How to Keep Your Family Safe In Case of Fire
Did you know that October is National Fire Prevention Month? Chances are your children do. Schools around the country are conducting fire drills to ensure the safety of our kids if a fire breaks out on school campuses. Now the question is what are you doing at home about the situation? Do you know How to Keep Your Family Safe In Case of Fire?
Having a fire in our homes is not something that most of us like to think about. However not being prepared could lead to deadly consequences. Prevention is the key to making sure that first of all your family’s well being is protected and then that you have the least amount of damage to property as possible.
Getting Prepared for Fire Safety Prevention
You know the old saying, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”. This definitely applies when it comes to preparing your home for preventing fires in the first place. Nearly all fires that begin in homes are accidental. Avoiding the cause of the fire is the first line of defense against them.
Steps to take to prevent fires from starting in your home:
1. Smoke Alarms – This is one of the most important aspects of fire prevention in the home.
• Make sure that you have reliable working smoke alarms in various locations throughout your house especially near the kitchen and bedrooms.
• Test the smoke alarms monthly to know that they are working properly.
• Replace batteries each year and check to make sure they are correctly inserted.
• Since smoke rises be sure that the alarms are set up high on walls or on the ceiling for early detection.
• It may also be a good idea to have a carbon monoxide detector, since this is a silent danger to your health and wellbeing.
• There are some products on the market that will detect both smoke and carbon monoxide levels.
2. Fire Extinguisher – It is a good idea to always have fire extinguishers handy.
• Definitely keep one in the kitchen and garage/shop.
• You may also like to have one near bedrooms or living areas.
• Having this tool on hand and readily available could warrant putting your family out of harms way in the event that a small fire breaks out suddenly.
3. Check Plugs and Light Switches – you want to make certain that these are in good working order.
• Small sparks from faulty wiring can cause a fire.
• If you have small children it is advisable to insert plug covers so that they don’t inadvertently stick objects in the plug.
• Light switches that “pop” when you turn them off/on may have a short or connection problem, seek professional help.
4. Never leave food unattended while cooking – One of the most common causes of fire in the home come from accidents that happen in the kitchen.
• Avoid this tragedy from the start by always attending to whatever you are cooking.
• Grease fires are the number one problem. Be sure you have your fire extinguisher located in an easily accessible spot and make sure it is in good working order.
5. Keep Matches and Lighters Away from children – Only reliable adults should have access to both matches and lighters and should be the only ones using them in the household.
• Children are curious creatures, keeping away the temptation for striking matches or lighting things will deter them.
• You know what they say about “out of sight, out of mind”.
• Be careful with candles that are lit too; kids are sometimes a little clumsy and could easily knock over a lighted candle.
• Place the candles where they can’t be reached by children.
Fire Safety Activities to Practice at Home
This leads us to our most important topic of discussion; activities to practice fire safety at home. It is crucial for your family to have a plan to follow in case a fire breaks out and know how to exit your home safely.
• Draw out a plan of your home. Include all rooms, windows, and doors (interior and exterior). Make sure everyone understands the lay out.
• Let each family member know the best way out of each room in case of emergency.
• Plan for 2 ways out of every room.
• Draw escape routes for every room on your house plan. Put these up so that each family member becomes familiar with the routes.
• Move objects that might interfere with exiting the home.
• Push the “test button” on a smoke alarm to ensure everyone will recognize the sound of the alarm if it goes off.
• Keep a cell phone with you at all times in order to call 911 for emergencies.
• Decide on a place to meet when everyone gets outside.
• Once you are out – STAY OUT!
• Practice, Practice, Practice! Run an unannounced fire drill monthly to ensure that everyone in your household understands the process and knows what to do in the event of a fire.
• Try one even late at night so that you can see how well each one does at responding to the sound of the smoke alarm even when they are sleeping.
I have found a government site that has some great activities about fire safety for your children. You may visit the site by following this link:
United States Fire Administration- for kids
I hope that you have learned something from this today. I know I learned a lot in my research and this is something that I practice in my own home. Don’t get caught unaware what to do if a fire starts in your home. Keep your family safe; they are our most valuable assets and can’t be replaced.
