A fire safety plan is way to prepare yourself and your family to respond effectively in the case of an emergency. For commercial buildings, they are required by local fire codes and have to be approved by Fire Department Officials. However, for family homes they are often neglected because families are not properly educated about how a fire safety plan will vastly improve their chances of surviving harm in the event of a fire.
A fire safety plan often includes: appropriate routes to take to safely exit a building, a meeting place outside the building, contacts in case of an emergency, storage places for important supplies, locations of fire extinguishers and preventive measures to be enacted in the home to reduce the risk.
Who needs a Fire Safety Plan?
The majority of building owners are required by law to have a fire safety plan for their building. There is no law or enforcement mechanism for households but it is still imperative that you have a personalized preparedness plan in place for your family home, townhouse or apartment.
Developing a Household Plan:
Keep your plan simple so everyone in your family can remember the key details in an extremely stressful situation. Take the time to make sure your children understand how they can reduce the risk of a fire in your home and review your safety plan each year.
Identify escape routes to exit your home. Keep in mind you should have several escape routes depending on the circumstances of the emergency. It is recommended that you buy a ladder for rooms in a second or third story house.
Learn proper fire evacuation procedure. Explain to your family members how to crawl on their hands and knees under the smoke and how to cover their mouth and noses with their shirts to assist in breathing. It is also essential that your children know how to stop, drop and roll to put out any fire on their clothing.
Identify meeting places so you can quickly account for everyone s safety. This is very important to establish so firefighters can easily verify that the building is clear. Choose two meeting places, one beside your home and another at a nearby park or public area.
Identify the location of fire extinguishers, make sure they are well maintained and that your whole family knows how to properly operate one. There should be at least one fire extinguisher for every level of your house. One should also be installed near your kitchen since cooking is one of the most common causes of house fires.
Have an emergency family contact established in advance. Use a close friend nearby or close relatives like uncles, aunts or grandparents.
Review your fire safety plan every 6 months with your family members. Have a proper fire drill so your children can hear the sound of the smoke detector and know that they must exit the home immediately. Show your children how to properly use a fire extinguisher to put out a small fire. An easy way to remember is to teach them to P.A.S.S. Acronym.
Pull the pin off the fire extinguisher
Aim at the base of the fire
Squeeze the handle of the fire extinguisher
Sweeping motion from side to side to extinguish the flames
Important Advice:
It is vital to regularly test your fire extinguishers, smoke detectors and alarms every 4 months. Make sure there is at least one smoke detector on each level of your house.
Author Resource:
Scott Mitchell is a fire and life safety expert at WPS Disaster Management Solutions. WPS is an industry leader in fire safety planning. For more information, please visit our website at http://www.wps-plan.com
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