HOW TO SAFELY GET OUT OF YOUR HOUSE IF A FIRE OCCURS

 

PLAN YOUR ESCAPE ROUTE

You need to know how you are going to get out of a fire before the fire starts. Draw a sketch of your home. Make sure you draw all the rooms of your house, especially your room. Then plan two ways to get out of every room in your house. The escape routes could be through the door or the window.

 

AGREE ON A MEETING PLACE

Talk with your parents and plan on a place where your family will meet after you leave the house. Make sure everyone knows where the meeting place is. This is the place where your parents can count heads to make sure everyone is out safely. ONCE YOU ARE OUT, STAY OUT! Never go back into a burning building, even for your pets, they will find their own way out.

 

PRACTICE YOUR ESCAPE PLAN

Have a fire drill at home. Practice your escape plan and make sure everyone can get out of the house and can get to the meeting place. Everyone in the family should take part in the practice.

 

CRAWL LOW UNDER SMOKE

During a fire, the air near the floor will be cleaner. You want to be on your hands and knees and crawl to the nearest exit. Get down low so you can breathe cleaner air.

 

CHECK THE DOORS FOR HEAT

Before you open any door, feel the door to see if it is hot. Use the back of your hand and touch the door. If the door is hot, don't open it. Use another way out. If the door is cool, open it slowly to see if smoke or fire is on the other side.

 

PLAY IT SAFE

Have smoke detectors in your house and make sure that they work. Smoke detectors can smell smoke. They will make a loud noise and wake you up when you are sleeping. You need to change the batteries in your smoke detector twice a year. It is usually a good idea to change the batteries when your parents change the clocks in the Spring and Fall. If you live in a two-story house, you need to have one on each floor.

 

REMEMBER . . .

Plan your escape route before you have a fire. Know two ways out of every room in your house. Have a meeting place for you to meet your family after you get out. Have home fire drills and practice your escape plans. Crawl low under smoke and always feel the door for heat before you open it. Once you are out ... STAY OUT! Don't go back into a burning building. Have working smoke detectors in your home and change the batteries twice a year.

 

 

Click here for a house map example.