Child Window Decals

Purpose of Child Window Decals

The Kearney Volunteer Fire Department has received requests for child window decals, known as Tot Finders. These decals were used to identify sleeping rooms of children by placing a special decal on the window, which shows firefighters where children are sleeping.

False Sense of Security

The Fire Department does not promote the use of window decals. They can give a resident a false sense of security and firefighters the wrong indication of where to look for children.

Window decals can also signal an area of vulnerability in the home, which could put children or your home at risk from late night intruders.

How many homes now have window decals indicating windows of children that are no longer using that room? Children may have moved to another room in the home or grown up and moved away. If this is the case, the Fire Department requests you to remove them.

Firefighter Training

Firefighters are trained to do a thorough and systematic search for anyone inside a burning building. The Kearney Volunteer Fire Department has Thermo Imaging Cameras to safely assist firefighters in search and rescue operations.

Even with this technology firefighters must conduct a thorough and systematic search and rescue operation. Firefighters could waste time running around the outside of the home looking for window decals and break the window only to find no child sleeps in the room. This puts the firefighter in unnecessary danger.

Proactive Education

The Kearney Volunteer Fire Department recommends a proactive method of educating the public of escaping a fire in the home:
  • Practice good fire prevention in the home.
  • Have working smoke detectors that everyone recognizes the sound of and can hear them especially from their bedroom.
  • Have and discuss a family escape plan. Have two ways out and a meeting place outside.
  • If family members need to escape smoke filled areas make sure it is safe and they stay low under the smoke.
  • Never go back into a burning building for any reason. Leave this to the trained and properly equipped firefighter.