Your personal fire escape plan
Published 8:12 pm Thursday, October 7, 2010
Safe exits: A Suffolk firefighter instructs children how to safely exit a room if it is filled with smoke inside the Suffolk Fire Department’s Fire Safety House. After instruction, a fire would be simulated and the children would put what they’ve been taught in action.
Many fire prevention items are easy to purchase, but one of the most important takes planning and more time to put together.
Having a fire escape plan in place can help reduce confusion and panic in the case of a fire and ensure your loved ones are able to quickly exit the home.
To make a great fire escape plan, you will need:
• Home fire escape plan grid (www.nfpa.org/sparky/PDF/escape_plan.pdf)
• A pencil
• Crayons
• Your family (involve as many family members as possible)
What to do:
• Count the number of rooms in your home. You will need to draw each one on your grid.
• Count the number of smoke alarms in your home. Draw them on your plan as a circle and color them red.
• Find the windows in your home and mark each one in blue.
• Find the doors in your home and mark each one in green.
• Walk through your home and make sure that you can find two ways out of each room. Make sure there is nothing blocking an exit. Label your exits orange.
• Decide on an outside meeting place. Draw and label it on your plan and circle it in purple.
• Practice, practice, practice! The escape plan can only really work if you practice. Have a fire drill with your family during the day and again at night. Have someone time how long it takes for everyone to get out. See if you can improve your family’s time with practice.
