The Fire Engine's Big Mission🚒

The alarm sounds, a helmet is handed over, and suddenly the child is sitting in the big red fire engine with its lights flashing. On the way, the child sees how everyone in the team has a job: someone drives, someone reads the map and someone gets the hose ready.

The mission is exciting but reassuring. It might be a cat that has climbed too high, a ladder to put up against a roof, or a small bin fire put out before it can spread. The child helps in a way only they can, perhaps by using just the right voice to calm a frightened cat or by spotting something the grown-ups have missed. How the day ends back at the station is for the reader to discover.

This idea is for children who stop to watch every fire engine, keep a toy one in their bed or have visited a fire station open day. It can also help a child who finds sirens frightening, because here the sound means people are coming to help.

A three-year-old gets the thrill of the siren, the big red engine and the spraying hose. An eight-year-old gets more of the teamwork: who does what, why everyone listens to one another and how it feels to be brave even when you're a little scared.

If there's a fire station nearby, describe it to give the pictures a familiar feel. A sibling or friend could be a fellow team member, and the family dog could become the station dog. If the child has sat in a real fire engine, or has a much-loved toy one at home, that detail could have a picture of its own.

After reading, talk about what you'd do at home if the smoke alarm went off: how to get out and where the family would meet outside. You could also talk about the emergency number to call if there's a fire or someone needs urgent help. For more ladders and hoses, visit Fire brigade.