Having a Plan Can Save Your Life
11/1/2021 (Permalink)
Having A Strategy In Place Can Save Your Life.
You might think that the fresh batteries in your smoke detectors are enough to keep you and your family safe in the event of a fire. While working smoke detectors and batteries certainly are a must, without a fire escape plan, how will you and your loved ones know what to do when the smoke detectors go off? If disaster strikes, you need a plan you can set in motion immediately. There’s an old saying that schoolteachers like to use: If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. In the event of an emergency, you don’t want to have to think on your feet; instead, you want to be able to take action – and fast.
Creating a Plan
According to the American Red Cross, the best way to protect yourself and your family is to create your very own emergency escape plan, and to practice it regularly. Here are the key elements of this kind of plan:
- If your home includes bedrooms above ground level, think about purchasing escape ladders for these rooms. Ladders can be kept close to the window.
- Make sure everyone in your home knows more than one escape route from each room in the house.
- Teach your littlest family members to dial 9-1-1 in case of smoke or fire.
- Choose a meetup spot outside, and let everyone know where it’s located.
- Fire drills are not just for schools – practice your own fire escape plan until you complete the drill in two minutes or less.
- Rehearse your plan using realistic conditions, like practicing in the middle of the night and using a low crawl to help minimize possible smoke.
Comfort in Planning
Being prepared can make all the difference in the world in the event of a fire. However, having a plan won’t stop a fire from starting. If fire does strike your Bal Harbour, FL, home, you can rely on fire restoration professionals to help you clean up. In the meantime, you can feel confident that the creation and practice of your family’s fire escape plan will reduce the risk of harm to you and your family if you’re the victims of a house fire.