Stay safe at home with these tips from Fire Prevention Week
This week is Fire Prevention Week: A good time to pass along to your homeowner clients some fire safety tips as we head into colder weather. Sponsored by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), this week’s emphasis is on the importance of planning two escape routes with their theme, “Every Second Counts: Plan 2 Ways Out!”
Why did they choose this Fire Prevention Week emphasis?
While only 20 percent of fires happen during sleeping hours, half of home fire deaths occur between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. We’re all asleep. No one notices the smoke or the fire – until it’s often too late. And with bedrooms on the second floor or children sleeping in another part of the house, pre-planned escape routes become even more critical.
Fire safety tip #1: Take the time to plan two escape routes from every room in your house.
Those routes are fairly obvious: windows and doors. But planning an escape route is only the beginning. According to an NFPA survey, nearly 75 percent of Americans have an escape plan, but only a third ever practice it. In the same survey, respondents were asked to guess how long they’d have before an in-home fire would become life threatening. Six minutes, they responded. Two minutes is more accurate, says NFPA.
Fire safety tip #2: Practice with all family members 2x annually.
Producers, you can download NFPA’s escape planning grid to provide to your clients. It shows a sample floorplan with escape exits, and then provides a grid for them to draw their own plan to discuss with family members. They’ve created another helpful one-page sheet, basic fire escape planning.
Another free tool for use with kids is I know My Fire Safety Plan story. Parents will need to work with children to understand what a hot door means, and how to open windows and remove screens. If bedrooms are on the second floor, they should consider buying rope ladders and then work with family members until they’re clear how to use them. Practice these fire drills at least twice a year, NFPA recommends: once at night and once during the day.
Fire safety tip #3: Ensure all smoke alarms are working properly.
Sixty percent of fire deaths from 2010 – 2014 were caused by fires in homes with no smoke alarms or non-working alarms. When smoke alarms fail to operate, it is usually because batteries are missing, disconnected, or dead. NFPA found that hardwired alarms operated 94% of the time, while battery powered alarms operated 80% of the time. One more tip here: Be sure your smoke alarms are interconnected: When one sounds, they all should sound.
Related: Check Your Smoke Alarms During Fire Prevention Week
Fire safety tip #4: Close doors behind you.
The simple act of closing a door when you exit the room can slow the spread of smoke, heat and fire, buying others who are trying to escape a little more time.
Fire safety tip #5: Have a designated meet-up spot.
Every time you practice a fire drill, end it at the same spot: A place that you’ve decided to meet up outside, to make sure everyone has escaped safely. It should be a safe distance from your home, and can be a light pole, a tree, your mailbox or your favorite neighbor’s front porch.
Related: Fire prevention tips for businesses
What other free tools are available for Fire Prevention Week?
Those NFPA folks have thought of everything: There’s a safety sheet for sleepover fire safety for kids, a special tips sheet for fire safety in manufactured homes; for high-rise dwellers, there’s escape planning in tall buildings. All are free, printable downloads for you to pass along to clients. You can view more tools at their website.