By
eHow Home & Garden Editor
Difficulty: Moderately Easy
Step1
Install smoke alarms on each floor, near stairwells and bedrooms. Check the batteries monthly. A good reminder is to check them when you make your rent or mortgage payment. Change batteries twice a year, ideally each time you set your clocks for daylight savings.
Step2
Design an escape plan. There should be at least two exits for each major room in the house and everyone living there should know where they are and how to open the windows if needed. Children especially need to know that if a fire happens and they're in their room, they have another way out besides their bedroom door.
Step3
Choose a meeting place for everyone to gather that is far enough away from the house and agree to meet there in the event that a fire or other emergency happens.
Step4
Teach family members to close their bedroom doors. If a fire happens and you have installed smoke alarms properly, the alarms will wake you despite having the door closed. Closed doors keep out smoke and fire for up to 20 minutes giving you time to get out of the house safely. Touch doors with the back of your hand to feel for heat before opening them. Peek out and see if a path is available. If not, use the second exit for the bedroom or open a window and call for help.
Step5
Practice rolling out of bed in the event of a house fire. If you hear an alarm or see smoke in your bedroom, rolling out of bed and crawling across the floor to the exit keeps you from inhaling smoke and allows you to think clearly, act quickly and get out to survive.
Step6
Work through potential feelings of fear. Although it's natural to be afraid in a fire, it's essential that everyone knows that their plan will keep them safe and help them survive. Children may instinctively want to hide, but practicing the safety plan and ensuring them that the plan keeps them safe will help conquer their fear.
