The theme for Fire Prevention Week 2007 is home escape planning and practice. Only 23 percent of households have actually developed and practiced a home fire escape plan.
Make your home escape plan
Draw a simple floor plan of your home showing all exits, including windows. Sit down with everyone in your home, and mark those exits on your plan. Make sure all exits are clear. If you have security bars, make sure they have quick-release devices on the inside. Decide on a safe meeting place outside the home where everyone will gather after they have escaped the fire. Be sure everyone knows the emergency phone number of the local fire department. Make sure everyone knows the sound of the smoke alarm and when it sounds to get out and stay out.
Now practice it
Send everyone to his or her bedroom and sound the smoke alarm. Go directly to your meeting place and make sure everyone has escaped. Close off some exits and pretend they’re blocked by smoke or flame. In a real fire, you should call the fire department from a neighbor’s phone or a mobile phone only after you have left the building.
In a real fire, you must move quickly, carefully, nada calmly.
Residential sprinklers
Consider installing an automatic sprinkler system in your home. Sprinkler systems are set off by high heat, not cooking fumes, and spray water only on the area immediately below them.
