Station tours, Fire Prevention Week and other occasions bring children into the fire stations ... or take us to the children. The kids love us; they look up to us, and some even want to be like us. One of the hardest things to do during these times is say no to a child who has asked to put on our helmet. But we should.

Those of us with children know from experience that head lice are easily transported from one head to the other. Letting a child wear your helmet could infest you and/or other children with head lice.

Also, although not as likely a danger, there’s the issue of toxic residue. Can you really be sure some kind of toxic residue isn’t on your helmet? Pesticides, carcinogens and other nasty toxins may hide there, and we certainly don’t want to take the chance, albeit small, of exposing children to them.

Your best bet is to adopt a policy that your helmets may not be worn by children (or anyone else for that matter). It’s easy to do, and you’d be surprised how receptive people are when you simply explain why: “We’re concerned that a child may pick something up from a helmet, and/or may unknowingly pass head lice on to another child or a firefighter.” People always seem to understand. Further, you can always offer the child a chance to sit in the driver’s seat of an apparatus; or you can offer them a plastic fire prevention helmet, available from various companies. These are usually a big hit with kids.