Fire Escape Plan

 

                It is estimated that a home fire occurs every 66 seconds nationally. Ninety percent of fire deaths involving children occur in homes without working smoke detectors. An estimated 92 percent of American homes contain smoke alarms but about 1/3 of them don’t work or are missing charged batteries.

            Each year in the US, about 12,000 children 14 years of age and under are injured in residential fires. Preschool children die in fires at twice the national rate.

            Have a smoke alarm near, or inside bedrooms and on every floor or level of your home. Test the alarms once a month, and change the batteries once a year, preferably in the fall when daylight savings time ends which is merely a good time to remind yourself it’s time to change batteries also that is fire prevention week which will serve as a reminder to change batteries in your smoke detectors.

            Make sure everyone in your family knows the STOP, DROP, and ROLL procedure in case their clothes catch on fire.  Keep matches and lighters out of reach from children.

            Make sure your family has an escape plan. Practice the escape plan every six months. Nobody expects a fire. But it's very important to have a plan - to know what to do - just in case there is one.

             

            ESCAPE PLANS WILL DIFFER FOR EACH TYPE OF BUILDING!  IT'S UP TO YOU TO PLAN THE PROPER ESCAPE FROM YOUR PARTICULAR BUILDING.

            Here are some helpful tips, which you may find useful in making your own plan.

            1.Have a family meeting to discuss what to do if there is a fire.

            2.Plan two exits.

            3.Decide on a meeting place, far enough away from the building in case of collapse or explosion and perform a head count of everyone from the building.

            4.Call 911 from a neighbor’s home or alarm box outside your apartment.

            5.Never call 911 from within the burning structure.

            6.Practice your plan every 6 months.

            7.Make sure everyone in the household commits the plan to memory.

 

            In the event of a fire in your home remember these tips.

 

            KEEP CALM, DO NOT PANIC

            1.Stay low, were the air is cooler.

            2.Feel doors for heat before opening them. If doors are hot choose the second exit of your plan. Close doors behind you to reduce the spread of fire.

            3.Do not use an elevator it may stop and trap you.

            4.Most Importantly DO NOT GO BACK IN AFTER YOU GET OUT. No items inside the home are worth losing your life over.

 

 

                                                            Max Doty

                                                            Princeton Firefighters IAFF Local 466