If a fire were to break out in your home tonight, how would your family react?
Planning for the worst case scenario is not what daddy and mommy want to think about. In our world, we want everything to be perfect; safe for our family. Besides, you don’t want to scare the children unnecessarily, right?
No one wants to scare the children. But according to the NFPA an average of 366,600 house fires occur each year in the United States. Children need to be prepared if a fire breaks out in your home. When teaching your children, stress the importance of the scenario, but make the lesson a game also. The more memorable the lesson, the better prepared your children will be in a fire emergency.
1. Smoke detectors
– Since we all change the batteries in our smoke detectors once a year (right?) have your children help you. Explain what a smoke detector is used for, other then a dinner bell (like at my house). Test the siren so your children can hear what sound it makes. If the siren goes off in the middle of the night, the sound will become a warning, not simply a strange noise coming from downstairs that must be investigated!
2. Escape routes
– Everyone in the house must have at least two escape routes, especially on a multi-level home. Have a drawing of your home and use colors to draw each individual’s escape route. Then physically walk them through each escape route.
3. Remind children of other do’s and don’ts when escaping the home:
- Touch a closed door first and never open a hot door!
- As you are exiting the house, close doors behind you.
- If you must go through smoke “Get Low and Go!”
4. When outside:
- NEVER re-enter the home.
- Have a central meeting place away from the home, like a light post or mailbox for everyone to gather.
- Having a monitored fire system will ensure the fire department has been dispatched. However, if you need to call the fire department, do so from a neighbor’s house.
Foresight is better than hindsight! Go over your family’s exit strategy at least once a year so that everyone knows what they need to do! Share your family’s fire and safety plan with our readers in the comments below:
