How to Make a Home Fire Safety Plan

How to Make a Home Fire Safety Plan

Fires in homes. We see them in movies and hear about strangers having them, but we never expect to have one in our own homes. The sobering reality is that these types of incidents are more common than you might think. Home fires accounted for nearly 30% of all reported fires from 2014 to 2018, accounting for more than three-quarters of all fire deaths. Would you know what to do if your house caught fire? Would your relatives?

In a fire, time is the most dangerous enemy, and every second counts. As a result, a safe escape for you and your family is dependent on a well-communicated evacuation plan that gets everyone out as soon as possible. Stay with us as we go over everything you need to know about keeping your family safe in an emergency.

Create an Escape Plan from a Fire

The first step in developing your fire evacuation plan should be a family meeting to discuss fire safety. Discuss how a home fire can become life threatening in just two minutes. The goal is not to frighten anyone, but to help them understand how developing a simple plan ahead of time can mean the difference between life and death.

Next, gather everyone in your household and walk through each room, inspecting all possible exits and escape routes in the event of a fire. In case one exit is blocked or too dangerous to use, your plan should include at least two ways out of each room. Consider drawing a map of your house, with both exits marked in each room, and keeping it in an easily accessible place where everyone will see it on a regular basis, such as on the refrigerator.

If your home has two floors, every member of your family (including children) must be able to safely evacuate the second floor rooms. Place emergency ladders in or near windows to provide an extra escape route. Set up the ladder from a first-floor window to ensure that you can do it quickly and correctly. Keep the ladder close to the window and easily accessible so that it is immediately available in the event of a fire.

You should also go over how to get out of the house. It is necessary to touch a door before opening it. If the door is warm, close it and find another way out. Show your family members how to get out of a smokey building by getting down on their bellies and crawling out through the smoke.

Plan for Everyone in Your Home

When a smoke alarm goes off, not everyone will wake up, and some may not be able to react as quickly as others. During an emergency, consider everyone in your household's special needs. Making special arrangements for young children, elderly family members or those with disabilities, and pets is one example. Assign someone to assist them during a fire drill and in the event of an actual fire. Choose a backup person in case the designated person is unavailable during the emergency.

Install and Regularly Check Fire Smoke Alarms.

A home fire safety plan can only be successful if each level of your home has fully operational smoke detectors. Working smoke alarms, in fact, cut the risk of dying in a house fire in half.

Install smoke alarms in each sleeping room, outside each sleeping area, and on each floor of the house. The National Fire Protection Association strongly recommends installing interconnected smoke alarms throughout the home because when one goes off, they all go off, alerting the entire household. Once installed, test your smoke alarms once a month and replace the batteries every two years.

Clear Your Escape Routes

If you have any items blocking your home's doors and windows, especially heavier items like furniture, they could prevent you from escaping in the event of a fire. Ensure that all evacuation routes in the home are clear and safe for each member of the household to use.

Pick a Meeting Place to Meet Safely Away from the Home

Next, choose a location where everyone can meet once they are safely out of the house. Choose a location that is both safe and easy to remember, such as a neighbor's house or a stop sign, and that is a safe distance away from the burning home. Choose a location near the front of the house so that emergency responders can see you when they arrive—and make sure everyone in your family understands not to return to the house after you've left.

Practice Home Fire Drills

The first step is to develop a fire safety plan, but you must also ensure that it is operational. Practice your home fire escape plan to ensure that everyone in your household can leave in less than two minutes—and that it is as realistic as possible.

Practice touching closed doors and door knobs or handles to see if they are hot from fire, as well as staying in place and sealing the room as much as possible if fire prevents escape. Experiment with escaping hallways and rooms by getting low and crawling under the smoke to the nearest and safest exit.

And, because fires can start anywhere and at any time in the home, it's critical to practice fire drills that simulate both daytime and nighttime emergencies. Experiment with the drill at night to see if everyone can easily wake up to the sound of the smoke alarm. If they do not wake up, make sure someone is assigned to wake them up as part of the drill and in an actual emergency situation. Once you've mastered it, go over your home fire escape plan at least twice a year.