Fire Escape Planning 
How long do you have to escape from a fire in your home?
When people were asked this question in a recent survey, there were some very surprising answers given. Almost 60% guessed they had two minutes or more, 24% actually thought they would have more than 10 minutes to escape from a fire in their home! Actually, the truth is, you may have much less time than these people think to escape a home fire.
A typical living room fire can threaten an entire home in just a few minutes, producing life threatening conditions in upstairs bedrooms less than two minutes after their smoke alarm sounds. Your family needs to know how to get out of a burning home at the first sign of a fire.
Don't wait, plan your escape today!
Draw out a simple floor plan of your home on a sheet of paper, being careful to mark where each doorway is and where the windows are in each room.
Mark two ways out of every room in your home. Every member ofEyour household should take part in the planning. Pick out a meeting place outside. Tell everyone to meet there after they have escaped. That way you will know when everyone has gotten out. You will then know who to advise the Fire Department to look for because they are still inside. Under NO CIRCUMSTANCES do you go back in to look for anyone.
Practice it!!
Plans are a great thing to have, but no one knows if they really work if you don' t practice them. You can have practice fire drills in your home. Getting out of your home sounds easy, but your home will look entirely different if it is full of smoke! Children in particular need to practice what to do. Have someone press the test button on the smoke alarm to begin the fire drill. Practice being in bed asleep, or in the kitchen eating a meal, or even sitting in the living room watching TV.
Remember that a fire drill is NOT a race. Get out quickly but carefully. You may injure yourself simply by being careless while trying to get out in a smoke filled home.
Make time to plan and practice your family's escape plan today!