Fire Safety Training in the Home Can Save Your Family

You’ve heard the message before that fire preparedness at home may save your or a family member’s life. This message is especially prevalent in October, during Fire Prevention Week. Your child may bring home books with colorful drawings of flames and escape route maps from school and dutifully proclaim that the family needs to create a fire escape plan.

You probably agree, but if you’re like many parents, you never follow through on that plan. If you’re relying solely on your child’s school for fire prevention education and not developing a personalized plan for your home, you may be unintentionally risking the lives of those you love.

Fortunately there are resources available to help you in educating your family. Fire safety training in the home doesn’t have to be a boring chore. Utilizing resources available from organizations such as the Red Cross, your local fire department, or on the Internet can make fire safety training fun for your family. Many resources are free for the asking, and in the case of the Internet, they can be downloaded and printed right on your computer. Even your local library may carry fire prevention books and videos/DVDs. For the technically savvy, there are fire safety training PowerPoint presentations available from various organizations.

These resources can guide you through the process of making a fire escape plan for your home, and teach you to spot potential fire dangers. Consider some of the statistics if you aren’t convinced of how critically important fire safety training in the home is:

• According to the U.S. Fire Administration, in 2005, there were over 396,000 residential fires, resulting in 3, 055 deaths and 13,825 injuries.
• Approximately 83% of all fire-related deaths between 1996 and 2005 were from residential fires.

In many of the residences where fires resulted in death, there were either no smoke detectors at all, or smoke detectors were not working. Even more homes did not have fire extinguishers, which can be especially helpful in preventing smaller household fires from spreading throughout the house.

Once you come up with a fire escape plan for your home, be sure to review it with all family members. Don’t forget to choose a meeting place near your home, but away from potential fire danger, under shelter of trees or other structures if possible, where your family will gather after escaping the home during a blaze.

Be sure your plan includes the family pet(s), and who is responsible for getting pets out safely, and how. Your escape plan should be posted somewhere in the home where it is visible to every one, and should be reviewed periodically to be sure everyone remembers the plan. Don’t forget to discuss your escape plan with household staff and childcare providers.

Other fire safety training tips to consider:

• Children or seniors (especially those with mobility limitations) should always wear flame-resistant nightwear to bed to minimize the possibility of injury in the event of fire.
• When staying in a hotel with your family, always take a few minutes to check the map of the building that is usually posted in your room which highlights the various fire escape routes around the building.
• Make sure you have smoke detectors on each floor of the home, near enough to bedrooms to be heard. First Alert, one of the leading manufacturers of home safety and fire prevention/detection products advises that a smoke detector should be installed in every bedroom for added protection at night time, especially if you or your family members sleep with the bedroom door closed. Test all smoke detectors at least once a month.
• Many people don’t realize that security companies, such as ADT, provide fire detection services as well as security monitoring. Once installed, their system will be able to detect fire and personnel can alert the fire department on your behalf.

While fire safety training in your home does take some time and thought, it isn’t hard, and is invaluable when you consider the alternative. You’ll be able to sleep easier at night with the assurance that your family is ready in case disaster strikes.