How to Make a Fire Safety Plan for Your Home

We all know how important it is to be prepared if a fire were to ever occur in the home. But we also know that prevention is always preferable, so it's time to take stock of your family's awareness and practices of fire safety in the house. Some of the common sense stuff that is easy to get lazy about includes:

When purchasing a fire extinguisher for your home, there are a couple important things you need to know. Fire extinguishers are rated for different types of fires. Class A is for regular materials like wood, cardboard and cloth, Class B works on flammable liquids, such as gas, oil and grease, and Class C is for electrical equipment, like wires and fuse boxes.

如果你有一个类B或C灭火器,你可以use them on type-A fires. But it's bad news to use water or a Class A extinguisher on grease or electrical fires. So, your best bet is to look for an extinguisher that is rated A-B-C. That way, you'll be covered for any type of emergency.

Home fire extinguishers are also rated for the size of fire they can deal with; larger numbers can handle bigger fires. This is important information because most portable fire extinguishers completely discharge in around 8 seconds, so you're not going to want to tackle a raging inferno with a small, lightweight extinguisher.

Your fire extinguisher should be installed in plain view and you should always perform the maintenance suggested by the manufacturer. In the unfortunate case that you'll have to use your fire extinguisher, you should start by standing at least 6 to 8 feet away and remember the PASS procedure:

Do this until the flames are out and then watch the fire area for a while. If the fire re-ignites then repeat the process. Most importantly, if you can't get the fire out then you need to evacuate the premises immediately and call the fire department.

The first step in creating a fire safety escape plan for your home is to draw a floor plan for each level of your home, marking all possible emergency exits from each room via doors and windows. The door is always the ideal exit, but if it's blocked by fire then there needs to be an alternative, like a window. This means that windows need to be able to open easily from the inside, so as we mentioned previously, any security bars need a quick release latch that everyone in the home knows how to operate. If your exterior doors are deadbolt locked, then make sure there is a key in easy reaching distance to the door, so you don't have to waste time trying to get to your keys.

Be sure to include stairways, and details like a garage roof or porch that could aid in a quick escape. If you have a second story, it's not a bad idea to have portable fire escape ladders standing by that can be attached to a window and used to evacuate in an emergency. If you have young children, people with disabilities or elderly relatives living with you, they're probably going to need some assistance getting out, so you'll need to decide who is responsible for helping them. And don't forget to include your pets in the plan, as well. Have visible signage on your home of how many pets you have, so the fire department is aware or let them know when you call them that there are pets in the house.

In the case of a fire emergency, it's likely you'll have mere minutes to get everyone out safely, so taking a few minutes to plan these details in advance could literally be a matter of life or death. You'll also want to pick a meeting place outside of your house, so you can account for everyone and make sure they're safe.

Once you have all the details decided, you'll need to practice the plan to make sure you can execute it quickly. It's recommended to hold fire drills at least twice a year to make sure that everyone knows what to do without hesitation. This is a great time to discuss details of the real thing. For example, remind everyone not to open doors if the knobs are hot and crawl low and keep your mouth covered if there's smoke in the air. Also, everyone should be warned to not waste time trying to grab any property on the way out. Stuff can be replaced, but your family cannot.

Originally Published: Feb 6, 2012