Signs, signs everywhere a sign...sizeup.

[spin_the_wheel 460]

Here's a neat sign from a fire we had a week or so ago. A F/F on scene said this was a perfect slide at a sizeup class. Agreed. Something this simple can tell you alot about who could be in this home.

Upon arrival it could not be confirmed that everyone was out of the house. This simple set of signs on the lamp post in the front yard gives you a good start. Looks like you have at least 3 kids in this home. You now know thier first names as well, the IC can relay their names to the search crews, who now can call out the kids names now. maybe they react different to hearing their individual names if they are hidding somewhere.

You have their pictures, scan the crowds or neighbors homes, you may find them with help from the pictures in front of you. Of course the signs may be a few years old, but you could tell by the conditon of the signs, plus Im sure they would probably be in the same ballpark of age as shown on the photos.

You never know what simple signs are right in front of your eyes while doing a sizeup. Slow down and take a moment to look at everything you see.

The Mother and 3 kids were at a neighbors home.

Edited July 8, 2011 by spin_the_wheel

[wraftery 1,275]

And could this sign indicate a suspicious fire?

[firecapt32 282]

now thats funny Chief!!! Glad to see you havent lost that sense of humor.

On a serioue note every family should have a meeting place for accountability, signs work.

Sorry spin the wheel still smiling at Chief Raftery pic

[x635 4,066]

I like the idea.

Unfortunetly, so will the child predators....

Maybe something like they do with CIDS they could adapt this in for opt-in residences?

[gss131 212]

Here's a neat sign from a fire we had a week or so ago. A F/F on scene said this was a perfect slide at a sizeup class. Agreed. Something this simple can tell you alot about who could be in this home.

Upon arrival it could not be confirmed that everyone was out of the house. This simple set of signs on the lamp post in the front yard gives you a good start. Looks like you have at least 3 kids in this home. You now know thier first names as well, the IC can relay their names to the search crews, who now can call out the kids names now. maybe they react different to hearing their individual names if they are hidding somewhere.

You have their pictures, scan the crowds or neighbors homes, you may find them with help from the pictures in front of you. Of course the signs may be a few years old, but you could tell by the conditon of the signs, plus Im sure they would probably be in the same ballpark of age as shown on the photos.

You never know what simple signs are right in front of your eyes while doing a sizeup. Slow down and take a moment to look at everything you see.

The Mother and 3 kids were at a neighbors home.

.Also,don't discount that the signs could be from proud Grandparents. Edited July 8, 2011 by gss131

[spin_the_wheel 460]

All good points. Be safe all.

[PFDRes47cue 653]

I like the idea.

Unfortunetly, so will the child predators....

Maybe something like they do with CIDS they could adapt this in for opt-in residences?

Unfortunately the window decals that the fire service has been giving out to families for years to show where a child's bedroom is are liked by child predators as well. At least the street signs don't show the child predator the direct access to the child's bedroom.

One thing that I have also seen growing in popularity is family stickers on mailboxes. You know the stickers that people put on the back of their cars that are a (usually silver) mom, dad, then maybe a boy with a hockey stick, or a girl dancing, etc. These show you how many family members live in the house (assumption of course).

Keep your eyes open, clues are everywhere.

[ny10570 745]

Find me a single story of a child predator using a tot finder decal. Most children are attacked by someone they already know.

The real problem is no one ever took them down. My neighbors house had them from when the kids were babies. They grew up and moved out but the stickers never came down. They finally came down when a new family with young children moved in. Go figure.

[spin_the_wheel 460]

Good point about the stickers not being taken down.

This also goers for Depts that want invalid information in the cads. It is very important you have a person or committee dedicated to keeping up on the situations going on inside the homes. You can get dispatched to a House fire with possible entrapment with an invalid in a second story rear 2/3 corner bedroom, bust your a** or get injured or worse, only to find out that the family moved or the person in question died 2 years ago. This sort of info is very important update on a regular basis.

[antiquefirelt 994]

The real problem is no one ever took them down. My neighbors house had them from when the kids were babies. They grew up and moved out but the stickers never came down. They finally came down when a new family with young children moved in. Go figure.

This is the real story. Sure one could infer that pointing out a childs room makes them more vulnerable to a child predator, but parents still put up "My Little Pony" curtains which is pretty well a sign of a child's or Engine guys' room! All joking aside, don't we look for clues as to which rooms are bedrooms and hopefully notice telltale signs when they're present? The stickers quickly became a false indicator which is worse than none at all. Use what you know about buildings and people and you'll find your accuracy will be surprisingly good. Even those who think they don't know much often are actually do know things once they've been pointed out. Little size-up clues are often the kind of classroom/field trip/cognitive lessons that can easily remain with a person over the years, unlike many subjects that go stale if not used or drilled on regularly.

[FFEMT150 214]

Great topic. My department hands out a newer style tot finder decal intended to be placed on the bedroom door of a child. It is reflective and ment to show a firefighter where the room is inside the house rather than trying to figure it out from the yard. I will try and find the link to show what I mean.

[FFEMT150 214]

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://themurkyfringe.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/totfinder-lg.jpg&imgrefurl=http://themurkyfringe.com/2009/12/a-tot-finder-model-speaks-out/&h=586&w=700&sz=78&tbnid=5dclQL5OG29ktM:&tbnh=90&tbnw=108&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dtot%2Bfinder%2Bstickers%26tbm%3Disch%26tbo%3Du&zoom=1&q=tot+finder+stickers&hl=en&usg=__K21sqAXIF453kKReVdUWqOrNi5U=&sa=X&ei=QqwgTs3pD47VgAe25-njBQ&ved=0CJ8BEPUBMBE

This is what I found so far... The back of the decal shows instructions for how to use them and how a firefighter can find the childs room.