Family Fire Escape Plan

It's the middle of the night, and you've been sleeping for a few hours. If you're like most people, that's not when you're at your best. Now imagine you're waking up to the confusion of a house fire. The room's dark and smoke-filled. What do you do?

A clear escape plan is a great way to keep your family safe during this incredibly stressful situation. A little prior planning will go a long way toward making your plan a success, and the Home Security Store offers the following information to help you build your own plan.

Planning Your Escape

As part of your plan, assign someone to call 911, either yourself or another responsible adult.
Make a sketch of the layout of each floor of your house, including windows, doors, and stairways. Mark escape routes from each room on the sketch.
Make sure that everyone knows two ways out of every room.
Plan alternative escape routes. Contact your local fire department for possibilities.
Plan a meeting spot outside the house, at a neighbor's or in a special place in the yard a good distance from the house.

Is Everyone With You?

Assign a member of the family to be responsible for the younger and older members of the family. Get a "buddy" system going so everyone is taken care of.
Assign a responsible adult to look after house pets in case of fire.
Count heads and stay together.
Don't go back into the house for personal belongings.