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If your house was on fire, would you know
how to get out? Would your family know? Do you have a designated
location on the upper floor of your house that you’ll use to
escape from a burgeoning fire? Smoke detectors can alert you to
fire, but without a complete fire escape plan, you and your family
may find yourselves trapped inside.
When developing a plan to escape from an upper
floor, choose one window to be the designated exit point. Make
sure you have a fire safety ladder stored close by and that everyone
old enough knows how to use it. From the time your smoke alarm
goes off, you have only two minutes to get everyone out safely.
With some fires involving more flames than smoke, it is a good
idea to ensure your detectors are designed for both situations.
Some Kidde smoke alarms feature dual ionization and photoelectric
sensors that offer great protection. Kidde also sells escape ladders
for two and three storey homes.
It is important to have enough fire extinguishers
in the house, in addition to having an alarm that works for both
fire and smoke. There should be extinguishers in the kitchen,
garage or any other location in the house that may be susceptible
to sudden fire. In the event of a small controlled fire, an extinguisher
may be enough stop the flames. However, if the flames are spreading
rapidly, you must evacuate the house.
One of main home fire safety tips is to have a
meeting place that everyone goes to outside the house. It can
be at a tree in the neighbor’s yard. A meeting place indicates
if anyone is missing so that fire fighters know how many people
are still inside.
There are many resources available through the
internet that provides valuable home safety tips for preventing
fires and protecting your family from harm. You can learn about
the many different types of alarms, how to teach your kids fire
safety, and print off a checklist to do your own fire risk assessment
of your house.
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