Teach Your Kids To Safely Escape a House Fire

6/3/2020 (Permalink)

Avoid as much smoke and heat as possible by staying at floor level

Teach Your Kids To Safely Escape a House Fire

If your home caught fire tonight, would your family know what to do? A fire escape plan should be well thought out and practiced long before a disaster can occur. Teaching your kids safety procedures for a safe escape can mean the difference between life and death in the wake of a home fire. Make sure to hold fire drills and have your kids practice:

1. Rolling
If you’re in bed, you should roll out of bed onto the floor. Ceiling level temperatures can be several hundred degrees hotter than the floor; sitting up in bed could be too risky. Roll over in bed facing down at the floor. Then, slide yourself down onto the floor.

2. Crawling
Avoid as much smoke and heat as possible by staying at floor level. Get on all fours and then lower your forearms to the floor. Next, put your nose close to the floor and begin crawling to safety.

3. Checking
Opening a door during a home fire can have an explosive effect due to the addition of fresh oxygen into a fire-engulfed area. So, teach your kids safety methods for exiting a closed room. Place the back of your hand on the door. If it’s hot to the touch, keep it closed. If it’s not hot, slowly crack it open and look out; crawl out if the area is clear. If smoke comes in or fire is too close, immediately close the door to slow fire advancement.

4. Escaping
Secondary routes should be included in your plan whenever possible. If you can’t safely get out of the bedroom, you should close the door. Then, open the window and scream for help while waving something to get attention.

5. Waiting
Your kids may not realize how fast fire spreads. Make sure they know to never, under any circumstance, return to the house once they’re out. They should understand that everyone will meet in a designated safe area and that firefighters will handle the rest.
Teach your kids safety measures for dealing with different possible emergencies. If your Henderson, CO, home experiences fire damage, call on fire cleanup experts for your restoration needs.