Fire Safety in the Home
Fires unfortunately occur in homes all the time. It’s important that we know what to do if a fire breaks out in our home, but it’s also essential to know how to prevent a fire from happening in the first place. Listed below are some tips to follow to ensure the safety of you, your family, and your home.
Fire Safety Tips
* Talk to your family about an escape plan if a fire were to ever break out in your home. Know where you’d escape from and where you’d meet everyone once you’re out.
* Ensure that all of your smoke alarms work. In over 60% of house fire deaths, the families did not have working smoke alarms.
Preparing For and Preventing a House Fire
* Keep flammables away from anything that gets hot or could cause a spark.
* Never smoke in your home.
* Ensure that your children know the dangers of a fire. Keep matches and lighters out of the reach of your children.
* Do not leave candles unattended.
* Make sure that you have smoke alarms on all levels of your home – better yet in every room.
* Teach your children about what a smoke alarm does and what it sounds like. Make sure that they know what to do when/if it were to ever go off.
* Test your smoke alarms once a month. If they don’t work, replace the batteries.
* Practice escaping from your home at least twice a year. Practice waking up to smoke alarms and practice your low crawl to help prevent smoke inhalation.
* Make sure that everyone knows how to dial 911 and what to tell them. (Address, name, and what the emergency is)
* Ensure that everyone knows what to do if they were to ever catch on fire. (Stop, drop, and roll)
* Have two ways out. If door handles are warm, do not open the door. This mean that there is a fire directly on the other side. Try your other escape route.
* If smoke, heat, or flames prevent you from escaping, place a wet towel underneath your door. This will prevent the fire from spreading into your room. Dial 911 and stay by a window. Signal for help from there too.
* When escaping from your home, ensure that you’re being as quick as possible. Most times, you only have about two minutes to escape. Don’t stop for anything, items or even pets.
Cooking Safety
* Don’t leave the food you’re cooking on a stove unattended. If you do have to leave the kitchen, do not leave the food cooking; turn off the stove until you come back and finish cooking.
* Keep all flammables away from the stove. This includes oven mitts, hand towels, clothing, and plastic.
* Keep your pets off of the stove and counters. This will help prevent anything from falling onto the burners and catching fire.
Fires are very scary and cause a lot of damage. Remember to stay calm and call for help. Know how to stay safe if a fire ever happens within your home. It’s important that you know all of the safety tips so that you have the best chance of survival.
When my sons were small we had stickers on their windows to show the firemen where the kids slept.
These are important tips for fire safety. I would add one more. Our previous home was two stories and in the bedrooms we had fire escape ladders that you unroll to climb out the windows in case of a fire.
I have talked to my kids about what to do in case of a fire. My youngest just went for a visit to the firehouse with his storytime class and they talked about it too.
great information to know even with a tiny house
This is so important. There have been several house fires in this area lately and you really need to be prepared.
Thanks for the important tips.
I saw recently that it is very important to keep doors closed at night while sleeping. I had no idea!
Thanks for all the information.
Thank you for the safety tips. My granddaughter is three and I’m ready to start sharing this information with her.
Thanks for the information! Safety is so important.
This is definitely something I need to go over with with my youngest nieces, and even though my oldest nieces already know it’s good to go over it with them in case there were some of this information was missed.
Very important topic, that we often don’t think about. Thanks for sharing.
My family practiced a full fire drill about two weeks ago. I was shocked that my 5yr old went by the first exterior door to exit so we had to do it all again so he knew to go out the first exit possible. We even ran the drill until everyone could get outside and to our ‘safe’ meet-up place at our neighbors. I even had my son practice what to do if he can’t get outside from his second story bedroom. So easy to forget how much practice really means!
When I was a little baby Our house burned down. It was a wood stove I think that caused it. But anyway we are always trying to be safe about fires. They are no thing to kid about. A wood stove also burned my face neck chest arms and legs back in 2011. I am so blessed that I can still see hear smell and minimal scaring. The best thing is that I am alive. They said if I had breathed in at the wrong time my lungs would have collapsed. I am truly blessed to be. Anyways fire is something to take serious. And it can happen to anyone. please be safe.