Creating a Family Fire Safety Plan

It’s the middle of the night and suddenly awakened by the blaring sound of a smoke alarm. You can smell smoke and hear the crackling of a fire. You need to act immediately. What do you do?

If you’re like most people, then you don’t have a family fire safety plan in place, which can place you and your family in a terrifying position. Now is the perfect time to create a plan of action to protect you and your family should a fire start in your home. 

The Basics

There are a few things you will need to make sure your home is safe. 

• Smoke alarms are installed in every bedroom and outside each sleeping area.
• Keep a fire extinguisher in or close to your kitchen.
• If you live in a home with a second story, purchase a safety ladder, and keep it in an easily accessible location near a window on the second floor.

Creating a Safety Plan

Once you have made sure that all safety equipment is purchased, in place, and working correctly, it’s now time to create a plan.

1. Walk through your home together and inspect every possible exit route. Possible exit routes include doors as well as windows. Every room should have two different ways to exit. Make sure that you open every window during this walkthrough to make sure it easily opens. If you find that a window is difficult to open, now is the time to repair it.
2. Determine a meeting place outside of the home. A meeting location can be a neighbors house, in front of the home, or a specified location familiar to everyone in the family. It’s beneficial to create a drawing of the house, escape route, and a place to meet if you have young children.
3. Once you are outside of the house, make sure that the street number is easily visible from the road. If it’s difficult to see the number, paint it on the curb or install numbers onto the house. Making the street address more visible will ensure that the fire department can find your home quickly.
4. If an infant, older adult, or someone with physical disabilities lives in the home, assign someone to make sure they get out safely. Assign a backup person as well.
5. Once you are out of the house, stay out! Do not run back into a burning building.

Practice

Now that you have a family safety plan in place, it’s essential to practice to make sure that everyone remembers what to do should a fire start. During this time, teach children how to stay low and crawl. Smoke naturally rises, which means that by staying low to the ground, you can crawl below. Also, teach them not to open a door before making sure there isn’t fire on the other side. Teach them how to feel for heat by using the back of their hand. 

During this time, you can find the route through the home that is the safest and quickest way out. Be sure to close all doors behind you. Closing the door will allow for more time for you to escape.

Sealing Yourself In

Most family fire safety plans forget to include what to do if you are trapped in the home and can not escape. If you find yourself in this situation, be sure to close all doors around you and the fire. Use duct tape and towels to seal door cracks and vents to prevent smoke from coming in. If possible, open a window from top and bottom to allow fresh air to come in. This open window will aid in being visible to the firefighters. Wave a flashlight or light-colored cloth out the window for help. 

Some To Do’s

• DO test your smoke detectors once a month.
• DO change the batteries in your smoke detectors once or twice a year.
• DO schedule a fire drill once or twice a year. During this drill, try to make it as realistic as possible.
• DO keep space heaters 3 feet away from anything that can catch fire.
• DO watch children and pets closely while using a space heater.
• DO be sure to turn off space heaters when you leave.
• DO unplug small appliances when not in use.
• DO make sure that the babysitter or caregiver is aware of your fire escape plan.
• DO keep matches and lighters away from infants and children.
• DO dress your infant in non-flammable sleepwear.
• DO make sure that an adult is always present while cooking.

For more fire safety tips, check Safe Kids Worldwide.