Do you know why they conduct a fire drill in most work places?

For one reason, and one reason alone - when there’s a fire, people either don’t have time to think or can’t think clearly. They need to reply on a known drill for what to do, where to go and how to act, to be able to save themselves.

Do we have a fire drill in our house? Yes, we do. Since yesterday So don’t feel bad if it didn’t occur to you that you, too, need to have a fire drill.

Jokes aside, here is how you family can be prepared for a house fire. You need to have certain equipment and get trained to escape.

Equipment

1. Install smoke alarms and test them as required. Have a chart that says when they were last tested.
2. Get a fire extinguisher and teach all the adults in the household how to use it.

Actions

1. Draw a floor plan of your house and mark 2 fire escape routes for each room.
2. Agree on a place outside your house for everybody to meet after they got out of the house.
3. Get out and stay out - don’t re-enter the house, call for help from a payphone, mobile phone or the neighbor’s house.
4. Everyone in the household should practice in crawling from their bedroom via the escape route outside. Make them do it blindfolded, because if there’s thick smoke people won’t be able to see much.
5. Only follow your escape route if it’s clear of smoke - otherwise use your other escape route. If you must go through smoke, don’t walk - crawl.
6. If there’s a closed door in your way, feel it before you open it. If it’s warm - don’t open it, go via another route.
7. Never take keys out of the locks. Any door or window that is locked and you don’t have the key can be your death sentence. Fumes are more dangerous than flames, people get disoriented in the thick smoke quickly and there won’t be time to look for the key.
8. Always keep a torch by the bed because most fires happen at night.
9. Have this fire drill at least twice a year, to keep all the members of your household “in a good shape”.

A special thanks goes to Rachel, a reader of Homeiown and my friend, for sharing her fire-safety tips.

Photo source

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