Emergency Preparation–Am I Prepared?
Consider these fire facts...
According to the National Fire Protection Association, there are more
than 380,000 home fires each year. These fires kill more than 3,000 civilians
and injure an additional 13,300. Many of these casualties are the direct
result of not being able to escape from upper-story bedrooms. In addition:
- A home fire starts every 80 seconds and doubles in size every 30 seconds
- A person has approximately 30 seconds to decide their escape during
a fire
- Each year, nearly 40,000 children ages 14 and under are injured
by fires in the home
If you are not prepared today, you’re not alone…
There are several residential fire safety misconceptions that may contribute
to these devastatingly high numbers. To better understand these misconceptions,
we conducted an online survey of nearly 500 U.S. homeowners.
The findings showed that:
- Nearly 20% of the 500 homeowners surveyed believe they have
between four and five minutes to escape from their home once a smoke
alarm sounds. NFPA reports that the amount of time is actually three
minutes or less.
- While only 8% of respondents have been in a fire, 8%
know a friend, family or co-worker who has experienced a house
fire.
- 98% of our respondents reported having smoke detectors.
- 78% own at least one general purpose fire extinguisher. BUT, only
12% who live in two-story or three-story houses reported
having a portable escape ladder or other reliable means of getting out.
- Even more troubling, of the 12% who had portable escape ladders,
few could actually remember where they stored them!
- Just over half of respondents (53%) have a fire escape
plan for their home. A meager 15% report actually
practicing their plan on an annual basis.
This means that the vast majority of respondents had absolutely no reliable
way out of their second or third story windows. We want you to be prepared.
Here are some important tips on how to prepare a customized fire safety
plan for your home based on four critical components:
Prevention
- Be sure an adult is always in the kitchen or by the grill when cooking.
- Never leave a candle unattended and keep flames at least three feet
away from curtains, furniture or other flammable materials.
- Keep matches and lighters out of sight and reach of children.
- Keep fuel or liquid that can catch on fire, like gasoline, propane
or kerosene, in a safe container outside of the home in a
garage or shed.
- If anyone in your home smokes, use heavy, non-tip ashtrays
and make sure all cigarettes/cigars are fully extinguished.
- Discard frayed or cracked electrical cords.
Detection
- Make sure you have smoke alarms on every level (even the basement).
- Check to make sure all smoke alarm batteries work. Then, check again
every six months. Remember, if you’re smoke alarm is more
than 10 years old, replace it.
- Mount smoke alarms high on walls or ceilings. Smoke rises!
- Never remove a battery or disarm a smoke alarm.
- Make sure everyone in your home knows the sound of the smoke alarm,
what to do next and that the alarm is loud enough to wake
up sleeping children and adults.
Suppression
- Keep a fire extinguisher handy in fire-prone areas, like the kitchen
and garage, for small fires.
No matter how small the fire, if you can’t extinguish it immediately, get out!
Escape
- Identify two SAFE ways out of every room in the house, especially
upstairs. Draw these exits on a map and place a copy in every room.
- If your secondary exit out of an upstairs room is a window, have
an easy-to-deploy escape ladder nearby.
- Permanent escape ladders are
an excellent alternative. Unlike portable ladders, they are
right where you need them, when you need them and are easy enough for
a child to deploy.
- Practice fire escape drills twice a year. Have everyone practice
escaping every room in the house and practice crawling low
under smoke.
- Pick an outside meeting place where everyone can gather after they’ve
escaped. Remember to mark this spot on your fire escape map!
- Keep doors, stairways and other exits clear of toys, furniture
and other clutter.
- Memorize the emergency phone number of the fire department.
Remind everyone that they should get out first, and then
call for help from outside or at a neighbor's home.
- Close the door behind you. This will slow the spread of fire
and smoke.
