Safety Chief Richard Kirrstetter of the Lansing Volunteer Fire Department is encouraging citizens in the Lansing fire district to pick up a “Tot Finder” rescue decal for their homes to alert firefighters to the location of a child in the event of a fire.

These decals, Kirrstetter explained, allow firefighters to quickly find children who may be trapped in a burning inferno. The decals are placed on the outside of a bedroom window and on the interior of a bedroom door (about 1.5 feet from the floor). Kirrstetter also explained that the stickers can also be used in the bedroom of the elderly or an individual who is handicapped.

Each sticker is comprised of a highly reflective material that is designed to alert firefighters to the location of the child’s door when they shine their flashlight across it. A decal may also be placed on the bedroom window to indicate to firefighters where they should set their ladders up to.

“It allows us to save their lives and it makes our job as firefighters easier,” Kirrstetter explained.

According to the Port Washington Fire Department in Nassau County, NY, the decals are designed with small children in mind because it is believed that children account for over one-third of the nation’s fire casualties.

Kirrstetter, a former New York City firefighter, stated the Lansing department received 100 of the decals from the New York Firefighters Burn Foundation and will likely receive more of the alert stickers in the near future. He also said that the decals are common in New York and he is hoping that program will catch on quickly in the Lansing area.

For more information on how to obtain a “Tot Finder” sticker, please call the Lansing Volunteer Fire Department at (336) 384-4545 or Kirrstetter at 384-4485.

Residents outside the Lansing Township can order the stickers by logging onto www.totfinder.com.