How to Create a Fire Escape Plan for Your Family

1/15/2018 (Permalink)

According to the National Fire Protection Association, there were 1,342,000 fires in the United States in 2016, of which 475,500 were structure fires. One home structure fire was reported every ninety seconds. Most businesses have fire escape plans to help saves lives during an emergency. Creating a fire escape plan for the home should be just as common, especially for families with young children or with special needs family members. Being prepared saves lives during an emergency.  

Thankfully, NFPA has created an easy how to guide for creating a home fire escape plan:

• Draw a map of your home. Show all windows and doors.
• Visit each room and recognize two ways out. 
• All windows and doors should open easily. You should be able to use them to get outside. 
• Make sure your home has smoke alarms. Test your alarms regularly. 
• Pick a meeting place for when you must evacuate. The meeting place should be in front of the home. 
• Make sure your house or building number can be seen from the street.
• Talk about the plan with everyone in your home. 
• Learn the emergency phone number for your local fire department. 

Most importantly, practice the plan with everyone in your home. This can be a fun exercise for children. Have them draw a map of your home and color all the possible escape routes. Once or twice a year go over the plan with everyone in the home again. 

To learn more about fire safety in the home please click here.