When you’re busy with everyday life, the idea of your home
catching on fire might seem like a distant threat. But a blaze can erupt
unexpectedly, such as from a cooking mishap, a dropped cigarette, or faulty
heating, lighting, or electrical appliances. The flames and smoke could spread
through your home within 1 or 2 minutes, leaving you little time to escape. A
fire evacuation plan can help everyone in your home escape safely.
HOW DO YOU CREATE A FIRE EVACUATION PLAN? Install
smoke alarms on each level of your home. Place one in and outside every room where someone
sleeps Your smoke alarms need to be interconnected -- meaning if one sounds
off, they all do -- to meet safety codes. Teach everyone in your family,
especially children, what your smoke alarms sound like. Explain that if an
alarm goes off, it means everybody needs to go outside and stay out. Only fire
crew members should go back inside a burning building for people or pets.
CHECK FOR EXITS
AND ESCAPE ROUTES: Walk through your home and look for two ways (if
possible) to get out of each room, like through a door and a window. If you
have kids, you could draw a simple floor-plan map of your home and mark these
ways out. Let your family members know that the safest escape route during a
fire is the one with the least smoke and heat. Choose a place for all of you to meet outside, and mark
it on your map. The meetup spot should be a safe distance from your home, like
at a neighbor’s house, a light post, or a mailbox.
SET UP A FAMILY CONTACT PLAN: Tell each
of your family members who they should call in case you can’t find each other
once you’re outside.
DOUBLE-CHECK SECURITY DEVICES. Do your
windows or doors have security bars? If so, make sure the bars have built-in
emergency release devices, so you can open them right away in case a fire
breaks out.
BE READY TO ASSIST LOVED ONES: You might
be living with relatives who would need help getting out of the house during a
fire, like:
- Babies or
children younger than 6 years old
- Elderly
adults
- Someone who
has trouble moving
Choose able-bodied family members to help
these loved ones during practice fire drills and in case of a real fire. Assign
backup helpers if you can, too, in case your first choices aren’t home.
LEARN
THE FIRE DEPARTMENT’S PHONE NUMBER. Write it down, put it into your cellphone,
and help everyone in your family memorize it. In general, call the fire
department or 911 after you’ve safely escaped outside.
MAKE
SURE YOUR HOME’S STREET NUMBER IS VISIBLE: It should be easy to see from the road, so
fire crews and other first responders can spot it. If it isn’t visible, paint
it on the curb or install numbers on the front of your home.
SHARE
YOUR FIRE EVACUATION PLAN. When guests stay in your home, tell them
about your plan. If you or someone in your family stays overnight at a friend’s
home, ask them if they have a fire escape plan. If they don’t, you could offer
to help them make one. It’s extra important to ask when your child sleeps over
at a friend’s house, for example.
HOW SHOULD YOU TEST YOUR PLAN? Once you’ve written down your fire evacuation plan and
discussed it with everyone in your home, take these steps to make sure it works
well:
RUN A PRACTICE
FIRE DRILL TWICE A YEAR: Try it once at night and once during the
day. Use your smoke alarm’s test button to sound the siren -- or simply shout
“fire” -- and then put your evacuation plan into motion. Have everyone who
lives with you participate and practice it using different ways out of the
home. Aim to have everybody get outside of your home in under 2 minutes. If it
takes longer, try again. You can download the “Make Safe Happen” app for a
timer to practice your evacuation plan.
TEST YOUR SMOKE
ALARMS: Follow the manufacturer’s directions on how
to do this. Check the alarms once a month to make sure they’re working -- many
alarms come with a “test” button. Replace the batteries at least once a year,
too. When you practice a fire drill at night, use your
alarms’ “test” function to find out if the sound wakes up your loved ones. If
it doesn’t wake them, assign someone to wake any heavy sleepers in your home in
case of a real fire.
REMIND
OTHERS TO CLOSE DOORS. Studies show that closed doors can create a barrier
between you and harmful smoke, carbon monoxide, and flames during a fire. If
someone is trapped in a burning building, closed doors can potentially save
their life if they aren’t able to escape. Experts have found that during a
fire, rooms with closed doors had temperatures of less than 100 F, while rooms
with opened doors were over 1,000 degrees. In larger buildings (like apartments
or other high-rise complexes), most fire codes require doors to be
spring-loaded so that they’ll automatically close during a fire. Open doors can
allow for deadly smoke to spread quickly through large buildings. If doors
aren’t automatically closing behind you, close them as you exit the building
during a fire.
TEACH
YOUR CHILDREN. Help them get the hang of the
escape plan by practicing it during the day first. Then do a fire drill at
night after they’ve gone to sleep. You can tell them before bedtime that
you’re going to do a drill, so they’re not scared when you wake them up. It’s also a good idea to show your children how
to:
- Escape by
themselves in case you can’t help them
- Use the back
of their hand to check closed doors for heat before they open them
- Find a
different way out if a door feels hot
- Close any
doors they pass through on their way out. This can slow the fire’s spread
and buy more time to escape.
Also, teach
your children how to stop, drop, and roll to help put out the flames if their
clothes catch fire. This means they should:
- Stop where
they are.
- Drop to the
ground and cover their eyes and mouth with their hands.
- Roll over
and over and back and forth until the flames are gone.
- Ask a
grown-up to help them cool the burn and get them medical care.
PRACTICE CRAWLING UNDER SMOKE: A real-life
fire can give off thick smoke that makes it hard to breathe and see. If
you need to escape through a smoky part of your home, drop to your hands and
knees to get under it. Practice this during a fire drill by having everyone
crawl to an exit.
KEEP ESCAPE ROUTES CLEAR: Move any items that could block a door or window and make
it harder to get out. Barriers to be aware of include:
- Furniture
- Padlocks
- Toys
- Christmas
trees or other decorations
- Hurricane
shutters
- Nails or
paint holding a window shut
- Plastic
window insulation for cold weather
CONSIDER ESCAPE LADDERS: If you live in a two-story home, it’s important for
everyone (kids included) to be able to escape from rooms on the second floor.
You could consider installing escape ladders in or near windows to make this
possible. Follow the manufacturer’s directions on how to set up and use a
ladder. You’ll need to do this quickly during a fire, so practice. Also have
your children practice climbing down the ladder from a first-floor window, only
while you or another adult watches them. Keep any escape ladder you buy near
the window where you intend to use it, so you’ll know where to find it during a
fire.
WHAT SHOULD YOU DO IF YOU LIVE IN A HIGH-RISE? If you live several stories off
the ground in an apartment or condo unit, your fire evacuation plan should
include: Learn
about all the fire safety features in your building. These
could include fire alarms, sprinkler systems, and an escape plan for all
residents. You can ask your landlord or the building’s manager to walk you
through these features. If your building doesn’t have a sprinkler system, ask
your landlord or the managers to install one. Find out where all the exit stairs
on your floor are. That way, if one flight of stairs is
blocked by smoke or fire, you can use another one. In general, you shouldn’t
use a building’s elevator unless the fire department tells you to. Still,
some buildings have elevators that are meant for emergency use. If your
building has one, it should have a marking or sign that specifies it’s safe to
use in case of an emergency.
Check your floor’s exit and
stairwell doors. They should be:
- Clearly marked as exits
- Not blocked by clutter
- Not locked or sealed off by
security bars
If you see flames or smoke in
your unit or in the building, pull the fire alarm before you leave to
alert your neighbors and the fire department. If
you hear the fire alarm go off, don’t
open any closed doors in your unit until you use the back of your hand to
feel for heat. If the door is hot, try to find another safe way out. If it’s
cool, you can open it. Close all doors behind you on your way out. If you hear
an announcement through your building’s speaker system, listen
carefully and follow the instructions.
WHAT IF YOU GET TRAPPED DURING A FIRE? Heavy
smoke or flames might block your escape routes. Or you might be trapped in a
high-rise apartment or condo with no safe way down. Use these steps to seal
yourself in for safety while you wait for a fire crew.
- Shut all doors between yourself
and the fire.
- Plug door cracks and cover air
vents with duct tape or wet towels to block smoke.
- If possible, open any windows in
the room at the top and bottom so fresh air can come in. Close them if it
makes the smoke worse.
- Call the fire department or 911
and tell them exactly where you are. Once they arrive, try to flag them
down by waving a flashlight or a bright cloth out the window.
BY: Evan Starkman, WebMD
SOURCES:
National
Fire Protection Association: “Clear Your Escape Routes!” “Escape Planning,”
“Home Structure Fires,” “How to Make a Home Fire Escape Plan,” “Know When to
Stop, Drop, and Roll,” “High-rise Apartment and Condominium Safety.”
American
Red Cross: “The 7 Ways to Prepare for a Home Fire.”
Ready.gov:
“Practice Your Home Fire Escape Plan.”
Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA): “Every Second Counts: Plan 2 Ways Out!”
“Smoke Alarm Outreach Materials.”
AP
News: “Bronx apartment fire kills 19, including 9 children.”
International
Fire Chiefs Association: “UL FSRI Survey: More Americans Close Doors for Fire
Safety, But There is Still Work to Do.”
Fire
Safety Research Institute: “Close Before You Doze.”
2015
International Fire Code (IFC): “Fire and Smoke Protection Features.”
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