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Social Story for a Fire Drill
A fire drill social story tells a child exactly what happens during a fire drill, in order, before it happens. For many children the hard part is the alarm itself: it is very loud, it comes with no warning, and everyone suddenly moves. Children who are sensitive to noise or to sudden changes can find drills upsetting, and a story read beforehand takes some of the surprise out.
The story below is calm and specific: the sound, the line, the door, the waiting, and going back inside. It says plainly that a drill is practice. Parents and teachers can read it together in the days before a drill, and it is free to print. To make one with your child’s name in it, it takes about thirty seconds.
What will happen, in order
- The alarm rings, very loud
- Stop and line up
- Walk outside with the teacher
- Wait in the meeting place
- Go back to class
Read the steps together in the daytime, more than once. The free printable below has these steps at the top and the bedtime story underneath.
Ana and the Practice Bell
A free story to read aloud tonight
At Ana’s school there was a red alarm on the wall by the door. Most days it was quiet. But sometimes, for practice, it rang. That was called a fire drill.
On Thursday, while Ana was painting, it rang. It was very loud, louder than anything, and it kept going. Ana put her hands over her ears. That was allowed.
Ms. Diaz stood by the door and said, “Paintbrushes down, line up.” Ana put her brush in the water and stood behind Leo. Nobody ran. Everybody walked, in a line, like a train.
They went out through the side door, across the playground, all the way to the fence by the big tree. The alarm was quieter out there. Ms. Diaz counted everybody: one, two, three, all the way to nineteen. Everyone was there.
They waited by the tree. Ana held Leo’s sleeve. Then a teacher waved from the door, and it was over. There was no fire. It was only practice, so that everybody would know what to do.
Back inside, Ana’s painting was still there, a little bit dry now, and she finished it. That night at home, Ana told Papi about the bell, and showed him how she covered her ears and walked in the line. Then she went to sleep in her quiet room.
Read it a few nights running rather than on the morning of. Familiarity is the part that works. The aim is that by the day itself, none of it is new.
How can I help a child who is scared of fire drills?
Telling them beforehand is the biggest help: what the alarm sounds like, what they will do, and that it ends. Some schools will let a sensitive child know when a drill is planned, or let them line up by the door before it starts, so ask the teacher what your child’s school does. Covering their ears, or wearing noise-reducing earmuffs, is fine.
Can teachers print this for the classroom?
Yes. The print button turns the story into a one-page sheet, with the steps at the top, free.
Should I explain what a fire drill is for?
Simply, yes: “It’s practice, so everyone knows what to do.” Most young children don’t need more than that, and saying plainly that it is practice tends to help more than talking about fires.