When’s the last time you learned about fire safety? If a bear was teaching you, it’s been too long. You may know about changing the smoke alarm batteries and stop, drop, and roll, but there are a lot more fire safety tips to keep in mind.

Top Fire Safety Tips

Once a fire starts, you may only have minutes to escape. Do you have a plan for those vital minutes? One of the top safety tips is to come up with a plan for the household and even practice the drill. The plan should include:

1. Where to exit. There should be an escape route on every level of the home since you never know where the fire will start. Draw a floor plan and make sure kids know where to go and what to do.
2. Buddy system. Make sure anyone who needs assistance exiting the house is assigned a buddy to help. This includes infants, seniors, or anyone with a disability.
3. Meeting place. Pick a spot at a safe distance from the house to meet to check that everyone made it out safely.
4. Get out and stay out. Don’t go back into a burning house.
5. Know who to call. Go over any emergency contact number, from 911 to other family members.

Some other top tips include:

• Install smoke alarms on every level, high on the wall inside bedrooms and outside sleeping areas.
• Regularly test smoke alarms and change batteries when needed.
• Keep bedroom doors closed to help slow the spread of smoke and flames.
• If a doorknob is hot, don’t open the door.
• It’s better to crawl on hands and knees if there’s smoke.

How to Prevent Fires

While we can’t control every cause of house fires, many are preventable. Here are some of the top fire-starting factors and how to help prevent a problem.

1. Unattended cooking. Always pay attention, especially when using frying equipment. Keep an extinguisher within reach.
2. Heating equipment. Be careful with portable space heaters, and follow all proper usage instructions.
3. Electrical malfunction. Hire a professional electrician when getting any work done. Keep cords away from doorways or under the carpet, and don’t overload an outlet.
4. Smoking. Avoid smoking in the house.

Being prepared is one of the easiest ways to prevent fires and keep your family safe. Follow these basic fire safety tips, make your plan, and practice it for optimal results.

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