Fire - Escape Plan
Fire - Escape Plan
Escape Planning
Smoke alarms can only warn of danger. You must then
take action to escape. Unless you act quickly and effectively, the extra
warning time provided
by alarms could be wasted. The best way to assure
that your family will do the correct things in an emergency is to have an
escape plan and
practice it. The important factors in a home fire
evacuation plan are:
Immediately leave the home.
Do
not waste any time saving property. Call the fire department (Use 9-1-1 if
available) from a neighbor’s home. Take the safest exit route, but if
you
must escape through smoke, remember to crawl low under the
smoke.
Know two ways out of each
room.
If the primary way out is blocked by fire or smoke, you
will need a second way out. This might be a window onto an adjacent roof
or by using an
escape ladder (tested and approved by a recognized
testing laboratory). Practice escaping by both the primary and secondary
routes to be sure that
windows are not stuck and screens can be taken
out quickly. Windows and doors with security bars need quick release
devices to allow them to be
opened quickly in an emergency. Practice
escaping in the dark.
Feel the door.
When you come to
a closed door, use the back of your hand to feel the top of the door, the
door knob, and the crack between the door and door frame
to make sure
that fire is not on the other side. If it feels hot, use your secondary
escape route. Even if the door feels cool, open it carefully.
Brace
your shoulder against the door and open slowly. If heat and smoke
come in, slam the door and make sure it is securely closed. Use your
alternate
escape route.
Have an arranged meeting
place.
If you all meet under a specific tree or at the end of
the driveway or front sidewalk, you will know that everyone has gotten out
safely and no one will
be hurt looking for someone who is already safe.
Designate one person to go to a neighbor’s home to phone the fire
department.
Once out, STAY OUT!
Never go
back into a burning building for any reason. If someone is missing, tell
the firefighters. They are equipped to perform rescues safely.
Protect Your Family From Fire
•
Respect fire and teach your children to respect it too.
• Install smoke
alarms, either self-contained or as part of a system, outside bedrooms and
on EVERY LEVEL OF THE HOME.
• Test and maintain your alarms as if your
life depends on it. IT DOES!
• Make sure everyone can clearly hear the
sound of your smoke alarms from their bedrooms.
• Make an escape plan
with two ways out of every room and practice it with your family.
•
Especially when there are family members who cannot escape unassisted,
consider a residential sprinkler system. And, consider making your
neighbors aware of where these people sleep in the house. They might be
able to direct the firefighters when you are not home.
US Fire Administration, March 2008,www.usfa.dhs.gov