Plan for Escape

Fire kills more people every year than all of the natural disasters combined. About 5,500 people die from fire every year in this country. Working smoke detectors with a escape plan can mean the life and death somebody. Here are some ideas to follow when making a home escape plan.

Working smoke detectors could reduce residential fire fatalities by up to 90 percent. Test your alarms regularly. If you have a battery powered one change the battery every time you change your clocks.

Make sure their are two ways out of each bedroom. A window is usually going to be the second exit. Once the alarm has sounded, do not stop to dress or gather valuables. Don't let the children look for toys or the family pet.

Make sure you test doors before opening them to make sure it is safe on the other side. Feel the door and look for smoke seeping in around the edges. If you feel it is safe to open, then do so slowly and be prepared to slam it shut if heat and smoke rush in.

Make A outside meeting place and go to the meeting place. If someone is missing do not go back inside, notify the fire department immediately.

Rehearsing your escape plan regularly. Children who have had fire drill practice at home should do the right thing in a emergency. Without practice they will hide under a bed or in a closet which can mean death.

Planning Checklist

  1. Use the test button to check each smoke detector once a month.
  2. Have a working fire extinguisher in the kitchen.
  3. Plan your escape routes.
  4. Make at least two ways to escape from every room of your home.
  5. If you must use an escape ladder, be sure everyone knows how to use it.
  6. Select a location outside your home where everyone would meet after escaping.
  7. Practice your escape plan at least twice a year.
  8. If you see smoke in your first escape route, use your second way out.
  9. If you must exit through smoke, crawl low under the smoke to escape.
  10. If you are escaping through a closed door, feel the door before opening it and if it is hot, use your second way out.
  11. If smoke, heat, or flames block your exit routes, stay in the room with the door closed.
  12. Signal for help using a bright-colored cloth at the window.
  13. If there is a telephone in the room, call the fire department and tell them where you are.
  14. Pick a location outside your home where everyone would meet after.
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© 1996 - Michael Thompson and Mardorney Brinkley