Lockwood: 4 Tips to Keep Your Family Safe During Fire Emergencies

Steve Lockwood

Mountain State Fire Protection LLC

Fires often occur when you least expect them. Ensuring your family’s safety must always be a top priority. Taking the right steps can reduce safety risks during fire emergencies in the home and increase the chances of everyone getting out safe.

Here are four important ways to keep your family safe if your home encounters a fire.

Develop a plan

Create a plan for your home and family in case of a fire emergency. Map out all possible exits throughout the home. Exits can include doors and windows. Meet with your family and ensure everyone knows where each exit is located. If you have children do practice drills and have them locate the different exits.

Assign family members with different responsibilities. Have one adult who is responsible for getting the kids out safely. Have another who calls emergency responders and grabs any essential items like medication if safely possible. Practice your safety plan for both day and night situations. Remember to try to keep everyone calm during these scenarios and to practice at least once every six months. You can practice more if you like as well. Being over prepared is never a bad option when it comes to fire safety.

Smoke detector maintenance and installation

Smoke detectors serve as early warning signs that smoke is in the home and where there is smoke there is fire. Install smoke alarms on each floor of the home. Make sure smoke detectors are in each bedroom. Test the smoke detectors each month to make sure they are still working properly. If they are not working change out the battery. When the detectors are working change the batteries at least twice a year. Most parts of the country do this during daylight savings time but since Arizona doesn’t observe it the best option is to change the batteries in the Spring and the Fall.

Fire safety practices

Taking the time to educate your family on what to do during a fire is critical for the safety of everyone. Teaching your children is especially important. Show them areas where potential fire hazards may occur. Where all exits are throughout the home. How to crawl if there is smoke in the hallway. How to touch door handles to check for heat.

Teach the family how to use fire safety devices like fire extinguishers, and how to put out grease fires. Emphasize the importance of staying as calm as possible during a fire emergency and that the key thing to remember is to get out of the home and to your designated meeting space.

Designate a meeting place

Designating a meeting place for your family outside of the home is critical during a house fire. Having a meeting spot allows you to know everyone was able to get out of the home safely. It also allows you to inform firefighters and emergency responders if anyone is left unaccounted for.

When practicing home fire drills have everyone meet at the designated spot. This could be a neighbor’s house, the corner of the street or a light post across the street from your home. It doesn’t really matter where the spot is as long as it is away from danger and easily accessible for all family members.

Preparing your family for fire emergencies requires practice, communication and planning. By creating a detailed escape plan, installing, and keeping your smoke detectors working, and educating your family on fire safety protocols within the home will help keep your family safe in case of a fire emergency.

Mountain State Fire Protection LLC in Mesa, https://www.mountainstatefire.com, specializes in premier fire equipment and comprehensive fire protection services.