It’s hard to truly prepare for a fire – they’re one of the
most unpredictable home emergencies, but you can take steps to protect your
family and home just in case. Surviving a home fire requires preparation,
planning and protective services. Learn how you can create a home fire defense
plan that works for your family.
Placing Fire
Protection in Your Home
There is plenty that you can do to battle fires that break
out when you’re at home. Smoke detectors can alert you to danger, but you
should also have tools on hand to control open flames, like portable fire
extinguishers. Here’s where you’ll want fire defense tools:
- Keep at least one portable fire extinguisher in
the kitchen, but not near the stove. The stove/oven is the primary cause of
kitchen fires, so you want to make sure you can actually access the
extinguisher without exposing yourself to the flames. - Extinguishers should be highly visible and
within reach during emergencies. Consider the laundry room, basement and near
any common sources of flame like a fireplace or stove. - Ideally, you should have smoke detectors in
every room with carbon monoxide (CO) detectors in hallways. At the very least,
you should have a smoke detector in any room with large appliances and in open
spaces like the living room.
Fire extinguishers and smoke alarms are your first line of
defense, but being ready for a fire you witness start is only a small part of
home fire protection.
Home Fire Protection
Service
Comprehensive alarm systems like those offered by Crime
Prevention Security Systems can do more than just protect your home and family
from criminals. A monitored fire alarm system can truly save lives. A monitored system will alert fire
fighters of a fire in your home even if you’re not there – or worse, you’re
home but unable to react to the danger. It’s a sad fact that 85% of
fire-related deaths happen in the home, and typically during hours when people
are asleep.
Crime Prevention Security Systems’ fire protection services
integrate easily with existing burglar alarms for total peace of mind and,
unlike other companies, we don’t charge additional fees for 24/7 residential fire
monitoring.
Family Fire Drills
Now that you have fire detection in place, what’s next? Some
of the most preventable fire injuries and deaths occur when someone goes back
into a burning house to rescue a family member who is actually already outside
the house. It is unfortunately common for families to become separated when
leaving the house in an emergency without a pre-planned meeting place.
Conducting regular family fire drills is one of the best
ways to ensure your family has safely exited your home in the event of a fire.
Just like we all did in elementary school, your family should have a clearly
defined plan to escape from each room, a plan to deal with any special needs
like small children, and a clearly defined meeting place away from the house.
You can learn how to plan a fire drill here.
