Tot finder stickers

[calhobs 110]

I was up in Albany today, so I figured I stop by and visit our friends at OFPC at Empire State Plaza and say hello. I had a very nice visit and was welcomed openly. So I asked if they had any Tot Finder stickers. I was told that OFPC does not use and issue them anymore, for two reasons the first one being that when people move and new tenants move in and don’t remove the sticker if they don’t have children causes a problem. I thought to myself well that’s really not a good reason and how often does that happen for them to stop issuing the sticker. The second reason really floored me because it is so twisted. The main reason why they don’t issue them anymore is because of child molesters. I never thought of those sick people when I looked at that sticker. Who would think that a small inexpensive tool as the Tot Finder would put a child in even more danger then a fire?

Now here is the tough question. Do you think having the sticker in a window outweighs the danger of a child being abducted by a molester? This is a tough one to answer butI can see why OFPC does not sponser this anymore.

Edited April 15, 2008 by calhobs

[trfd276 0]

Tot Finders came along several years prior to the advent of the Residential Smoke Detector. Along with the two given reason's, a more important fact of the matter is that if an occupied residence has up to date and functioning smoke detectors - we should certainly hope that all occupants had an early enough warning so that they would have exited the residence long before our arrival on scene. The smoke detector has been much more effective in saving lives than what the Tot Finder idea could have ever been given credit for

[DaRock98 76]

I was up in Albany today, so I figured I stop by and visit our friends at OFPC at Empire State Plaza and say hello. I had a very nice visit and was welcomed openly. So I asked if they had any Tot Finder stickers. I was told that OFPC does not use and issue them anymore, for two reasons the first one being that when people move and new tenants move in and don’t remove the sticker if they don’t have children causes a problem. I thought to myself well that’s really not a good reason and how often does that happen for them to stop issuing the sticker. The second reason really floored me because it is so twisted. The main reason why they don’t issue them anymore is because of child molesters. I never thought of those sick people when I looked at that sticker. Who would think that a small inexpensive tool as the Tot Finder would put a child in even more danger then a fire?

Now here is the tough question. Do you think having the sticker in a window outweighs the danger of a child being abducted by a molester? This is a tough one to answer butI can see why OFPC does not sponser this anymore.

I am in charge of my departments fire prevention this year and I found the stickers being sold from this company Positive Promotions. They no longer suggest having the stickers put on the outside of the window but now are telling people to put them on the bottom corner of the child's door to his bedroom inside the house. I never knew why but I guess that is a good reason. People in this world are sick and it amazes me how these crazy f**** think. Sorry but that makes me absolutely sick to hear something like that.

[JohnnyOV 2]

Our department hands out the new tot finder stickers. They are no longer placed in the windows of the child, but rather on the inside door frame and lower part of the door below the handle. They are made of highly reflective material which can be seen from flashlights from interior search and rescue operations. They are also easily removable from the door and door jams, unlike the old window stickers.

http://www.alertall.com/store/item.asp?id=001

[AFS1970 504]

I had not heard about the Child Molesters, but I had heard about burglars knowing that a child's room offered less resistance in the event of a break in. Perhaps that is an updating of the same fear.

I have also seen the new white stickers that go on the interior door, but I wonder if those are even less likely to be changed, as peeling those off will take off paint where as the sindow stickers pretty much come off clean. I know that growing up, my brothers and I changed rooms often among the three bedrooms we had, and I know my oldest brother (who was a Firefighter) ended up in the room with my tot finder from when I was younger.

Plus, our tactics in a residential fire are going to be to search all the bedrooms not just the ones with signs on them. The search is not likely to start at the door with the sign, but either the first door we come to, or the door closest to the fire (depending on training and SOP). So I am not sure ofthe value of these stickers at all, and wonder if they create a false sense of security for parents.

[firemoose827 324]

I was in charge of the Fire Prevention Program in my old dept for 6 years and always taught the kids to hang something from the window if they were trapped, like a blanket or coat ( Just as long as you dont hang your younger sibling out there!!) so that we know you are in there and need help. The stickers were a great idea, but people forget to change them or update them and you never know if they are real or not any more. Valuable resources could be wasted to search the room and find out its not even a bedroom anymore, let alone a child's bedroom.

I think the interior stickers are nice, and they can be easily removed without damaging the paint, but again you stand the chance of the people forgetting to move the sticker, it just becomes commonplace for the sticker to be there and its forgotten. Per our SOP's, we start our search in the room closest to the fire first starting with bedrooms, then all other rooms, so if the search is done right, it's done fast and there is no need for the sticker anyway.

By the way. You were up here in Albany and didnt look up the Moose? You should have stopped by brother and gotten the tour and some old fashioned hospitality!!

[FFD941 20]

Plus, our tactics in a residential fire are going to be to search all the bedrooms not just the ones with signs on them. The search is not likely to start at the door with the sign, but either the first door we come to, or the door closest to the fire (depending on training and SOP). So I am not sure ofthe value of these stickers at all, and wonder if they create a false sense of security for parents.

Exactly