As anyone who has been in a disaster can attest, tragedy waits for no one before striking. When it comes to fire, the damage can begin to spread quickly based on the environment and its fuel source. If you don’t have a plan for your home or business, it can lead to catastrophic levels of damage and even loss of life. A fire can take as little as 60 seconds to spread throughout a home.
In our latest blog, we discuss the ABCs of fire safety and fire escape planning for your home or business!
The Importance of a Fire Safety & Escape Plan
While many of us discuss fire safety as children in school, it tends to slip our minds in the hustle and bustle of adult life. However, a quality fire safety and escape plan are important even if we don’t have much time to think about it.
The reason for this is because fires happen incredibly quickly. In a residential home, a fire can engulf the entire home in just a few minutes, leaving little room for error and indecision.
In terms of safety, your safety plan should include detailed descriptions of any fire retardants and exits. It’s important that your home or business have flame retardants that are easily accessible and near any fire-prone areas like the kitchen.
The Anatomy of A Fire Escape Plan
Your fire escape plan is going to consist of both written instructions/directions and a detailed diagram of the home or business. The diagram will have floor plans that mark windows, primary and secondary escape routes. This should be done for all floors; in fact, it may be even more important to have a plan on the higher floors.
The second part of your escape plan is going to be the detailed instructions for everyone. This should be memorized so the plan is second-nature in the event that a true fire may occur in your home or business.
Tips for crafting your Escape Plan
Are you new to fire safety and escape plans? Don’t fret! We have time-tested tips for you so you can keep your family and employees safe:
Get together with family members or employees and ensure everyone understands the best escape routes based on location.
If anyone has mobility issues (like older adults and infants), have a dedicated person to help them in the event of a fire. This way, there is no confusion or miscommunication about who will help that person.
Have a dedicated meeting place (a stop sign, neighbor's house, etc) for after the fire to make sure that everyone escaped alive and unharmed.
If your windows and doors have security bars, make sure they have an emergency release mechanism in the event of a fire.
Ensure that everyone knows the phone number for your local police department.
Guests that frequent your home should be aware of your fire safety and escape plan. It may seem like overkill, but it may prove useful in the event that a fire occurs while they are present.
Putting Your Plan To The Test
Making a plan with your home or workplace is one huge step in the process of fire preparedness, but it’s not the full story. After the plan is crafted, you should actually test the plan and make adjustments to it as necessary.
You should practice your fire escape plan about twice a year, but more practice than that certainly won’t hurt. When you practice, try to make it as realistic as possible.
Test your fire alarms to make sure they are loud and obnoxious enough to wake you up. Your kids may not enjoy testing the alarms, but it’s crucial that they wake up in the event of an emergency.
If the fire is located in a particular room, then you closing the door to that room could slow the spread of the fire and give everyone more time to escape.
Be sure to practice fires emanating from different rooms. Practice procedures for defending in place if someone is surrounded by fire with nowhere to escape.
Make sure that the main exits identified in your plan are not blocked by any obstruction.
Trust Complete Fire & Water Restoration For Your Home or Business!
While preparation is necessary and can save lives, it may be impossible to save your home or business. That's where our team comes in. We pride ourselves on providing quality fire restoration for homes and businesses in the El Paso area. Visit our website to learn more about our services!
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