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The last thing most people want to think about is a fire in their home.
Unfortunately, fire is something everyone must think about. And the key to being safe in a fire is being prepared and staying calm.
Having planned escape routes is one of the best ways to be prepared for a fire in the home.
Each person in a home should know at least two escape routes from each room. That way if the easiest route is blocked, there is a second way out. To plan escape routes, draw a floor plan of the home and then highlight the best ways out of each room. Everyone in the home should be familiar with these routes. Babysitters should be familiar with escape routes as well.
Once escape routes are established, they should be practiced on a regular basis. The more familiar the routes, the easier they will be to remember.
Part of planning the escape route should include making sure everyone in the house knows how to open doors, windows and screens to get out of the house safely. Also, hallways and stairways should be clutter free for safe maneuvering in case of darkness.
Fire is fast - in less than 30 seconds, even a small flame can get out of control, turning into a major fire. Thick black smoke can fill a house in minutes and a house can become engulfed in a very short period of time.
When planning escape routes, be sure that everyone in the house knows to test all doorknobs and feel all doors for heat before attempting to open them. If the door is warm to the touch, an alternate escape route should be used. Also, if smoke rolls in when the door is opened slowly, close it and use a different exit route. Once people exit a room, they should close the door behind them to slow the spread of both smoke and fire.
Because fire produces smoke and toxic gases, it is also important to remember to crawl through a smoke-filled house with a covered mouth. Since smoke rises, the lower a person is, the cleaner the air.
After planning escape routes and stressing the importance of getting out of the house safely, people should decide on a meeting place away from the house where everyone can gather in case of a fire. The meeting place can be a tree, the end of the driveway or a front sidewalk. Any place that is a safe distance from the house is appropriate, as long as every member of the household knows where to meet. Once outside the house, one person should take attendance while another should go to a neighbor's house to call 911 to report the fire.
In case of a fire, an important thing to remember is to get out of the house and stay out. No one should go back into a burning house to try to save property. Only trained firefighters should enter a burning building.
