Fire Safety and Prevention

Prepare an Escape Plan and practice it twice a year

Get out quickly when the alarm sounds, Practice your Escape Plan and Never Go Back Inside a Fire.

Does your family have a home fire escape plan (PDF*, 107 KB)? If not, make one today; it's easy! Start by walking through your home and identifying two ways out of every room. (One way out might be the door; the other could be a window). Then draw out your escape plan, so you can post it where everyone in the family can see it.

Clean up your room! Make sure that doors, stairways and other exits out of your home are clear of toys, furniture, and other clutter.

Does someone in your home need help getting around (like a grandparent, or an infant)? A grown-up should make sure that they have someone to assist them in case of a fire. Be sure to assign a backup person in case the assistant isn't home.

Pick an outside meeting place where everyone can gather after they've escaped safely (a neighbor's house, a mailbox, or even a tree will do). Make sure that you mark the spot you've picked on your escape plan.

Memorize the emergency phone number of the fire department. Remind everyone that they should get out first, then call for help from outside, or at a neighbor's home.

Be ready for the real thing. Put your escape plan to the test with a fire drill at least twice a year. That way if a real fire ever happens, everyone in the family will know what to do.

Always choose the escape route that is safest. Practice crawling low under smoke in case you must go through it to get out. Smoke is nasty stuff, even worse than fire itself. To keep from breathing it in, crawl low under the smoke on your hands and knees. Your head will be in a "safety zone" of clean air about knee high.

Close the door behind you. Closing the doors as you leave can slow the spread of fire and smoke.