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Do you and your family have a Fire Prevention & Escape Plan?  If not, start one for your family now.  If you have children, especially smaller ones, discuss the dangers of playing with matches and what to do in case of a fire.  Make sure you have a working fire extinguisher in your home.  When you look at all the ways to avoid a house fire, they seem so common sense, yet people forget or become lazy when it comes to applying safety habits for preventing a fire. 

Another thing to have in your prevention plan is a home inventory of all of your belongings.  This way you absolutely know what items you have in your home and their potential value and your home inventory can be given to your insurance company.  Many people are so traumatized after a devastating fire that they have a hard time remembering little things that may have been destroyed that were actually very big things.  If you don’t want to take the time to do this, there are home inventory companies that will do this for you…but at a charge. 

Take time to review your insurance policy with your agent to ensure you are adequately protected.  If you have recently purchased valuable items or upgraded and added on to your home, you want to make sure your agent is aware of these upgrades and that you are covered in case of loss or damage. 

Have a designated Fire Escape Plan that includes:

• Two different ways out of your home.
• Assign someone to help get children and/or elderly adults out.
• Assign someone ahead of time who is to call 911 (if you don’t have an alarm system that will automatically call for help).
• Make sure you have a designated meeting place for everyone to locate once out of the house.
• Be sure to practice fire drills regularly using the fire escape plan.

Things to remember if you have a fire!  (Courtesy of City of Flint, Michigan)

1.  Get out of the house as quickly as you can and STAY OUT!
2.  Crawl low under the smoke.
3.  Feel doors with the back of your hand for heat before opening.
4.  Open doors slowly and be ready to close if heat or fire is outside the door.
5.  Once out of the house or building, DON’T GO BACK IN FOR ANY REASON!
6.  Once outside go to a phone and call 911 immediately to report the fire.
7.  If your clothes catch of fire – STOP, DROP, AND ROLL until the fire goes out and cover your face with your hands.
8.  Close any doors you safely can as you are leave the house or building.
9.  Provide any helpful information to the Fire Department like:
     • Where the fire is located in the house or building.
     • If anyone is still in the house or building and where they might be located.

Did you know that fire kills more Americans than all natural disasters combined?  The direct property loss due to fires was estimated at 11.3 billion. 

We can all do our part to ensure that fire does not consume our home and loved ones.  By following a simple, common sense safety plan and the guidelines provided, you can keep a fire from destroying your home and family.

Keep your home and family safe 24/7!

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