Be smart and prepare a fire evacuation plan for your home. Read below for more…

First To Note

A house fire can still occur irrespective of any preventive measures you put in place. Fires can also spread very quickly, so acting calmly but quickly could be the difference between life and death. Within that brief period, you should be able to gather every member of your family and evacuate your home safely.

One of the first things you should do when you move to a new home or building is walk through the house. Carefully inspect every possible escape route and exit. If you have children, pull everyone together in your household and create a plan.

Draw the floor plan of the house and ensure you mark at least 2 ways out of every room. This should include the doors and windows. 

Getting a warning from smoke alarms also goes a long way in enabling you to get out of your burning home safely.

 A closed door or shutter can slow down the spread of smoke, fire, and heat. Therefore, installing smoke alarms in every room – and even outside the sleeping area – is crucial. Every level of your home – if you live in a multi-story building – should have a smoke alarm installed.

By planning, preparing, and practicing your escape plan from time to time with members of your family, you can significantly boost your family’s preparedness. This will enable them to react safely and more quickly when a fire breaks out suddenly or without warning. 

Top Vital Tips For A Fire Evacuation Plan For Your Home

Follow these fire evacuation planning tips as much as possible:

Install Smoke Alarms in Every Room in Your Home

Since closed doors can slow down the spread of heat, smoke, and fire, install smoke alarms in every room.

The National Fire Alarm Code® even stipulates that all smoke alarms must be interconnected throughout the home. As soon as one smoke alarm is activated by smoke, all the others join in.

Check Your Escape Routes from Time to Time

When walking through the fire evacuation plan for your home, check to ensure all escape routes are free of clutter and clear. All windows and doors must have smooth hinges that allow them to open quickly at the slightest push or pull.

How Visible is Your Street Number from the Road?

Go outside your home to check your street number and see if it is visible from the road. If it isn’t, get a small bucket of paint and a paintbrush and paint the street number on the curb.

You may also install house numbers in order to ensure that every responding fire emergency personnel has zero difficulties finding your burning home.

Get Every Member of Your Family to Memorize the Emergency Phone Number of Your Local Fire Department

Okay, this may look like overstretching it a bit, but the truth is that you shouldn’t take any chances. Get every member of your household to memorize the emergency phone number of the local fire department.

This makes it easy for any household member to call the local fire department from a cell phone or a neighbor’s house once safely outside.

Assign 2 Individuals to Older Adults, Infants or Members with Mobility Issues

The general rule is to assign at least one individual – usually a young adult – to older adults, infants, or those with mobility issues.

However, if that individual is not at home at the time of the fire crisis, confusion may set in when scrambling for safety. Therefore, assign at least 2 family members to those with mobility limitations, infants, and older adults during the fire drill as well as when a fire emergency occurs.

You may even assign a backup person if both designees may be absent from home during the fire emergency.

Ensure All Security Bars Have Emergency Release Features

If all the doors and windows in your home have security bars, ensure these bars have emergency release features. These features should make it easy to open the security bars swiftly during a fire emergency.

You’re sadly mistaken if you think the emergency release features may compromise your security. They will, in reality, enhance your chances of safely escaping a home fire during an emergency.

Inform all Visitors and Guests of the Fire Evacuation Plan for Your Home

Many homeowners forget or neglect this part. But it is highly essential to inform all your guests and visitors of your fire evacuation plan for your home.

If you need to stay outside your home and overnight in another family’s home, ask about the fire evacuation plan for their home. If that home does not have a fire escape plan, offer to help them create a highly detailed one.

This is crucial and must be kept in mind, especially if your children are permitted to sleep over at their friends’ homes.

Always Be Ready for a Real Fire Incidence

You should always be ready for an actual fire incident. As soon as a smoke alarm goes off, find the nearest exit or escape route and get out immediately, but that is only if you are not the person assigned to assist infants, older adults, or those with mobility problems.

When you are out of your burning home, stay out. You should never, under no circumstances, find your way back into a burning building. If any member of your home is missing, inform the emergency fire personnel or dispatcher immediately.

Plan 2 Ways out of Each Room

It is vital to plan at least 2 ways out of every room. This is because smoke or fire may block the primary exit. If there is no second way out of that room, you may be in trouble.

Therefore, if you live in, say, a 2-story building, consider escaping through the roof, window, or balcony. You may also need to install a portable fire escape ladder. But make sure you evaluate every escape route for easy access.

Adults should always play crucial roles in reinforcing or teaching safety tips to children.

Wrapping Up Our Fire Evacuation Plan For Your Home

House fire safety is all about planning, preventing, and practicing. But even then, fire accidents can still occur, no matter how much you follow the best home fire prevention tactics. The best thing is to be always prepared.

As soon as a home fire breaks out, you and every household member have mere seconds to get your things together and escape. Do not wait until it is too late to start making fire evacuation plans for your home.

Plan and practice every fire escape strategy outlined in this article. This ensures you and your entire family will have the best of evacuating the house safely if a fire breaks out suddenly.