Home Fire Escape Plan
If your home was to catch fire how would you and
your family escape?
If you cannot answer this
question, now is the time to prepare a family home fire escape plan. Make
sure everyone knows, where possible, two ways to get out of every room in
which people might sleep eg door and window.
Ensure that you have functioning smoke alarms
installed to provide warning of fire early enough to allow you to get out
before smoke and heat build up and prevent your escape.
When preparing your home fire escape plan consider the
following:
Establish the main and (if possible)
secondary routes from each room. Are the fire escape routes free of
obstacles? Security devices installed to prevent a burglary can also
restrict or prevent your escape from fire. Can door deadlocks, windows,
flyscreens and security grilles be opened easily, especially by
children?
Establish a family gathering point away
from the buildings, near the road, in a location that is easy to access.
Consider how you will contact the Fire
Service once you are out of your burning home? You will need a method
that does not require you to re-enter the house.
A senior family member should remain at
the roadside to await the arrival of the Fire Service. Inform attending
firefighters where the fire started (if you know) and whether all
occupants are accounted for. If someone is missing, tell the
firefighters who to look for and where they are most likely to be found.
Consider what you will do if a member of
your family fails to report to the family marshalling area. Calling
their name and knocking on windows and external doors is good practice:
re-entering the house is not!
If at all possible, family members other
than the person awaiting the arrival of the Fire Service should leave
the scene for the care of friends or neighbors. This will reduce the
trauma of the event and is particularly important in the case of young
children.
Never
re-enter the building.
Ensure that other family members do not attempt to do so.
Family Pets
If possible, you should include your family
pets in your home fire escape plan. This may involve providing a means
for your dog or cat to escape.
Multi-level Homes, Apartments and Flats
above Ground Level
Living above ground
level poses some unique problems, particularly in the provision of
alternative escape routes.
The provision of early warning by functioning
smoke alarms will assist in ensuring that an alternative route is not
required.
If you are unable to escape from an upper storey,
stay by a window and attract the attention of firefighters.
Practise Your Plan
Once you have
developed your escape plan have a practice run. Involve all the
residents of your dwelling, including the children. You may well find
that some aspect of your original plan needs modifying. Far better to
find out in practice than in an emergency.
Remember to close doors and windows as you
evacuate as this will help restrict the spread of smoke and fire. Also
remember to keep low to the floor where the air is cooler, clearer and
there is less likelihood of toxic gases.
Once you have your plan fine tuned, run a practice
evacuation at regular intervals (say, 6 monthly) to ensure that
everybody continues to be familiar with the plan.
Before You Go To Sleep
Check that all fire
escape routes are clear of obstacles. Place a torch in a convenient
location.
Check that electrical appliances are turned off or
are operating in a safe condition, as recommended by the manufacturer.
If heaters are to be left on, check that they are
in a safe condition and well clear of combustibles (possible
interference by pets must be considered).
Ensure that you can easily open all doors,
windows, fly screens and security grills on both the primary and
secondary escape routes.
If you live in an isolated location, a mobile
telephone placed within reach and taken when you evacuate, will ensure
that the Fire Service can be contacted.
What
will you do if there is a fire in your home at night when you are in
bed?
Only practice will make it happen when the
pressure is on!
REMEMBER: The FIRST thing
to do when you enter your house is to put a key in each deadlock. The
LAST thing to do before you leave your house is to remove the keys
from each deadlock.
