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One of the most important steps in your family's fire prevention planning should be an awareness of how to act and what to do in the event of a fire. How will your smaller children get out of the house? Where do you meet to make sure that all are out and safe? Your assessment of your family's reaction to a life and death emergency in your own home must consider the ages, health and physical abilities of each family member. Most fatal fires occur at night, when most people are sleeping. The house can quickly fill with smoke, making it very difficult to see. It's scary and your family can become disoriented in their own house.
You should be encouraged that each family should sit down and plan your possible escape routes that allow you to leave the house directly and with no delay. This means being able to determine all possible routes of escape and then (and this is the most important part) practicing leaving the house by those doors or windows.
No home escape plan is complete without a smoke detector. It is your first line of defense in the event of a fire. A common misconception is that the smell of smoke will wake you up in a fire. Unfortunately, that is just not the case. The toxic smoke can actually put you into a deeper sleep, making a safe escape impossible. Make sure your detector is operating properly and test it monthly. If it has a battery, replace it annually. Learn to recognize the warning sound it will make in the event of a fire.
A home escape plan should show two exits from each room in the house. Since most fatal fires occur at night, encourage your family to sleep with their bedroom door closed. This will slow the spread of smoke and allow a few more precious seconds to leave. Place a special emphasis on exiting from the bedroom. Once a family member recognizes the warning from the detector, they should yell to wake the others up. Roll out of bed to the floor. Crawl to the closed door and feel it and the doorknob to see if it is hot. (A hot door may indicate fire on the opposite side). If it is cool,slowly open the door to see if it is safe to exit the room using this door. Crawl low under any smoke though the corridor to exit from the house. If the door is hot or if smoke comes in through the door, leave it closed and crawl to the secondary exit. Continue hollering to alert all the family.
Once outside, your family must meet at a predetermined meeting place. This will prevent confusion and hysteria when the parents see their children safe and together. Send someone to a neighbors to call 10177 (or your local emergency number.) If someone is missing, tell the emergency crews immediately! Let them know the location of their room or where they may be. Above all, never go back into a burning building!!
As you can see, this plan will require practice and prior thought. Can you open the windows in your home? Any that jam or won't open should be replaced or repaired. If it jams in the event of a actual fire, it can be broken out. However, this presents problems with possible injuries from glass shards. Infants, toddlers, disabled family members and the elderly present special problems to consider. How do they get out? What if you live in a two story or higher house? These are only a few of the questions that need to be considered to customize your escape plan to suit your family.
The fire escape plan needs to be discussed and practiced with all family members. It may be the practice that saves your life.
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here for an online Adobe Acrobat home escape plan.
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