Things You'll Need:
- Fire detectors
- Smoke detectors
- Carbon monoxide detector
- Batteries (all sizes)
- First aid kit
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Step 1
Make sure your home and garage are equipped with fire, smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. Fire extinguishers should also be kept in the kitchen, garage, workshop and other areas where a fire can occur. Check the batteries in each detector twice a year.
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Step 2
Teach everyone in the household, including children, what to do in the event of a fire in the home. Hold fire drills and be sure the second floor bedrooms have more than one escape route. Collapsible ladders are a good escape route and children should practice with them at least once a month.
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Step 3
If you have children in the home, make sure to childproof the entire home. This includes age appropriate safety latches on cabinets and doors, safety gates and closed doors near stairways. Childproof caps should be kept on all medicines. All household poisons and detergents should be locked away in cabinets with child barriers. Electrical outlets should be covered, too.
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Step 4
Lock away all firearms if they are in the house. Be sure they are stored in a locked cabinet. Bullets should be stored in a separate location than the guns and firearms. Talk to your children about gun safety on a regular basis.
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Step 5
Learn Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR). The American Red Cross offers many courses, some of which are free.
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Step 6
Learn what to do in the event a family member is choking. All adult and teenage members in the household should learn this together.
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Step 7
Teach your child to dial 9-1-1 in the event of an emergency. If there is no 9-1-1 in your area, your child should know how to dial your local police department and other family members and friends who live close by.
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Step 8
Keep a complete list of all family members and their allergies or illnesses in the family first aid kit. Also include a list of medications taken for those illnesses and update that list on a regular basis.
