How to Practice Exit Drills in the Home

It's important to practice exit drills so you and your family members are prepared should there ever be a fire. Remember, practice makes perfect.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Fire Ladders
• Smoke Detectors
• Notebook Papers
• Pens
• Fire Extinguishers

1. Make a home fire escape plan for your family.
2. Draw a simple diagram of your house and go over it carefully with family members. Find two escape routes for every room.
3. Choose a place for family members to reconvene outside.
4. Practice opening windows, taking off screens and using ladders (if on a second story). This is especially important for children, who can have trouble working window locks or collapsible ladders without practice.
5. Make sure there are no security bars on bedroom windows - or if there are, that they can be opened and closed easily.
6. Keep bedroom doors closed at night, and teach family members how to feel the door before opening it if the smoke detector goes off: Check for heat by placing the back of your hand on the door, starting at the bottom of the door and working up. Then place the back of your hand on the doorknob; if there's any heat outside the door, you should be able to feel it.
7. Teach family members what to do if they don't feel heat: Crack the door open, stay low and check for smoke. If smoke is present, use the other way out.

Tips & Warnings

• Lower your children down from a window before escaping yourself. They may be too scared to escape if you go first and then motion for them to come down.
• If a smoke detector goes off, you literally have seconds to respond. There is absolutely no time to gather possessions, pets and possibly even each other. Your best response is to leave your home immediately, gather at your prearranged meeting place and call 911 from a neighbor's home.
• Never go back into the house once you've escaped from a fire.