "Aha!" moment that led you to get started and see the potential for this to succeed?
When I was 12 years old, I suffered severe burns during a Diwali accident. I spent nine weeks in the hospital, underwent multiple surgeries, and had to learn how to walk again. Before my injury, I never imagined something like this could happen to me. During my recovery, I learned how much a burn injury can change someone's life, not just physically, but emotionally too. I also realized how important prevention is, especially for young children who may not understand how quickly an accident can happen. My "aha!" moment came when I realized that I could use my own experience to help other kids stay safe. Instead of only sharing what happened to me, I wanted to turn my story into something that could prevent another child from going through the same experience. That inspired me to start giving fire-safety presentations at elementary schools. I wanted children to learn important safety lessons in a way they would remember, from someone who understands firsthand why those lessons matter. I can't change what happened to me, but I can use my experience to make a difference for someone else.
The Problem: What problem are you helping to solve? Why does it matter to you and your community?
Many young children don't fully understand how quickly a fire or burn injury can happen. Everyday situations like cooking, candles, fireworks, and celebrations can become dangerous in just seconds. I learned this in the hardest way possible. When my clothes caught fire, I completely forgot to stop, drop, and roll, something I had been taught my whole life. Someone had to yell it to remind me. I finally did it, and it saved my life. That experience made me realize something important. Even when we know what to do, fear and panic can make us forget. If I could forget something I had learned so many times, how many other children might forget when it matters most? As a burn survivor, I also know that the impact doesn't end when the fire is out. Recovery can mean surgeries, painful treatments, physical therapy, missed school, and years of emotional challenges. That's why I want to teach fire safety to elementary school children in a way they will actually remember. Instead of just posters and presentations, I want to use interactive activities, demonstrations, and practice to help children build confidence and remember what to do in an emergency. My goal is simple: I want children to remember these lessons when they need them most, so fewer families have to experience what mine did.
Your Solution: How are you solving this problem? Share your specific solution.
I work with youth volunteers from YEPC (Youth Emergency Preparedness Council) to organize fire-safety presentations and encourage other teenagers to become safety educators. Recently, I had the opportunity to help deliver fire-safety messages to approximately 360 students at Carson Elementary School, alongside firefighters, Valley Health Foundation, which supports the local burn center, and a burn survivor and philanthropist. We presented to two age groups and gave children firefighter helmets, stickers, and Stop, Drop, and Roll magnets to take home. Seeing how excited and engaged the children were inspired me to bring these presentations to more elementary schools. With funding, I want to create Fire Smart Kids safety kits containing stickers, activity sheets, wristbands with safety reminders, and family fire-safety checklists. These materials will reinforce what students learn and encourage them to share important safety messages with their families. I also want to introduce short, age-appropriate questionnaires before and after each presentation to understand what children already know, measure what they learn, and identify areas where we can improve our teaching. I hope to partner with local fire departments to arrange fire truck visits at some assemblies, giving children the opportunity to meet firefighters, see emergency equipment, and learn through hands-on experiences. My goal is to make fire-safety education something children remember, practice, and share, rather than something they hear once and forget.
Impact: How has your project created impact / made a difference so far? Or, if at an early stage, what will impact look like?
I recently had the opportunity to participate in fire-safety assemblies at Carson Elementary School in Fremont, California, where we reached approximately 360 students from kindergarten through fifth grade. It was a meaningful experience for me because I got to share my story as a burn survivor and help younger children understand why fire safety matters. Seeing the students listen, ask questions, and learn about prevention made me realize that I wanted to take this idea further. That experience inspired me to start Fire Smart Kids, my own youth-led initiative to bring interactive fire-safety education to more elementary schools. Over the next year, my goal is to reach at least 1,000 students across five or more schools. I also want to provide children with take-home safety materials they can share with their families and use simple questions to measure what they learn. Although Fire Smart Kids is just beginning, the Carson Elementary experience showed me how powerful these presentations can be. I hope to turn that experience into a program that reaches many more children and helps prevent burn injuries.
Your Innovation: What is different about your project compared to other programs or solutions already out there? How is your project new or innovative?
What makes Fire Smart Kids different is that the lessons are led by a teenager who has personally experienced a serious burn injury. Most fire-safety education focuses on rules and emergency procedures. Those are important, but I believe children also remember stories and connect with people. When I speak to students, I'm not just telling them what could happen. I'm sharing why these lessons matter to me and how my own experience inspired me to help others. Another important part of my project is youth-to-youth education. I want to show that teenagers can take leadership roles in making their communities safer. I work with YEPC (https://yepcus.org/) volunteers to make the assemblies interactive, using storytelling, questions, demonstrations, and age-appropriate activities. I'm also developing a way for the learning to continue after students leave the assembly. Each child would receive simple educational materials, such as safety stickers, activity sheets, and reminders they can share with their families. As the project grows, I want to create a presentation toolkit that other youth volunteers can use at additional schools. This would allow the project to reach more children without depending entirely on me to deliver every presentation. My goal is to combine personal storytelling, youth leadership, interactive learning, and family engagement to make burn prevention more memorable and accessible.
How many people are on your team?
1
Your team: What role(s) do your team members play? How do you share leadership with them?
I serve as the Mission San Jose High School Chapter Lead of the Youth Emergency Preparedness Council (YEPC). As I develop Fire Smart Kids, I hope to involve fellow YEPC youth leaders and volunteers in school outreach, creating educational materials, and delivering fire-safety assemblies. My goal is to build a team where students can take responsibility for different parts of the project and develop their own leadership skills.
What’s Next: What are the next steps you plan to take to grow or strengthen your project over the next year? If your project is still in the idea stage, describe the steps you will take over the next three months to launch or begin developing it.
Over the next year, I want to grow Fire Smart Kids from our first school assemblies into a program that can reach elementary schools throughout our community. My first goal is to partner with at least five additional elementary schools and reach 1,000 more students. I plan to improve our presentations by adding more interactive activities, demonstrations, and age-appropriate lessons for different grade levels. I also want to create Fire Smart Kids educational kits with stickers, activity sheets, safety reminders, and family checklists that children can take home. Funding would help us purchase these materials and make them available to students at no cost. Another goal is to recruit and train more YEPC youth volunteers so they can help lead assemblies and develop their own public-speaking and community leadership skills. I also want to introduce short before-and-after questions to understand what children learn and use their feedback to improve our program. Eventually, I hope to develop a reusable fire-safety presentation toolkit that other youth groups can use to bring the program to even more schools.
How do you encourage other people to join your project or learn about the problem you’re working on? If you have a new idea, tell us how you will do this in the future.
I believe young people are more likely to get involved when they see other young people taking action. Through YEPC, I encourage other teenagers to participate in community safety education and understand that they don't have to wait until they're adults to make a difference. Our elementary school assemblies are an opportunity for youth volunteers to help with planning, presentations, activities, and outreach. I also want to encourage elementary school students to become safety ambassadors in their own homes. By giving them simple safety reminders and family activities, they can share what they've learned with parents, siblings, and friends. As the project expands, I plan to invite more youth volunteers to help develop materials, contact schools, and lead presentations. I hope this creates a cycle where teenagers teach younger children, those children share safety lessons with their families, and more young people become interested in helping their communities. For me, civic leadership means not only taking action myself but also helping others realize that they can make a difference too.
