Review and practice fire safety plans

Make fire safety a priority by keeping these tips in mind:

• Be alert; if you are sleepy or have consumed alcohol, don’t use the oven or stovetop

• Stay in the kitchen while you are frying, grilling, boiling or broiling food

• When simmering, baking or roasting, check the food regularly, remain in the kitchen while cooking and use a timer

• Keep anything that can catch fire away from your stovetop

• Keep all flammables, like paper, clothing, bedding, drapes or rugs, at least 3 feet from a space heater, stove or fireplace

• Never leave portable heaters and fireplaces unattended; turn off heaters and make sure fireplace embers are extinguished before leaving the room

• If you must use a space heater, place it on a level, non-flammable surface, like ceramic tile, not on a rug or carpet

• Keep children and pets away from space heaters

• When buying a space heater, look for models that shut off automatically if the heater falls over

• Keep matches and lighters high and out of children’s reach in a locked cabinet

Working smoke alarms are a must

About three out of five fire deaths happen in homes without working smoke alarms. Smoke alarms are a key part of a home fire escape plan providing early warning to reduce your risk of dying in a fire. The National Fire Protection Association recommends you:

• Install smoke alarms on every level of your home, inside bedrooms and outside sleeping areas on the ceiling or high on the wall

• Keep smoke alarms away from the kitchen, at least 10 feet from the stove, to reduce false alarms

• Use special alarms with strobe lights and bed shakers for people who are hard of hearing or deaf

• Test smoke alarms monthly

• Replace batteries in your smoke alarm and carbon monoxide detector annually

• Replace smoke alarms that are 10 or more years old

Make an escape plan

A home fire is reported every 88 seconds. Once the smoke alarm sounds, a fire can spread quickly, leaving only a minute or two to escape. That’s why it’s so important to have a home escape plan.

Start by drawing a map for your home and follow these guidelines from the NFPA:

• Plan two ways to escape from each room

• Make sure all doors and windows leading outside open easily

• Identify secondary routes: a window onto an adjacent roof or a collapsible ladder from a second floor window

• If you live in a multi-story building, plan to use the stairs – never the elevator

• Designate an outside meeting place a safe distance from the house

Now practice your home fire escape plan

Everyone – including children – need to know your family escape plan. The National Fire Protection Association indicates 71% of Americans have a home fire escape plan but only 47% have practiced it. Practice your fire drill with everyone in the house at night and during the day, twice a year. Remember to:

• Practice getting out with eyes closed, crawling low to the floor and keeping your mouth covered

• Practice closing doors behind you

• Practice how to “stop, drop and roll” if your clothes catch on fire

• Practice testing door handles to see if they are hot before opening them

• Teach children never to hide and how to escape on their own in case you can’t help them

When and how to use fire extinguisher

Always put your safety first; if you are not confident in your ability to use a fire extinguisher, get out and call 9-1-1. The American Red Cross cautions you to evaluate the situation and ensure:

• Everyone has left or is leaving the home

• The fire department has been called

• The fire is small, not spreading, and there is not much smoke

• Your back is to an exit you can use quickly

• You remember the acronym PASS: Pull the pin. Aim low at the base of the fire. Squeeze the handle slowly. Sweep the nozzle side to side.

These are just a few reminders of what you should have in place for the safety of you and your family.