A fire blazes through residential buildings eight hundred times a day, and 6,500 people, including many children and old people, die in fires every year. Fires occur most often at night, when the household is asleep and ill prepared to react effectively to an emergency. Smoke, heat, and flame can obstruct and confuse sleepy family members, leading to needless injury or death. Planning ahead for a fire emergency and practicing the following safety measures can save the lives of you and your family:
1) Make sure that your home is equipped with safety devices, such as smoke detectors and carbon monoxide monitors, that will alert you during a fire emergency. Each room in the house or, at the very least, each floor should have a smoke detector. Test the detectors often, and replace batteries promptly.
2) Prepare escape routes ahead of time. Obtain a floor plan of your home and sketch out the escape routes for each room and give a copy to each family member. Everyone should know two escape routes for each room: one main escape route, leading to a back or front door, and a secondary escape route, usually through a window.
3) Make sure that all your windows are accessible and can be opened easily. If your windows are guarded by bars, make sure they can be removed from the inside. In a real emergency, a window can always be broken as long as it is not obstructed.
4) Everyone should be aware of every safe exit, including doors, windows, and stairs. In a true emergency, it may be necessary to drop from long heights, but this should be discouraged unless the drop is moderate. You may want to purchase an escape ladder for second or third story rooms. If you do, make sure you and your children practice using them. If you live in a tall building with fire escapes, make sure everyone is familiar with their location.
5) Run ‘fire drills’ where each member of the family escapes the house through the main escape routes. Each family member should lie in his or her bed. After hearing the smoke alarm, everyone should crawl through their escape routes, following the planned instructions. This is especially important if you live in an apartment building, where exit routes can be long and confusing. Stress to your family the importance of keeping low to avoid smoke inhalation.
6) Your family should also know how to open closed doors during a fire. When approaching a door, make sure they feel it before opening; if it is “warm,” it should not be opened, or opened with care.
7) Prepare your family for the possibility of being trapped in a room. If trapped, close the door and cover cracks or vents to prevent smoke from seeping in. Call the fire department and tell them your location in the house. Then move to a window and signal for help.
8) Your family should agree on a safe place to meet after escaping the house, such as a neighbor’s driveway or mailbox. You can then make a head count – the last thing you want to do is reenter the house for someone who’s already escaped! If someone is missing, do not enter the house, but instead inform the fire department of their likely location.
9) If you have infants, small children, or elderly residents in your home, you will have to prepare special plans to account for their needs. Make sure small children understand, for example, not to hide under the bed or in a closet. Make sure they know that if they hear the alarm, they should escape the home quickly. They should be able to open windows, descend escape ladders, and phone the fire department.
10) Don’t go back in the house for any valuables, possessions, or pets. Many people are killed when trying to recover replaceable goods – lives are irreplaceable. Worry about rebuilding your material life after the fire department extinguishes the flames.