Things You'll Need:
- Home fire escape plan
- Smoke detectors
- Emergency escape ladders
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Step 1
Draw up an escape plan, if you don't already have one in place. Involve everyone in the family while making the escape plan. Simply draw a diagram of each room in the house and clearly mark all windows, doors and stairs, which are possible escape routes. Then, physically go through each room with the diagram in hand and with all family members present.
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Step 2
Mark the primary and secondary routes of escape from each individual room clearly on the diagram and physically point them out. Each room should have 2 escape routes in case the primarily route is blocked by smoke or fire. The primary route should be a door and the second can either be another door or a window. If the room is on the second floor, then any windows marked as secondary escape routes should be equipped with an escape ladder. These ladders should be tested and children should practice setting them up and safely climbing down them.
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Step 3
Install smoke detectors, if you have not already done so. Install 1 on each floor and outside each of the bedrooms. Test them on a regular basis to ensure the batteries have not gone dead and the detector is working properly.
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Step 4
Start your home fire escape drill with each family member tucked into bed in their individual bedrooms. Since many fires start in the middle of the night when everyone is sleeping, this is the obvious choice to begin practicing your escape plan. You should sleep with your bedroom door closed to slow the spread of smoke and flames, so each door should be closed during practice runs.
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Step 5
Press the "test" button on the smoke detector to indicate there is a fire in the house. Once the alarm sounds, everyone should immediately drop to the floor where the air will be fresher during an actual fire. Teach young children to crawl along the floor to avoid the toxic air that rises towards the ceiling and make their way to their primary route of escape.
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Step 6
Teach all family members how to test a door for heat by placing the back of the hand on it to feel if it's hot. Emphasize that if the door is hot to not open the door. A hot door is a good indication that the fire is right outside the door and could engulf the room in flames if it's opened. Explain to them that if the door is hot to move on to the second escape route as outlined on the escape plan.
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Step 7
Practice escaping through the window indicated on the escape plan. Make sure everyone in the family can easily open the windows that should be used and that they can go through the opening quickly and safely. You will want to help children practice using the window as an escape option, especially if it involves using a ladder, to ensure they can do it under normal circumstances.
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Step 8
Meet in the family safe spot that should have been previously discussed when making your escape plan. Each person should go to this place and wait for everyone else to arrive. If you have a cell phone with you, then call the fire department from this phone. Otherwise, wait for 2 family members to arrive and have 1 family member go to a neighbor's house to call and leave the second family member at the safe spot to let the others know where the missing person has gone and that the fire department is on their way.
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Step 9
Practice your home fire escape plan several times using different scenarios to ensure everyone knows both escape routes from every room. It's also not a bad idea to practice at night, so you are used to escaping in the dark. Once everyone knows all the routes, then practice them at least twice each year.
