While you might think it could never happen to you, house fires blaze across the nation every day. And it’s not just wildfires and natural disasters that cause homes to burn down. In fact, cooking is the number one cause of house fires in the United States.
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Therefore, it’s ideal to practice safety before disaster occurs. To help you prepare for the worst, we’ve outlined several helpful fire safety tips for families below.
Check your smoke alarms
The first line of defense to a fire is your smoke alarm. There should be one on each level of your home and in every bedroom. Ideally, test your alarms monthly and replace units about every decade once you determine the battery is low.
Additionally, it’s good to familiarize yourself with your carbon monoxide alarms as well. Sometimes, people can mix up carbon monoxide alarms with smoke alarms, so it’s a good idea to understand which sound comes from which device.
Avoid distractions when cooking
Since cooking is the number one cause of fire, it’s important to give the task your full attention. Keep flammable items, such as paper towels or dish towels away from your stove and never leave your oven on and unsupervised.
Create an emergency escape plan
You can be as safe as you want, but accidents happen to everyone. So if a fire occurs, you should have an emergency escape plan figured out for your family.
Things you should teach your kids:
- Escape routes: Make sure your family knows two ways to exit every room of your home and let them know where the family will meet in the event of a fire.
- Stay low below smoke: To prevent you from inhaling dangerous smoke, it’s ideal to get low as you exit the house under the fumes. It’s a good idea to practice covering your mouth while crawling.
- Be wary of hot door handles: Make sure your kids know to touch door handles to check for hotness before opening a door. If it’s hot, try to find a different exit route.
A couple of times a year, you may want to practice your escape plan with your kids to make sure they know how to keep themselves safe.
Final thoughts
The unfortunate reality is that house fires impact families across the globe every day. To make sure you and your family remain safe, it’s important to educate yourself on fire safety techniques. For a breakdown of steps you should take after a fire, refer to the house fire safety guide below.
