Fire Prevention and Safety Tips
Provided by FireSafety.Gov

 

 

Fire injuries and deaths can be prevented. A few easy steps can save your life!

• Install a smoke alarm on every floor of your home, even the basement.
• Install a smoke alarm outside every sleeping area. Ideally, install smoke alarms in every sleeping area, too.
• Test smoke alarms monthly.
• Change the batteries at least once a year-maybe at Daylight Savings Time or on your birthday.
• Teach children what your smoke alarm sounds like and what to do if they hear it-get out and crawl low under smoke.
• Never disable a smoke alarm (like for cooking smoke). Consider alarms with hush buttons.
• Never remove a smoke alarm battery for some other use, like a radio or video game.
• Keep smoke alarms clean. Vacuum them often.
• Replace smoke alarms after 10 years.
• Choose smoke alarms that come with 10-year batteries.

Smoke Alarm Facts

• Having a working smoke alarm cuts the risk of dying in a home fire in half.
• Nine out of 10 homes have smoke alarms, but millions of those alarms do not work.
• Missing or dead batteries are the main causes of non-working smoke alarms.
• More than 3 out of 5 home fire deaths occur in homes with no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms.

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Fire Escape Plans

• Make and practice a fire escape plan.
• Plan for two ways to escape from each room.
• Plan for everyone in your home-including babies and others who need help to escape.
• Pick a place to meet after you escape to check that everyone got out.
• Practice your escape plan every month.
• Practice getting out with your eyes closed, crawling low to the floor.
• Involve children in making and practicing your escape plan.
• Teach children to never hide during a fire-they must get out and stay out.
• Clear toys, boxes, and other debris from exits.
• Check that windows open easily. Fix any that stick.
• Be sure that security bars on doors and windows have a quick-release latch, and everyone knows how to open them.
• Never open a door that feels hot. Escape another way.
• Escape first, then call for help.

Escape Plan Facts

• Escape plans help you get out of a burning home quickly.
• A home can fill with thick, black smoke in just minutes.
• A small flame can become a major fire in less than 30 seconds.

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"Get Out, Stay Out"

• In a fire, get out right away. Don't pause to gather belongings.
• Teach children not to hide, but to get out right away.
• Escape first, then call for help.
• Never go back into a burning home for any reason.
• If someone is missing, tell firefighters - they are trained and equipped for rescues.

"Get Out, Stay Out" Facts

• Going back into a burning home can be deadly.
• The heat from a fire can scorch your lungs and melt clothes to your skin.
• Breathing even small amounts of smoke can make you confused or pass out

Provided by FireSafety.Gov

Disclaimer: Content above is just a few of the many fire safety prevention tips available on the  www.FireSafety.gov website.