Preparedness: If a fire occurred in your home or residence are you prepared for you and your family to get out safely. Everyone in you residence should know how to escape if your home has a fire in it or the smoke alarms sound. Once you have completed a plan remember to practice the plan on a regular basis and make sure that everyone in your home is familiar with the plan.
Fire Escape Plan
- Purchase white grid paper and draw a diagram of your home on it. Remember to draw a plan for each level of your home and include all doors, windows, and stairways to show your family all possible escape routes.
- Show two ways to exit each room with the door being the main exit. Windows can be used as alternate escape routes if the door is blocked by smoke or fire. Make sure that all windows can be opened easily and that everyone knows how to escape out of them safely. Draw arrows on your escape plan to show the ways to safely get out.
- Decide in advance who will assist the very young, older adults or people with disabilities that may live in your home.
- Choose a meeting place a safe distance from your home that everyone will remember, these can be a tree, street light or neighbor’s home for some examples. Make sure to account for everyone in your household once you reach your meeting place.
- Call the fire department once you have safely escaped your home. Use a cell phone or got to a neighbor’s home to call 911. Remember to never return into a burning building once you have safely exited.
- Review the plan with everyone in your household and have everyone walk through the escape routes for each room in the house.
Fire Escape Tips
- Check the door with the back of your hand, if you feel heat use your second exit. If there is smoke crawl on your hands and knees to the nearest exit.
- If you are trapped in a room stay low and put blankets, rugs, or pillows at the bottom of the door to keep smoke out. Signal out the window with a sheet, towel or flashlight.
- Plan two ways out of every room if possible and hold fire drills at least twice a year.
- Install smoke alarms on every level of your home and outside all sleeping areas.
- NEVER go back into a burning building once you have safely exited if someone is missing tell the firefighters where that person may be located.
- Tape a copy of your home escape plan to the back of each bedroom door.