Free escape planning tools
Fire Safety
Family Adventure
GOAL:
Ensure family members know how to be safe in the event of a fire, and that the family has a safety plan.
The ADVENTURE:
Review the information below and then follow the steps to implement a family safety plan.
TIPS:
Have a favorite family treat while finishing up this project and reviewing the safety plans you have put together
Acknowledge the contributions of each family member and thank them for their __creativity/awareness/thoughtfulness__
To make sure that family members remember the details of the fire safety plan you may want to have little pop quizzes from time to time. For example, ask 'What is the safest way out of the family room if there were a fire in the hall?' Everyone who gets it right gets a piece of candy, or the first one to answer gets a piece of candy. Next question . . .
Give each family member an opportunity to share what they like most about the fire safety plan and some of the things they learned that they think will be helpful to them.
If funding allows you could give rewards that would support your safety plan, i.e. fire ladders, fire extinguishers, etc.
This Adventure was released in celebration of Fire Prevention Week. Take a few minutes as a family to fireproof your home and review some things you can do to keep your home safe.
RESOURCES
Here are some ideas for you to use to celebrate this week:
Fire Safety Booklet for families with younger kids from the U.S Fire Administration.
Review These Tips For Preventing a House Fire:
- Keep the stove and oven clear. Kitchens are the most common places for house fires.
- Stay in the kitchen. Don't leave a hot cooking surface unattended.
- Check the dryer.
- Maintain electrical cords.
- Know your shutoffs.
- Store flammable products properly.
- Be careful with candles.
- Quit smoking! If you are a smoker and can't stop, be 100% conscientious about it. NO RISKS!
Create a Family Emergency Escape Route:
In the event of a home safety emergency, every second counts. Your ability to get out of your home during a fire depends on advance warning from smoke alarms and advance planning. Fire can spread rapidly through your home, leaving you as little as one or two minutes to escape safely once the smoke alarm sounds. A closed door may slow the spread of smoke, heat and fire. Pull together everyone in your household and make a plan.
Here are steps to making your escape plan. Here are some HOME FIRE ESCAPE PLAN:
- Walk through your home as a family and identify multiple exits out of each room in the house. If windows or doors are blocked, clear them so they can be easily accessed and opened. Make sure all windows can be opened easily.
- Install smoke alarms in every sleeping room and outside each separate sleeping area. Install alarms on every level of the home. NFPA 72, National Fire Alarm Code® requires interconnected smoke alarms throughout the home. When one sounds, they all sound.
- Draw a map of your home and plot multiple exits out of every room, including windows and doors, so everyone knows the plan. Also, mark the location of each smoke alarm. You can use this FREE SAFETY GRID to draw out your safety plan.
- For two story houses, consider equipping bedrooms with escape ladders to provide additional, safe exits.
- Dedicate someone to assist small children or infants out of the home.
- Choose an outside meeting place (i.e. neighbor's house, a light post, mailbox, or stop sign) a safe distance in front of your home where everyone can meet after they've escaped. Make sure to mark the location of the meeting place on your escape plan.
- Go outside to see if your street number is clearly visible from the road. If not, paint it on the curb or install house numbers to ensure that responding emergency personnel can find your home.
- Have everyone memorize the emergency phone number of the fire department. That way any member of the household can call from a neighbor's home or a cellular phone once safely outside.
- Help kids memorize your home address.
- If there are infants, older adults, or family members with mobility limitations, make sure that someone is assigned to assist them in the fire drill and in the event of an emergency. Assign a backup person too, in case the designee is not home during the emergency
- If windows or doors in your home have security bars, make sure that the bars have emergency release devices inside so that they can be opened immediately in an emergency. Emergency release devices won't compromise your security - but they will increase your chances of safely escaping a home fire.
- Teach children how to call 9-1-1 once outside at your meeting spot
Once you have your escape plan, it’s time to practice. The NFPA recommends executing your escape plan twice a year.
- Practice your home fire escape plan twice a year, making the drill as realistic as possible.
- Make arrangements in your plan for anyone in your home who has a disability.
- Allow children to master fire escape planning and practice before holding a fire drill at night when they are sleeping. The objective is to practice, not to frighten, so telling children there will be a drill before they go to bed can be as effective as a surprise drill.
- It's important to determine during the drill whether children and others can readily waken to the sound of the smoke alarm. If they fail to awaken, make sure that someone is assigned to wake them up as part of the drill and in a real emergency situation.
- If your home has two floors, every family member (including children) must be able to escape from the second floor rooms. Escape ladders can be placed in or near windows to provide an additional escape route. Review the manufacturer's instructions carefully so you'll be able to use a safety ladder in an emergency. Practice setting up the ladder from a first floor window to make sure you can do it correctly and quickly. Children should only practice with a grown-up, and only from a first-story window. Store the ladder near the window, in an easily accessible location. You don't want to have to search for it during a fire.
- Always choose the escape route that is safest – the one with the least amount of smoke and heat – but be prepared to escape under toxic smoke if necessary. When you do your fire drill, everyone in the family should practice getting low and going under the smoke to your exit.
- Closing doors on your way out slows the spread of fire, giving you more time to safely escape.
- In some cases, smoke or fire may prevent you from exiting your home or apartment building. To prepare for an emergency like this, practice "sealing yourself in for safety" as part of your home fire escape plan. Close all doors between you and the fire. Use duct tape or towels to seal the door cracks and cover air vents to keep smoke from coming in. If possible, open your windows at the top and bottom so fresh air can get in. Call the fire department to report your exact location. Wave a flashlight or light-colored cloth at the window to let the fire department know where you are located.
RELATED TIPS:
- Tell guests or visitors to your home about your family's fire escape plan. When staying overnight at other people's homes, ask about their escape plan. If they don't have a plan in place, offer to help them make one. This is especially important when children are permitted to attend "sleepovers" at friends' homes. See NFPA's "Sleepover fire safety for kids" fact sheet.
- Be fully prepared for a real fire: when a smoke alarm sounds, get out immediately. Residents of high-rise and apartment buildings may be safer "defending in place."
- Once you're out, stay out! Under no circumstances should you ever go back into a burning building. If someone is missing, inform the fire department dispatcher when you call. Firefighters have the skills and equipment to perform rescues.
- Smoke alarms are an important part of your fire safety plan because they alert your family of a potential danger. Install smoke alarms in every bedroom, outside sleeping areas and on each level. Be sure to test them monthly and replace the batteries every six months. (You may want to get 10-year sealed battery alarms to eliminate the need for battery replacements). Remember, you and your family may have less than minutes to escape so plan, practice and repeat your escape route to help protect what matters most.
Clear Your Escape Routes
Items that block doors and windows in your home could keep you from escaping in the event of a home fire. And that could mean the difference between life and death. So unblock your exits today! Key to your family’s safety is planning and practicing a home fire escape plan twice a year. Start by identifying two escape routes out of each room, if possible, then make sure that each of those escape routes can be used safely by everyone. Download the "Clear Your Escape Routes" brochure in English or Spanish.
Pre-K Adventure
Tell children that some fires make lots of smoke, which is dangerous to breathe. Show them the safe way to respond when a room fills with smoke: get down on your hands and knees, keep your head up, and crawl outside. Have them practice with you.
Community Engagement Adventure
Share what you have learned with a few friends and encourage them to help their family put together a safety plan. Share this Adventure with them so that they will have the resources they need.
You could also make 'Thank you' cards and small gifts for your local fire fighters and drop them off at the nearest firehouse.
Teen Adventure
Have your teens conduct a monthly fire drill.
Photo Location
Take a picture of your family at your chosen meeting place in case of a fire and post it to your social media sites with the hashtags #fireprevention #firesafety #MyDiscoveryDestination #Wattson
by Make a Plan
