Can your Family survive a fire?

When the National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) asked Americans how long they would have to escape from a fire in their home more than half thought they had 2 minutes or more and a one third thought they had 10 minutes or more. These are dangerous and deadly assumptions. Your normal path of escape can be blocked in seconds, your upstairs hallways can fill with smoke in minutes, and every bedroom in your home can have life threatening conditions in less then

• 10 minutes. Toxic smoke travels much faster and farther than fire. Most people who die in fires never see the flames.
• Your family can increase their chances of surviving a fire by making practicing Escape Drills In The Home (E.I.D.T.H.). Here are the steps you can take to make a fire escape plan.
• Draw a floor plan of every level of your home. Show two ways out from each room.
• Agree on a meeting place outside and away from your home
• Make sure everyone in the house knows how to operate windows and locked doors
• Make sure everyone can clearly hear and recognize the smoke detectors
• Teach your children to keep their bedroom door closed at night. A closed door can keep smoke and fire out of a room for up to 20 minutes
• Install a safe escape ladder. You must make it part of your plan and practice using it each time.

Installing smoke detectors in every room of your home, in hallways, and on every level of your home including the basement and attic increases the time your family will have to escape from a fire. Change the batteries in all your smoke detectors when you set your clocks for daylight savings time. Purchase new detectors if yours are more then 10 years old. Test the batteries when you make your house payment or pay rent. Take the time to do these things and you could save your families lives.

You must practice your plan with your family at least twice a year. The old saying practice make perfect is simple, but true. To be good at something you must practice it. Make your home fire drills fun. Time your drills and make it a family goal to improve on your time at the next drill. Practice escaping using your first way out and practice using your second way out the next time you drill. Make the drills as realistic as possible, but take the time to teach everyone in the home how to get out safely. Drills are a good opportunity to see if your children can self rescue and work out any unforeseen problems with your plan.

If you there is someone in your home who has a disability , physical limitations, or is in a wheel chair you must incorporate assisting them into your plan and practice it. If you have an infant or small child assign a family member to be their primary rescuer and make it part of the plan. When your smoke detector goes off a 3:00 AM it is not a good time to decide who is going to get the baby.