Sound the alarm! It’s time to play some firefighter party games!
Extinguish the Flames
To play this game, you will need a couple of large, water-shooting guns (the kind that can shoot water for a good distance) and some cardboard or foam cut outs of flames, taped to the fronts of tin cans. Arrange the tin cans on a table so that the flames are facing forward. Have kids stand behind a line a few feet away from the table.
The distance you put between the kids and the flame cans will depend on the age group of the players. Have the kids squirt the water at the flames, trying to extinguish them by knocking the cans off of the table.
Rescue the Kitten
Think of this activity as a reverse pin-the-tail game. Draw a tree on poster board, or use a real tree if you are playing in the backyard. Pin or tape pictures of cats stuck in the tree. Blindfold players and challenge them to see who can remove a kitten from the tree rather than pin one there.
Bucket Brigade
Have players divide into two teams and line up next to a baby pool that has been filled with water. Give an empty pitcher to the players in line standing closest to the pool. Place an empty bucket at the other ends of the lines. Give each player a plastic cup. When you sound the alarm (ring a bell or call out the word “go!”), the players with the pitcher must scoop water from the pool into the pitchers and then use the pitchers to fill the cups of the players next to them.
The players with the full cups must then pour the water from their cups into the cups of the next players in line. This continues down the line until the last player empties the water into the bucket. Once the last cup has been emptied, the player with the pitcher starts the process again. The first team to fill their bucket to the top wins the bucket brigade race.
House Fire
Decorate a large cardboard box to look like a house on fire. Cut holes for windows and doors and paint flames all around the structure. Set the cardboard house up in the backyard. Fill a couple of buckets with several water balloons. Have the kids throw the water balloons at the house, trying to douse the flames. Set a timer for five minutes and challenge players to get all of their balloons inside the house through the windows and doors.
Fire Engine Race
This game can actually be two activities if you have party guests decorate their own fire trucks before the race. To make a fire truck, cut the top and bottom flaps off of a cardboard box. Paint the box red or wrap it in red paper. You may wish to paint the boxes and allow them to dry before the party, so they are ready for kids to decorate before play time. Decorate it with items such as colored markers, crayons and stickers.
To race, players will stand in the center of the fire engine boxes, and pick them up to hold them around their waists. They will then race, holding the fire trucks as if they are driving them, either individually from the start to the finish line, relay-style, or through an obstacle course.
Rescue Relay Race
To play the firefighter rescue relay race, divide the kids into two teams and have them line up at the starting line. At the other end of the party space, place two sets of figures that need to be rescued, such as dolls or stuffed animals. You will need one doll per player. Tape cut out flames along the route between the starting line and the dolls. The first players in line have to race, jumping over the flames along the way, to the dolls, pick one up, place it over their shoulders and return (again avoiding the flames) to their teams.
When the first players return, the second players must do the same, racing to rescue another doll from their pile. The first team to transport all of their dolls from the pile back to the starting line wins the race.
Flaming Hoop
To play this game, tape cutout flames to the rim of a hula hoop. Have kids line up behind the hoop. Have two people hold the hoop, and have the kids climb through without touching the flames. When all of the kids pass through, raise the hoop slightly and have them pass through again. Keep raising the hoop slightly at the end of each round. When a player touches a flame, he is out. The last player remaining wins the game.
Stop, Drop and Roll Dance
Play this funny version of the popular party game, Freeze Dance. Play some music and let the kids dance freely around, but anytime the music stops, dancers must stop, drop and roll around on the floor.
Musical Fire Helmets
Play this game like musical chairs, but place a plastic fire helmet on each chair. As music plays, the kids circle the chairs, and when it stops, they must put on the helmets before sitting in the chairs. The kids left without a helmet and chair is out of the game, one chair and helmet is removed and play continues until only one player remains seated with a helmet on.
You can use a song with the words fire or hero in it to play both this and the stop, drop and roll dance game.. Some suggestions:
SHARE
