Despite the fact that most of us didn’t realize just how important safety drills were as children, looking back as an adult it’s easy to see why they were. Safety is important, and knowing what to do in the event of an emergency is right up there near the top. If your family doesn’t have a family safety plan in place for emergencies, it’s imperative that you get one in place as soon as possible.
October is National Fire Prevention month and Energizer and the International Association of Fire Chiefs are encouraging that everyone take the time to make the safety of their home a priority. Here a few things you can do to help keep your family safe.
Sit down and create a family safety plan together. Make sure everyone is included, and understands what to do in case of different types of emergencies. For fires, be sure to plan a safe meeting spot outside the home where you all will meet up once you’ve safely made it out. Stress to your children the importance of following these exact plans in the event of an emergency.
Practice Your Plan
It’s one thing to have a plan in place, but often times these plans are forgotten in the midst of an emergency. Practicing your plan randomly and frequently will make it much more likely that everyone will react accordingly during an emergency.
Check Your Detectors
Ensure that all smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, connected home devices, and flashlights in your home or working. It’s a good idea to change out the batteries in your devices on daylight savings time each year. This year daylight savings falls on November 6th. Use that extra hour to make your home safer.
The National Fire Protection Association reports that 71% of smoke alarms which failed to operate had missing, disconnected or dead batteries. This reinforces how important it is to take this time each year to check these safety devices.
Beyond the Smoke Detectors
There are many options, beyond the smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, that can help to keep your family safe. Some of these options include smart devices that connect through the internet and smart phones to enhance their safety and security. Energizer provides smart energy for smart devices with a variety of battery sizes and products across our portfolio that power these connected home devices.
We all hope that we’ll never have to use our family safety plan, but if you do… it’s important that every piece is in place. Plan and practice are key. Also remember, when you change your clock… change your batteries.
Disclosure : This post was sponsored by Energizer. All thoughts are my own.