Basic Fire Preparedness: You should create an escape plan

Being prepared for an emergency is very important. It may mean the difference between life or death. However, according to a National Fire Protection Association survey only one in four Americans have developed and practiced a home fire escape plan!

You can be better prepared for a fire at your home by creating an escape plan! Here are some tips:

1. Draw a home escape plan and discuss it with everyone in your home.

2. Designate at least two ways out of every room, including windows and doors.

3. Chose an outside meeting place a safe distance in front of your home where everyone can meet.

4. Practice the plan at night and during the day, at least twice per year. Bring everyone together and walk through the plan, highlighting all possible exits and escape routes.

5. Make sure that all doors and windows leading outside open easily.

6. Practice using different ways out.

7. Teach children how to escape on their own in case you cannot help them.

If the alarm sounds,

1. Get out and stay out.

2. If you have to escape through smoke, get low and go under the smoke to your way out.

3. Feel the door and doorknob for heat before opening a door.

4. Close doors behind you as you leave.

5. Call the fire department from outside of your home. (Even if you have a monitored fire alarm system, an extra phone call to the fire department is still a good idea.).

By putting a plan in place, practicing the basics, and understanding what do during an actual emergency, you put your family in a much better position to survive a fire at your home. Going through these recommendations does not take much time and can actually be fun, especially for kids. Good luck and be safe!

Source: National Fire Protection Association, Public Education Division, www.nfpa.org/education.