Top 10 Home Fire Safety Tips

1. It is estimated that about 10,000 fires are started by children every year. This is so because most parents either forget to teach children about fire hazards or they do not take it seriously. Teaching children, even young ones, about fire safety should be part of any family’s fire prevention plan. Not only children must be taught about the dangers of playing with matches and lighters they should be told firmly not to do so. Matches and lighters should be kept away from the reach of children and preferably locked away.

2. Smoke alarms are the most important fire prevention tools in a home’s fire prevention arsenal. Smoke alarms should be installed on each floor especially near bedrooms. It is even preferable to have one in each room. They must be tested frequently by lighting a match under them and batteries changed twice a year. In case you are awakened by an alarm you must not assume that your children will also be woken up. Make sure that someone is assigned the responsibility of waking them up and leading them outside. Some automatic responses in case of fires should be drilled into young children so that they get out immediately even when drowsy.

3. Have an escape plan in place for everyone in case of fire. Responsibilities should be clearly defined and understood. Children and others should be trained to look for hot doors before opening them. A hot door is a sure sign of fire in the other side. In case it is not possible to get out of the door children must be taught how to use fire escape ladders to get out of windows in multi floor homes. Such ladders should be kept in accessible places on each floor. Teach young children how to open doors and windows. Of course they must all open easily.

4. Practice the fire escape plan at least once a month to ensure its smooth execution. Teach the children that smoke and fumes are as dangerous as fire and as hot gases rise up they should get down to floor level if a fire is raging and there is a lot of smoke. They should be taught the use of wet towels to keep out smoke and fumes. In case their clothes catch fire they should remove them immediately if possible or else roll on the floor to put it out.

5. Children should be taught how to dial 911 and what to say to the dispatcher, your name, address and nature of emergency. The sight of a fireman in full protective gear can be quite intimidating to young children. Take them near firemen in full gear and familiarize them so that they consider them as friends.

6. Plan a specific meeting place where everyone should reach immediately in case of fire. This way every one can be accounted for quickly and steps taken to save anyone trapped inside immediately. However you should not enter into a burning house yourself but take the help of firemen.

7. Have a fire proof safe installed inside the house so that important documents and valuables will be safe in case of a fire. Many people have lost their lives while trying to retrieve important documents and valuables form burning homes. Never in any case reenter a building on fire. In the case of a fire all portions of the building get preheated and fire spreads very fast through the building. Large portions of the building can catch fire in an instant in this manner.

8. Everybody should be aware of the fire safety hazards in the house. The most obvious ones are cooking stoves and other heating devices. Defective or substandard electrical appliances can pose fire hazards as well as frayed lead wires. Defective clothes dryers, portable generators, candles, electric space heaters placed near combustible items, glowing cigarette or cigar butts, fire places, kerosene heaters, wood stoves, etc, can pose fire hazards and should be identified as such. Keep dried leaves and wood piles at least thirty feet away from the home. If you have a wood workshop don’t let sawdust pileup near the home. All these are highly combustible and pose fire hazards.

9. Fire extinguishes are your first line of defense against a fire. Fire extinguishers come in different types for different types of fire. Make sure you have the appropriate type of fire extinguishers in each floor and they should be easily accessible. One fire extinguisher must be there exclusively in the kitchen. Everyone in the house should be conversant with the use of the extinguishers and how to put out small fires fast.

10. Special care should be taken for older adults and physically and mentally impaired persons in the house. They may need special attention in case of a fire. Their escape should also be well planned in advance and they also should be made aware of the hazards and how to handle themselves in case of a fire until help arrives.