After her 81-year-old mother died because she didn’t understand fire safety, her daughter Barbara Simpson has embarked on a ‘crusade’ to encourage others to learn the basics.

Simpson’s mother, Jeanette Schneider was the victim of a fire outside her home when burning grass set her clothing alight.

“The fire got away from her, and she was trying to put it out by herself,” Simpson said.

“She didn’t call emergency services and instead tried to put the fire out with buckets of water from her house. She also didn’t have a hose ready to use. And she didn’t know how to ‘stop, drop and roll’ to extinguish the flames on her dress.” Simpson said she had warned her mother on previous occasions not to burn debris by herself. But her mother feared she’d bother people by asking for help.

“We are trying to warn people – don’t do this by yourself. Don’t do this without a hose out.”