Plan Your Escape
Once a fire has started, there is no time to plan how to get out. Sit down with your family today and make a step-by-step plan for escaping a fire. Make sure your children understand that a smoke detector signals a home fire and that they recognize its alarm.
Draw a floor plan of your home marking two ways out of every room - especially sleeping areas. Discuss the escape routes with every member of your household.
Agree on a meeting place where every member of the household will gather outside your home after escaping a fire to wait for the Fire Department. This allows you to count heads and inform the Fire Department if anyone is missing or trapped inside the burning building.
Practice your escape plan at least twice a year by having a fire drill in your home. Appoint someone to be the monitor and have everyone participate. A fire drill is not a race; get out quickly, but carefully.
Make Your Exit Drill Realistic
Pretend that some exits are blocked by fire and practice alternative escape routes. Pretend that the lights are out and that some escape routes are filling with smoke