Possibly one of the hardest things to ever imagine… is a house fire.
So hard to believe, in fact, that typically, more often than not, we ignore the thought and pretend it could never happen.
Which means – we don’t PLAN.
But, planning what you would DO in a fire is the KEY to surviving.
Let’s review together :
- Draw an Escape floor plan of your home and include in all possible escape routes. This will show your family all possibilities at a glance… Post this floor plan in a highly visible place like the side of your fridge or a bathroom door (The theory is that you look at this map more often than you even think that you do and it becomes second nature to visualize it)
- Try to have 2 escape routes from each room. We actually have 4 exits from our master bedroom, but 2 are much easier to escape from then the others, so I always would try to use the easiest route first.
- Do you live with people that might need assistance? Be sure to plan in advance. Who will help younger children or elderly, or disabled people. This planning will save you live-saving time during an emergency.
- Practice! Have a family meeting and talk about your new floor plan, how it works and what it means to your family. And then practice escaping from your home. This can be done when everybody is aware that you’re practicing and then it’s also a great idea to surprise your family occasionally by announcing FIRE DRILL!!! when no one is expecting it. Fire experts everywhere say – practice …practice…practice.
- Review your escape plan on a regular basis. Have any of the escape routes been altered? Is there something in the way of that window now that wasn’t there last year? Is it still easy to get out quickly? If you are practicing your fire drill consistently, you’ll figure out if your escape plan still works well.
- Experts recommend that IF you do have to activate your emergency fire drill , that you call 911 AFTER you are out of the house. Never call from your house phone… Get everyone out of your house first.
- Have a meeting place outside your home. For our family, it was the tree in the park across from the front of our yard.
- Tools. Do you have dedicated smoke alarms? You have a carbon monoxide detectors? Are they placed in the proper places in your home? Be sure to read the manufacturers recommendations on where they should be placed. Firefighters also recommend that you have a plan to replace your batteries for your smoke alarms annually. Would your birthday be a good day to remember to replace those batteries? And If your smoke detectors are hardwired, test them monthly.
There are certainly several important points about this topic and I’ve only just touched on the details, giving you simple ideas. For more information please check websites for your local fire departments…call them … or maybe even go visit them. Take your family for a tour of your local firehouse. They would be very happy to have the company and help you to talk and plan.
Phil and I are very proud of the fact that our son, Jayden, is a Firefighter in Lethbridge.
He was the inspiration for this blog post.
Let your First Responders know that you appreciate them.
#FirstRespondersAreAllIn
#DayandNight
#HugAFireFighter
#SaveLivesHaveAPlan
Read more about Fire Plan Strategies here