Why Dale Earnhardt Jr. Does Home Fire Drills

When Dale Earnhardt Jr. was a young child, his home caught fire. Luckily he and his sister Kelley escaped unharmed. After this experience and as a new parent, Dale wants to help parents be proactive about home fire safety and child injury prevention along with Kelley and his wife Amy. Learn about their experience, home fire drill tips and more.

Dale Jr. on Home Fire Safety

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His Home Fire
- The house where he was living caught fire when he was six years old and his sister Kelley was eight.
- At that time their family, like many other families, didn’t have a fire escape plan. But they acted fast.
- Dale’s room was closest to the fire, which was in the kitchen. He remembers the “wall of flame” that the fire had already become as they got out of the house.
- Through his racing career and to today, he never forgets how fast a fire situation can become serious.
Tips for Parents
- Make a written home fire escape plan and go over it with the whole family.
- Pick a safe meeting spot far enough from the house.
- Do home fire drills and aim to get out in 120 seconds or under 2 minutes. Our app timer makes it easy.
- Make getting to the safety spot fun for kids. Anything from a celebration dance to confetti.
- More detailed home fire drill tips here.
Child Injury Outreach
- Since 2008 Dale Earnhardt Jr. has had a relationship with Nationwide and Nationwide Children’s Hospital, both as a NASCAR driver and as a sponsor of the hospital’s children and care professionals.
- In 2017, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his wife Amy partnered with Nationwide to establish the Dale and Amy Earnhardt Fund at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. The Fund aims to support patients and their families with pediatric injury rehabilitation, to fund research on treatments and on injury prevention.
- The Earnhardts’ advocacy builds from the mission of The Dale Jr. Foundation, which is to help children in need and see them achieve their full potential.