We recently participated in the First Alert Home Safety Challenge Tour. It was an eye-opening experience. Besides our assignment of spending time on home remodeling with guests, we were exposed to important areas of home safety.

As we move into the hot season, the likelihood of home fires increases. We learned that in California alone last year, 13,000 homes were lost in fires. We learned that children and adults alike are not as well versed as they should be about home fires.

Many believe that a fire is a bright event. Not so. In a house fire, black and gray smoke clouds the air, impairing visibility.

On the tour, a large chamber is filled with smoke. It shows the extent to which visibility is affected.

The fire extinguisher challenge was another surprising event. We learned that both parents and children were not familiar with the proper operation of a fire extinguisher. For an extinguisher to be effective, it must be used in a specific way.

On the tour we learned the PASS method:

P - Pull the pin

A - Aim the extinguisher at the base of the fire, not up high. Be sure to stand no closer than 6 to 10 feet from the flames.

S - Squeeze the trigger.

S - Swipe the nozzle from side to side covering as much area as possible.

There also was a special obstacle course devoted to teaching children how to escape from a burning room. They called it "The Great Escape Obstacle Course."

The event was timed on a stopwatch and children who participate win a firefighter's helmet. Course time begins when the participating youngster rings a large brass fire bell. There are five important lessons taught here:

Stop, drop and roll when your clothing catches fire.

Crawl low to avoid smoke-filled air.

Check the exit door to make sure it isn't hot.

Dial 911.

Travel directly to the designated family meeting place.

An instructor walks each child through the course. This is where the game turns into a real educational experience. The course briefing is a series of how-to safety instructions. The instructor explains to the child that the first event is called "stop, drop and roll," and demonstrates the procedure.

The next part of the course is crawling through a cardboard tube that is about 10-feet long and 3-feet in diameter. The instructor tells the children that when one tries to escape from a smoke-filled room, he or she must crawl on hands and knees to stay below the smoke. As the youngster exits the tube, he or she must choose one of two doors.

This leads to the next part of the test. The instructor explains that a door never should be opened when there is a chance of fire on the other side.

This can be checked by touching the door to see if it is hot. Since it would be dangerous to use a burning door for training, colored panels are used instead. A hinged compartment that conceals a colored panel is fitted to each of the two doors. Children are told they must not go through the door with the red panel (the hot one). The door with the blue panel (the safe door) must be selected. The instructor is able to change the colored panels before the contest begins. The youngster must select the proper cool door by opening the compartments and finding the blue panel.

After getting through the door, the child is told to run to a mock-up of a telephone where the numbers 911 must be pressed. Finally, the child must run to a nearby tree and touch the trunk. The instructor tells the children that in the case of their own homes, the tree might be something else - a mailbox, a gate or whatever the family designates is a safe place to meet in an emergency.

Another course involves identifying smells in various boxes.

The first box contains a fragrance of a rose. The second has the smell of an automobile exhaust. The third contains no smell at all, and the last box holds the smell of natural gas. The instructor explains what carbon monoxide is and that it is the smell in the third box - the odorless one. Thus, youngsters not only learn that carbon monoxide is a poison, but also that it is a tasteless, odorless, clear and invisible gas.

It is satisfying to watch a child learn something like this.

Brothers James and Morris Carey are nationally accredited home remodelers who have written a column for the Associated Press for more than a decade. Readers can mail questions to: On the House, AP Newsfeatures, 50 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10020, or e-mail careybro@onthehouse.com. Readers can also check their Web site at www.onthehouse.com.