Fire Drills/Home Evacuation

Plan and practice a home escape drill with your family
  • How would you escape if there were a fire in your home? 
  • What if your escape route were blocked? Plan two ways out of every room and plan them now - before there's a fire.
  • Floor Plan: show two exits from every room, write down your outside meeting place.

    Your Plan Requires
  • A smoke detector.
  • Escape routes marked on a floor plan.
  • Family discussion.
  • Practice
  • Escape routes - you must have two.
  • Front or back door.
  • Bedroom window. (Make sure it works. You may need a special fire escape ladder if the window is high up.)
Example of Single Floor Plan
  • Discuss the plan with your family.
  • Place smoke detectors in hallways, near bedrooms and by stairs of ground floor. 
  • Sleep with the bedroom door closed. It will hold back deadly smoke. Your smoke detector will sound an alarm to wake you. 
  • Feel the door. If it is hot, use your second way out. If cool, open it slowly and carefully. Be ready to slam it, if smoke or heat rush in. 
  • Get out fast.
  • Crawl low in smoke. 
  • Plan an outdoor meeting place so you can see if everyone got out safely.
  • Don't go back inside once you're out.
  • Make sure all family members stay out. People have died returning to a burning building. 
  • Call the fire department from a neighbor's phone. 
  • Draw your escape plan on a piece of graph paper.  Practice E.D.I.T.H. - Exit Drills In The Home by using the following steps:
    • Everyone in bedrooms; door closed. 
    • One person sounds the alarm.
    • All persons feel their doors for heat. Pretend it's hot; use your second way out. 
    • Everyone goes outside to your pre-planned meeting place.
    • Assign one person to go to a neighbor's house to call the Fire Department, only call in the event of an actual fire.

 

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