Fire safety knowledge along with practice will allow you and your family to live in confidence that if a fire occurs, you are prepared. Check out these tips provided by The Cincinnati Insurance Companies.
Develop an emergency plan
- Create a map that includes escape routes from each room of your home.
- Know at least two ways out of each room.
- Practice your plan with all members of your household.
- Review the plan at least twice a year when all members of your household are present.
- Update the plan when you make changes, like adding a finished basement or rearranging furniture.
- Post the plan on your refrigerator where family members will see it regularly and commit it to memory.
- Have an outside meeting place a safe distance from your house.
Install and check smoke alarms
- Install smoke alarms on every level of your home, including basements, inside each bedroom and outside each sleeping area. Contact your local authorities to see if there are laws governing the placement of smoke detectors where you live.
- Consider interconnecting your smoke alarms so that a fire detected by any smoke alarm will sound an alarm at every location where installed. A licensed electrician may need to replace existing smoke alarms with those capable of wireless interconnection.
- change smoke alarm batteries twice a year. Many people do this when the time changes in the spring and fall.
- Test smoke alarms once a month, if not more often, by pushing the test button.
- Replace battery-operated smoke alarm units every 8-10 years.
Obtain safety ladders
- For multi-level homes, safety ladders are invaluable. You can find them at most building supply stores in compact styles that can be installed under a window.
- If possible, install one in every bedroom.
Choose the right fire extinguishers
- Choose an “ABC” or multi-purpose fire extinguisher. Identify the areas in your home where a fire is most likely to occur, and then store the correct class of extinguisher nearby. Especially consider extinguishers for your kitchen, work areas and grilling locations. Share the locations and how to use each extinguisher with each member of your household.
- To operate a fire extinguisher, remember the word PASS:
- Pull the pin. Hold the extinguisher with the nozzle pointing away from you and release the locking mechanism.
- Aim low. Point the extinguisher at the base of the fire.
- Squeeze the level slowly and evenly.
- Sweep the nozzle from side-to-side.
