Fire Extinguisher : 101

Fire Safety Escape Plan

In the event of a fire in your home, you will not have time to think about how to escape. Devising a well-thought-out fire escape plan can significantly increase your family’s chances of survival in a home fire.

Putting together a fire safety plan

An effective fire escape plan is comprised of operational smoke detectors and a clear and easy to follow escape route. Sketch the floor plan of your house on a piece of paper. With a red pen, mark all possible locations for exit, including doors, windows and any other exit points. Do this for every room in the house and be attentive to all possibilities. Take another colored pen and indicate with an arrow the normal exit routes that you would usually take to leave the building from each room. With yet another color, draw more arrows to indicate secondary exits from each room in the house. If you have an individual in your family who requires special needs in the form of a physical or mental disability, you will have to devise your plan to include their needs. It may be that this individual should sleep on the ground floor or near someone who will be in charge of their safety in the case of a fire emergency.

Don’t just look at your plan on paper

Once you have completed this initial plan on paper, assemble your family and practice the route, including the alternate routes. This is a necessary step in home fire safety planning because it gives you the opportunity to detect possible flaws in the process. If you have to make a change, have the family practice the new routes again, and continue to do so until you feel sure that you have an efficient and working escape plan. Finally, give everyone a copy of the plan and ask if everyone is clear on their closest, most practical exit route, as well as the alternate ones. Also, be sure to have a meeting point outside the house, one that is far from the fire, and then ensure yourself that everyone from your household is safe.

Fire safety takes practice

Many people design a fire escape plan, present it to the family, and then forget all about it! This is not a good way to guarantee that everyone will be prepared in an emergency situation. Home fire safety should be practiced once every few months.

Most fires occur sometime between midnight and 6am, a time when people are generally least prepared for an emergency. With a solid fire escape plan that has been well-exercised, you can prepare your family for the worst and increase your chances of the best possible outcome.