What can you do to prepare your children to react appropriately in the case of a fire? Here are some great tips:
1. Make sure your children know the emergency number for your area. Teach little children how to dial a house phone and use a cell phone.
2. Walk through your home with your family and identify all escape routes. Make sure you have at least two accessible exits from your home for your family to escape from should there ever be a fire, and two exits from each room. Windows should be able to be opened from the inside, not barred with a lock on a high shelf your children can't reach.
3. Have practice fire drills, asking children to identify safe paths should one area be blocked. Teach them to feel doors and doorknobs before opening a door. If it's warm, find another way out (don't open that door!).
4. Teach children to duck to avoid smoke and breath in the clearest air. If they crawl to escape, they will be able to see better and not be overcome with smoke fumes.
5. Teach children to not wait inside for anyone, or to try to go into a dangerous area or return into the home for any reason- not for a pet, a favorite toy, or you. If they can run to safety, they should do so immediately and they should stay outside no matter what.
6. Make sure your children know your home address and number as soon as they are able to learn them. If they escape and you are still inside, teach your children to NOT return into the home for any reason, and to go to a neighbor to use their phone to call for help.
7. If you have a child with special needs, accommodate those needs for safety. For example, a child who uses crutches or a wheelchair (permanently or temporarily) should be sleeping on the ground floor as long as they need a walking aid. A deaf child should have a smoke alarm with special lights to alert them if there is a fire.
8. Make sure you have fire extinguishers throughout your home and that the batteries in your smoke alarms work.
Fire Prevention Week is October 3-9
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