Emergency Checklist - Fire
How Can I prepare for a FIRE?
Fires:
Each year, more than 4,000 Americans die, and more than 25,000 are injured as a result of fires – many of which could have been prevented (Federal Emergency Management Agency). Furthermore, property damage due to fires is estimated at $8.6 billion a year.
In the event of a fire, there is no time to waste gathering valuables or making a phone call. Fires spread quickly, become life threatening in two minutes, and can engulf a residence in as little as five minutes. While flames are dangerous, heat and smoke are potentially more dangerous and can damage the lungs instantly. As fire burns, poisonous gasses are emitted that cause disorientation and drowsiness. The leading cause of fire-related deaths is asphyxiation – three times more common than by burns.
How can you be prepared?
Step 1: Get a Kit
4URSURVIVAL offers complete survival and 72 hour kits, designed and assembled according to guidelines given by government agencies and non-profit preparedness organizations. These kits include items such as:
•non-perishable food
•water
•a battery-powered radio
•flashlight and batteries
•first-aid kit
•blankets
•matches
•and much more
4URSURVIVAL also offers smaller portable kits with similar items that you should keep in your car.
Step 2: Make a Plan
Make a family emergency plan. Disaster can strike at any time, and the family may not be together, so it is important to know how you will contact one another, how you will get back together and what you will do in case of an emergency.
•Plan where your family will meet, both within and outside of your neighborhood
•Be sure that every family member knows what to do in different types of emergencies
•Be sure to consider the specific needs of each individual family member
Inquire about emergency plans at places where your family spends time such as work, daycare and school. If no plans exist, consider volunteering to help create one.
Step 3: Be Informed
Prepare your home•Be sure that windows are not nailed or painted shut.
•Be sure that security gratings on windows have a fire safety opening feature so they can be easily opened from the inside.
•Purchase escape ladders if your residence has more than one level.
•Teach family members to stay low to the floor (where the air is safer in a fire) when escaping from a fire.
According to FEMA, properly working smoke alarms decrease your chances of dying in a fire by 50 percent.
•Place smoke alarms
◦on every level of your residence
◦on the ceiling or high on the wall outside of bedrooms
◦at the top of open stairways or at the bottom of enclosed stairs
◦near (but not in) the kitchen
•Test and clean smoke alarms once a month and replace batteries at least once a year
•Replace smoke alarms once every 10 years