An Ounce of Fire Prevention
Recently our family visited the annual "Family Fun Expo" in our town. We saw the latest gadgets and activities the modern family just can't live without. In between the motorized baby jogger and "all-natural" toddler biscuits, was a booth operated by a local window manufacturer. It consisted of an inviting array of upright windows, which actually opened on to a roof, a very low roof. Now this was something my restless 8-year-old son could sink his teeth into. He didn't know why these window guys were here, but was enough that they were inviting my children to "climb on through". We would find out later that behind all this fun was a lesson waiting to be learned.
My son smiled with anticipation as the gentleman operating the booth explained the challenge ahead: David was to pretend there was a fire in the house. He was to unlock the window, open it, and crawl through on to the roof. The man would be waiting on the other side, timer in hand. My son emerged from the window all smiles waiting to hear the verdict: 37 seconds.
At this point the man asked, "OK, now that you're out the window, where will you go next?" A period of blank silence was followed by the man's gentle prodding: "Where is your 'family meeting place'?" My son looked up at me. Now was the time when I was supposed to say: "Oh, honey, you remember our 'family meeting place', don't you?" But I couldn't. The fact is we don't have a place to meet in the event of a fire. We don't have an emergency plan at all. That plan was going to happen. Someday. Finally, I noticed the sign behind the booth, "Keeping our Families Safe: Fire Prevention in Your Home". As we slunk away in embarrassment, my daughter chastised me, "Haven't I always told you that we need to know what to do if there’s a fire?" She was of course right.
The truth is, my 12-year-old daughter has been coming home from school every October following the annual fire safety lesson, and reminding us that our family should have a plan. And I, like many other parents, have just not gotten around to making one. Fire is something that happens to someone else, right? Tell that to one of the more than 4,000 people who, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, die each year in home fire. There are more than 500,000 residential fires serious enough to be reported to fire departments every year.
I decided that it was time to take fire safety in our home seriously. In honor of Fire Prevention Week perhaps it's time for your family to come up with a plan too.
According to the National Fire Protection Association, NFPA, there are three key areas that deserve our focus when planning for fire safety with our families:
Smoke Detectors:
According to the NFPA, roughly 70% of home fire deaths result from fire in homes with no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms. Here's what they recommend:
Install smoke alarms in every level of you home, including the basement.
Mount the alarms high on walls or ceilings.
Check the batteries once a month. Replace the batteries once a year.
Make sure the detector has a distinct warning signal that everyone in the family can hear and recognize.
Escape Plan
Every family must have a clear plan of escape once they hear the smoke detector
Start by walking through your home and identifying two ways out of every room. Be sure your child knows how to unlock and open the window in his/her room.
Draw out your escape plan, and post it so everyone in the family can see it.
Choose an outside meeting place (e.g. a neighbor's house), a safe distance from your home where everyone can meet.
Remind everyone that they should get out first, and then call for help.
Make sure someone is assigned to assist family members with mobility limitations such as older adults or infants.
Put your escape plan to the test with a fire drill at least twice each year.
Keep Fires from Starting-
The best way to keep safe from fires is to prevent them.
If food is cooking on a stovetop, be sure an adult is in the kitchen.
Keep the stove clear of anything that could catch on fire such as paper towels and potholders.
Turn off portable space heaters and candles when you leave the room.
Keep matches and lighters out of sight and reach of kids.
Make sure electrical cords are in good condition, with no frayed or cracked areas.
Flammable liquids such as gasoline, propane or kerosene need to be kept in a safe container outside the home in a garage or shed.
If you are a smoker, make sure to put water on any butts or ashes before throwing them away. Use large, heavy, no-tip ashtrays.
Our family found that once we had these guidelines laid out, there really was no reason to procrastinate. The effort was minimal and we enjoyed working on this project together. The one area where we were definitely unprepared was the escape plan. Not to worry. A walk through the house, some discussion about meeting place and procedures, and an expert drawing of our escape plan by my daughter, and we were done. We practiced that evening, and it came off like clockwork. The alarm sounded, we escaped through the routes we had carefully chosen, and we met at the end of the neighbor's driveway.
An hour later we were all safely asleep in our beds, quietly reassured that we really were safe should the unthinkable happen. It's something we should have done long ago.
Resource for Parents:
The NFPA's website, NFPA.org, is filled with lots of useful information for parents and educators. Children will have loads of fun and learn about all kinds of safety with "Sparky the Fire Dog" at Sparky.org.