The Safety merit badge is not required for Eagle Scout like it used to be, but it still teaches Boy Scouts valuable lessons.

Knowing about safety helps Scouts to make the right choices and to take the best actions to avoid accidents by making informed choices in their everyday activities and to respond appropriately during an emergency situation.

Safety Merit Badge Requirements

1. Prepare a notebook to include
1. Newspaper and other stories, facts, and statistics showing common types and causes of injuries in the home and in the workplace, and how these injuries could be prevented
2. Newspaper and other stories, facts, and statistics showing common types of crimes and ways to avoid being a crime victim
3. Facts you have obtained concerning the frequency of accidents and of crimes in your local area
4. A paragraph or more, written by you, explaining how a serious fire, accident, or crime could change your family life
5. A list of safe practices and safety devices currently used by your family, such as safety practices used while driving or working and safety devices that prevent injuries or help in an emergency
2. 2. Do the following:
1. Using a safety checklist approved by your counselor, make an inspection of your home. Explain the hazards found and how they can be corrected.
2. Review or develop your family’s plan of escape in case of fire in your home.
3. 3. Do the following:
1. Discuss with your counselor how you contribute to the safety of yourself, your family, and your community.
2. Show your family members how to protect themselves and your home from accidents, fire, robbery, and assault.
3. Discuss with your counselor the tips for online safety. Explain the steps individuals can take to help prevent identity theft.
4. Discuss with your counselor the three R’s of Youth Protection and how to recognize child abuse.
4. Show your family the exits you would use from different public buildings (such as a theater, municipal building, library, supermarket, shopping center, or your place of worship) in the event of an emergency. Teach your family what to do in the event that they need to take shelter in or evacuate a public place.
5. Make an accident prevention plan for five family activities outside the home (at your place of worship, at a theater, on a picnic, at the beach, and while traveling, for example). Each plan should include an analysis of possible hazards, proposed action to correct hazards, and reasons for the correction you propose in each plan.
6. Plan and complete a safety project approved by your counselor for your home, school, place of worship, place of employment, or community. Include in your plan an explanation of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Advisory System and appropriate actions to take for each threat level.
7. Learn about three career opportunities in the field of safety. Pick one career and find out the education, training, and experience required for this profession. Discuss this choice with your counselor, and explain why this profession might interest you.

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Earning the Traffic Safety merit badge will help Boy Scouts know how to stay safe, whether as drivers or pedestrians.

Staying safe in traffic wherever you live is getting more difficult all the time, as more and more people take to the road. Earning the Traffic Safety merit badge and will give Scouts some crucial tools to stay safer, when driving a car on a highway, riding a bike across town, or jogging across a busy street.

Traffic Safety Merit Badge Requirements

1.  Do the following:
1.  Describe the top 10 mistakes new drivers frequently make. Name the two items you are required by law to carry with you whenever you operate a motor vehicle.
2.  Describe how alcohol and other drugs affect the human body and why a person should never drink and drive, or drive while under the influence of any mind-altering substances including prescription drugs, cold medications, and illicit drugs. For the state where you live, find out what is the legal blood alcohol concentration and the consequences for driving while intoxicated or driving under the influence. Find out what the open-container law is in your state.
3.  Describe at least four factors to be considered in the design of a road or highway. Explain how roadside hazards and road conditions contribute to the occurrence and seriousness of traffic crashes.
4.  Explain why a driver who is fatigued or distracted should not operate a motor vehicle. List five common distractions, explain how driver distractions contribute to traffic accidents, and tell how drivers can minimize distractions. Describe how volunteer drivers can plan to be alert when transporting Scouting participants.
2.  Do the following:
1.  Demonstrate how to properly wear a lap or shoulder belt. Explain why it is important for drivers and passengers to wear safety belts at all times.
2.  List five safety features found in motor vehicles besides occupant restraint systems. Describe each safety feature, how each works, and how each contributes to safety.
3. Do the following:
1. Using your family car or another vehicle, demonstrate that all lights and lighting systems in the vehicle are working. Describe the function and explain why each type of light is important to safe driving.
2. Using your family car or another vehicle, demonstrate how to check tire pressure and identify the correct tire pressure for the vehicle. Explain why proper tire pressure is important to safe driving.
3. Demonstrate a method to check for adequate tire tread. Explain why proper tire tread is important to safe driving.
4. Demonstrate with a smear-and-clear test if the windshield wiper blades will clear the windshield completely or need to be replaced. Describe instances in good and bad weather when windshield washers are important to safe driving.
4. Do the following:
1. In a location away from traffic hazards, measure with a tape measure–not in a car–and mark off with stakes the distance that a car will travel during the time needed for decision and reaction, and the braking distances necessary to stop a car traveling 30, 50, and 70 miles per hour on dry, level pavement. Discuss how environmental factors such as bad weather and road conditions will affect the distance.
2. Demonstrate the difference in nighttime visibility between a properly lit bicycle and rider (or a pedestrian) wearing reflective material and a bicycle and rider with no lights (or a pedestrian) dressed in dark clothing, without reflective material.
3. Explain how color and shape are used to help road users recognize and understand the information presented on traffic and roadway signs. Explain the purpose of different types of signs, signals, and pavement markings.
4. Describe at least three examples of traffic laws that apply to drivers of motor vehicles and that bicyclists must also obey.
5. Do ONE of the following:
1. Interview a traffic law enforcement officer in your community to identify what three traffic safety problems the officer is most concerned about. Discuss with your merit badge counselor possible ways to solve one of those problems.
2. Using the Internet (with your parent’s permission), visit five Web sites that cover safe driving for teenagers. As a group, discuss what you learn with your counselor and at least three other teenagers.
3. Initiate and organize an activity or event to demonstrate the importance of traffic safety.
4. Accompanied by an adult and a buddy, pick a safe place to observe traffic at a controlled intersection (traffic signal or stop sign) on three separate days and at three different times of the day, for 30 minutes on each visit. At this intersection, survey (1) such violations as running a red light or stop sign; or (2) seat belt usage. Count the number of violations or number of drivers not wearing a seat belt. Record in general terms if the driver was young or old, male or female. Keep track of the total number of vehicles observed so that you can determine the percentage of compliance vs. violations. Discuss your findings with your merit badge counselor.

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BSA offers supplemental pack program ideas for each month. The newest theme for the August core value of Honesty will be a Kids Against Crime theme. This one was the program theme at least once in the past. So I’ll be adding some ideas related to the theme this month.

Here is what the old program helps said about this theme:

Crime Prevention is everyone’s job. Cub Scouts will spend the month learning how to keep themselves, their families and their homes safe.

So this theme will revolve around the ideas of safety and crime prevention. Several of the Cub Scout achievements and electives fit in with this theme.

Achievements Related to Kids Against Crime

Tiger Cub Scouts

• Achievement 2: Where I Live - – Go See It Activity: Visit a police station or a fire station. Ask someone who works there how he or she helps people in your community.
• Achievement 3: Keeping Myself Healthy and Safe - 3F – Family Activity: a. With your family, plan a fire drill then practice it in your home. and b. With your adult partner, plan what to do if you became lost or separated from your family in a strange place.
• Tiger Elective 27 – Emergency!  - Talk to your adult partner about what to do if these things happened: You are alone with someone who makes you feel uncomfortable.

Wolf Cub Scouts

Wolf Achievement 4 – Know Your Home and Community:

• Make a list of phone numbers you need in case of an emergency. Put a copy of this list by each phone or in a central place in your home. Update it often.
• Tell what to do if someone comes to the door and wants to come in.
• Tell what to do if someone calls on the phone.

Bear Cub Scouts

Bear Achievement 7 – Law Enforcement Is a Big Job

• Practice one way police gather evidence: by taking fingerprints, or taking shoeprints, or taking tire track casts.
• Visit your local sheriff’s office or police station or talk with a law enforcement officer visiting your den or pack to discuss crime prevention.
• Help with crime prevention for your home.
• Be sure you know where to get help in your neighborhood.
• Learn the phone numbers to use in an emergency and post them by each phone in your home.
• Know what you can do to help law enforcement.

Webelos

Citizen Activity Badge

• Tell about two things you can do that will help law enforcement agencies.
• Tell why we have laws. Tell why you think it is important to obey the law. Tell about three laws you obeyed this wee

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The Boy Scout Roundtable Planning Guide suggests a Safety troop program feature for August 2012.  This program feature offers the opportunity to introduce kids to safety programs in a troop setting. A PLC can use this program feature to plan a month of activities with a focus on safety.

The plans for the Safety troop program feature can be found in  Volume 3  of Troop Program Features from BSA:

Having a good experience on a troop campout requires safety practices that prevent accidents. Safety is actually a prevention tool. Performing a project correctly, using the proper tools and procedures, could protect you from serious injury.

Safety Programs

Younger scouts can work on their early rank requirements, including first aid.  Older scouts can earn the Safety merit badge and Fire Safety merit badge. Some other related merit badges include First Aid, Emergency Preparedness, and Lifesaving. All scouts can help develop safety programs for their campouts.

The feature event for this program is a campout where safety programs are developed and practices. As an alternative, youth can arrange a visit to a hotel to learn about safety in public buildings or set up a display about safety programs in a mall.

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Our council has a “Toasted Chit” training for pressurized fuel use. I think this is a local requirement, but I thought the organization of the material might be helpful to anyone doing pressurized fuel instruction. So keep that in mind when reading.

Adults in our council are required to attend Toasted Chit training every three years and it must be conducted by a council approved trainer. So reading this should not be considered a replacement for official council training if your council has similar requirements.

Once trained, adults can train and supervise youth members. I get the feeling that our council actively discourages the use of pressurized fuel except in specific situations. I heard the suggestion that we use the “abundance of downed wood” in our area several times when I attended the training this past fall.

What I am giving here is just the outline. The actual training took about an hour.

If you are teaching others about the use of chemical fuels, you should also look at the Chemical Fuels and Equipment section of the Guide to Safe Scouting.

Toasted Chit

Three most important things to remember: Safety, Safety, Safety

T for Training

• A minimum of one TRAINED adult to supervise
• One mistake and TRAINED toasted chit should be revoked

O for Operation

• Know the OPERATION of the equipment you are using
• The refueling OPERATION for the equipment shall be 20 feet from the cooking area
• Before putting any stove in OPERATION, it shall be checked for leaks

A for Area

• Keep the cooking AREA free from Scout games
• Store fuel in a well ventilated AREA that can be secured
• Must have 4 feet open AREA above any equipment

S for Safety

• For SAFETY, one trained adult minimum
• A fire extinguisher should be present for SAFETY
• Never leave fuel or equipment unattended

T for Test

• TEST each other on the correct rules to follow
• TEST all connections fore leaks with bubbles before lighting
• TEST to make sure the flame is lit

E for Equipment

• Know the EQUIPMENT you are going to be using
• Read the EQUIPMENT operating instructions

D for Done

• When DONE, allow equipment to cool
• Remove pressure when DONE
• Store equipment safely
• When you have reviewed TOASTED and followed the safety guide, you are DONE

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Boy Scouts love building fires. They can learn how to be safe around planned and unplanned fires by earning the Fire Safety merit badge.

The ability to use fire safely is essential to human survival. By earning this merit badge, Scouts will learn to uses fire safely and responsibly, how to prevent home fires, and how to handle fire safely, as well as burn prevention, and camping safety.

Fire Safety Merit Badge Requirements

1. Do the following:
   1. Demonstrate the technique of stop, drop, roll, and cool. Explain how burn injuries can be prevented.
   2. List the most frequent causes of burn injuries.
2. Explain the chemistry and physics of fire. Name the parts of the fire tetrahedron. Explain why vapors are important to the burning process. Name the products of combustion. Give an example of how fire grows and what happens.
3. Name the most frequent causes of fire in the home and give examples of ways it can be prevented.
4. Do the following:
   1. Explain the role of human behavior in the arson problem in this country.
   2. List the actions that cause seasonal fires and explain how these fires can be prevented.
5. List the common circumstances that cause holiday-related fires and explain how these fires can be prevented.
6. Conduct a home safety survey with the help of an adult. Then do the following:
   1. Draw a home fire-escape plan, create a home fire-drill schedule, and conduct a home fire drill.
   2. Test a smoke alarm and demonstrate regular maintenance of a smoke alarm.
   3. Explain what to do when you smell gas and when you smell smoke.
   4. Explain how you would report a fire alarm.
   5. Explain what fire safety equipment can be found in public buildings.
   6. Explain who should use fire extinguishers and when these devices can be used.
   7. Explain how to extinguish a grease pan fire.
   8. Explain what fire safety precautions you should take when you are in a public building.
7. Do the following:
   1. Demonstrate lighting a match safely.
   2. Demonstrate the safe way to start a charcoal fire.
   3. Demonstrate the safe way to melt wax.
8. Explain the difference between combustible and noncombustible liquids and between combustible and noncombustible fabrics.
9. Do the following:
   1. Demonstrate the safe way to fuel a lawn mower.
   2. Demonstrate the safety factors, such as proper ventilation, for auxiliary heating devices and the proper way to fuel those devices.
10. Do the following:
    1. Explain the cost of outdoor and wildland fires and how to prevent them.
    2. Demonstrate setting up and putting out a cooking fire.
    3. Demonstrate using a camp stove and lantern.
    4. Explain how to set up a campsite safe from fire.
11. Visit a fire station. Identify the types of fire trucks. Find out about the fire prevention activities in your community.
12. Choose a fire safety-related career that interests you and describe the level of education required and responsibilities of a person in that position. Tell why this position interests you.

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BSA provides den meeting plans for den leader on the Scouting.org website. Today, I am going to go through the second Wolf plan. If you don’t already have the BSA den meeting plans, download BSA Wolf Den Meeting Plan 5 to follow along with this article.

The BSA plans are designed to be done in order, so it is best if you do plans 1 through 4first. This plan covers part of Wolf Achievement 4 (Know Your Home and Community) and part of Wolf Achievement 9 (Be Safe at Home and on the Street).

Some other resources you might find helpful:

• My  Wolf Achievement 4 page. This page has an alternate den meeting plan which covers the requirements for Know Your Home and Community in one meeting plus a field trip.
• My  Wolf Achievement 9 page. This page has an alternate den meeting plan which covers the requirement for Be Safe at Home and on the Street as well as lots of handouts and helps for this achievement.

Get BSA Wolf Den Meeting Plan 5 from the Scouting.org website

BSA Wolf Den Meeting Plan 5: Know Your Home and Community and Be Safe at Home and on the Street

Preparation and Before the Meeting

This meeting takes place on a trip to a fire house or historic location, so you will need to make the arrangements beforehand. Since you will be doing other requirements, inquire about the availability of a place to meet.

Gathering and Opening

These can be difficult when you are away from your regular meeting place. Puzzles make good on the go gathering activities.  Feel free to adjust this part of the plan.

Business Items

Keep them short and sweet.

Activities

The visit itself fulfills Achievement 4 requirement f (“Visit an important place in your community, such as a historic or government location. Explain why it is important.”) Hopefully the location you visit will give you a nice tour.

For Achievement 9 requirement d, you will discuss street safety. They can definitely practice this where you are meeting. Requirement e is about bike safety. See Bike Hike Safety and Etiquette for some helps with this.

The other requirements for Achievement 9 need to be done at home. Send home some handouts to help with this.  See Home Safety Checklist for Cub Scouts and Fire Drill Instructions.  They also need to complete 4c and 4d at home. (Too many home requirements! Sometimes it is like pulling teeth to get the parents to do these with their sons.)  See Phone Etiquette for some help.

Closing

Once again, since you are at somebody else’s place, there might be some limits on what you can do for closing. You can always say a prayer or the Cub Scout Promise.

After the Meeting

Pat yourself on the back for another great meeting. And don’t forget to follow up with the parents to get them to do all of the home assignments.

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BSA has a list of bike safety guidelines on the Scouting.org site. The guidelines and procedures apply to all BSA unit, council, and national program activities involving bicycling.

If you follow the link above, you will see that many of the guidelines relate directly to the Sweet 16 of BSA Safety. Others are specific to cycling though. Here is a summary of some of the bike specific guidelines.

• All cyclists must wear a properly sized and fitted helmet and appropriate clothing.
• Cyclists must ride with traffic and watch out for hazards.
• Cyclists must follow safety rules, including local regulations. They must never ride in an unsafe manner such as two to a bike or hitching to a vehicle.
• Cyclists must use caution at turns and intersections.
• Bikes must be appropriately sized and adjusted for the rider.
• Bikes should have horns or bells and reflectors. Extra gear must be properly secured. Mirrors and water bottle mounts are recommended.
• Bikes must be properly maintained.
• Street racing is a hazard. Race only on a course which is free of vehicles and pedestrians and only with proper supervision.

For the complete list with all of the details, see BSA Bike Safety.

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Puzzles are a fun way to reinforce concepts with Cub Scouts. Use the link below to download a printable bike safety crossword puzzle:

This puzzle helps Cub Scouts think about some basic bike safety concepts. It would make a good gathering activity at a pack bicycling activity or a den meeting. You can create additional puzzles and printables related to bike safety using my Bike Safety Word List on A2Z Puzzler.

Doing the puzzle is not a substitute for instructing cycling safety though. You should always do a complete review of bike safety and etiquette at any Scout activity involving bikes.

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Before riding a bike, Scouts should know how to do an inspection of the bicycle and check that it is in working order. The checklist below will give you a good starting point. You will need to explain each step to the Scouts so they learn the terminology and why each part is important.

Please note that this checklist is for the physical inspection of the bicycle only. There are other safety items which should be discussed also, such as helmets, use of hand signals, etc. See my cycling theme page for more helps with these.

Bicycle Safety Checklist

Frame

_____ Look at the frame to make sure there are no dents, kinks, cracks, or other damages.

_____ Look for large patches of rust which could weaken the frame.

_____ Check that the parts of the frame are securely attached to each other and to the wheels, seat, front fork, and handlebars.

_____ Check for looseness in the seat, handlebars, and front fork.

_____ Check the seat height. For young cyclists, the rider should be able to sit on the seat and just reach his feet to the ground.

_____ Is the handlebar in line with the front wheel?

Tires and Wheels

_____ Are the tires properly inflated?

_____ Do the tires still have good treads and no visible bulging or other damage?

_____ Do the wheels spin freely without wiggling? Does is stay aligned when spun?

_____ Are there any missing spokes or are any spokes damaged?

Brakes

_____ Test the brakes to see that they stop a spinning wheel quickly without slipping.

_____ While applying the brakes, try to move the bike forward. It should not move.

_____ For hand breaks, look at the brake pads. They should have at least 3/16 of an inch of rubber remaining and they should meet the rim squarely, not at an angle.

_____ For hand breaks, you should not be able to squeeze them all the way to the bottom. They should have some reserve left when the brake is completely engaged.

Crank and Chain

_____ Does the crank turn freely and without wiggling?

_____ Are the pedals firmly attached?

_____ Is the chain lubricated? Also check it for rust.

_____ If the bike has gears, does it shift freely?

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Since I am focusing on aquatics this month, I want to encourage everyone involved in Scouting to be aware of Safe Swim Defense. Safe Swim Defense provides the steps which a BSA unit must take to safely participate in an activity which involves swimming. BSA regulations state:

Before a BSA group may engage in swimming activities of any kind, a minimum of one adult leader must complete Safe Swim Defense training, have a commitment card (No. 34243) with them, and agree to use the eight defenses in this plan.

Knowledge of the eight points of Safe Swim Defense are required for some BSA recognitions. The list below is a simple version. It is appropriate for an introduction to Safe Swim Defense, but does not constitute “training”.

If you are going to be supervising an aquatics activity, you should see the Safe Swim Defense page on scouting.org for more detailed information. Then visit the Online Learning Center and take the Safe Swim Defense course.

Safe Swim Defense

• Qualified Supervision. A responsible adult (at least 21 years of age) must supervise.
• Physical Fitness. Require evidence of fitness for swimming activity, using a health history.
• Safe Area. Before swimming in unknown waters, check the swimming area for varying depth, currents, holes, rocks, or other dangerous conditions.
• Lifeguard on Duty. Swim where lifeguards are on duty.
• Lookout. Station an adult on shore where he or she can see and hear everything in all areas.
• Ability Groups. Divide Scouts into nonswimmers, beginners, and swimmers. Mark off areas in the swimming area for the different ability groups.
• Buddy System. Pair each participant with another person in his ability group. They must stay together the entire time they are swimming.
• Discipline. Insist upon strict but fair discipline.

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Since I am focusing on an aquatics theme this month, I thought I’d post about water rescue methods. These are methods used to rescue someone who is in trouble in the water. You will see these methods throughout the BSA programs from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts to Venturing.

It should be noted that Cub Scouts should be instructed that they should only attempt the Reach and Throw methods.  And with any age group, remind them that they must keep themselves safe first of all. It doesn’t do any good to try to help someone and get in trouble yourself.  If you are not sure you can rescue the victim without putting yourself in danger, then go for help instead.

They should be attempted in the order given:

• Reach - Try to reach the victim with your arm or leg. If a pole or sturdy stick is available, try to use that to reach out to the victim and pull him to safety. Be careful not to hit the victim.
• Throw - Throw something to the victim. This could be a rope or a rescue ring. It could also be something which floats which the victim can use to keep himself above water. Coolers float! Once again, be careful not to hurt the victim by hitting them with something hard.
• Row – Get a boat out to the victim. You will need two people in the boat – one to handle the boat and one to help the victim. Don’t forget your PFDs.  Be careful when helping the victim that you don’t capsize the boat.
• Go (with support) – Swim out to the victim to rescue him. This should only be attempted by someone who is trained in swimming and lifesaving. This can be dangerous for the rescuer if he does not know the correct techniques. Take something along which floats for the victim to hold on to. Avoid direct contact with the victim. This is the rescue method of last resort.

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Pack your swimsuit on top.

Those are always the instructions when packing for summer camp, because one of the first things we will have to do when we get there is the swim test. The BSA swim test is used to determine ability level so that participants can swim in an area which is appropriate for them.

Scouts and adults must pass the BSA swim test to take part in most aquatics activites. At camp, there is always a buddy board where you check in according to your ability level. The swim test is also used as a requirement for some advancement. Almost any rank advancement involving swimming or boating will require a swim test.

Sometimes Scouts will be very disappointed in themselves if they don’t get the Swimmer level right away. I just tell them to take pride in doing the best they can. Camp staff will often let them try again later in the week and I have seen several Scouts pass on a second try.

BSA Swim Test

Swimmer

• Jump feet first into water over the head, level off, and begin swimming.
• Swim 75 yards in a strong manner using one or more of the following strokes: side, breast, trudgen, or crawl. Swim 25 yards using an easy, resting backstroke.
• The 100 yards must be completed without stops and must include at least one sharp turn.
• Rest by floating…Long enough to demonstrate ability to rest when exhausted.

Beginner

• Jump feet first into water over the head, level off, and begin swimming.
• Swim 25 feet on the surface.
• Stop, turn, and resume swimming back to the starting place.

Non-Swimmer

• Did not complete either of the swimming tests.

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