It is an unsettling idea: at any point, a faulty electrical outlet or piece of equipment can short circuit or an unattended candle can be knocked over and cause a severe house fire and put your family in danger. House fires are quite common across North America no matter how diligent and careful you and your family can be.
Reviewing your home and making sure that all potential fire hazards are under control is a very important start, but it is also important to make sure that your family and home is prepared well in case the worst case scenario actually happens.
There are a few pieces of heat resistant materials, equipment, tools, and procedures that your home will need to be stocked with to be able to effectively combat a fire and evacuate your family.
Here are a few of the most important things you need to keep your family safe during a house fire:
1. Fire Escape Plan
It is important to plan out a family escape plan and put it on paper. Make sure that you and everyone in your family is on the same page and review the procedure regularly. That way, when a fire does break out in your home, you will not be scrambling to find the document within your home. Also, it is important to make sure that it is simple enough for a child to understand since children are the most vulnerable in these situations.
2. Smoke Detectors
It is not enough to just have a few smoke detectors throughout your house, it is also essential to regularly check them and their batteries to make sure they are fully functional. Smoke detectors are a surefire way to alert you and your family to a fire before it becomes uncontrollable. This way, you can stop the fire in its tracks or have more time to evacuate your loved ones.
3. Fire Extinguishers
Fire extinguishers are one of the most effective tools to eliminate a fire before it engulfs the entire house. In a desperate situation, it can also be a life or death tool to extinguish a fire away from an exit. It is essential to ensure that there is more than one fire extinguisher in your home.
4. Fire Escape Ladder
This is a very relevant piece of equipment for two- or three-story homes that have high windows. A window exit strategy may seem like a good idea until you realize that exiting from the second or third floor can be very dangerous, even fatal. Having a fire escape ladder will help you descend from the height much more safely than trying to scale down the side of the house.
5. First Aid Kit
Even the best fire strategy can have a loved one being injured in some way, whether it is by falling while escaping or suffering a minor burn. That is why it is important to ensure that your home is properly outfitted with an updated first aid kit with all of the proper tools and bandages.
