What is your "house is on fire" plan?

[lincap]

A local homeschooling family lost 2 children in a house fire. A family in my church's house burnt down. DH co-worker house fire. Another friend has a friend who's house burnt down.. all in a matter of 2 weeks.

 

This got me thinking that we don't have a "fire plan". What is yours? How do you teach the kids?

 

We have a 3 story house with a basement, so on one side of the house the 3rd floor is really up 4 stories. The bedrooms are all on the second floor. The house is about 2000sqft colonial.

 

We have 2 electric fire/smoke detectors and battery CO detectors too.

 

We have a fire extinguisher near the basement stairs.

 

What else do we need? What about those folding ladders?

 

Do you have an "action plan"?

[ChristusG]

We have a family bedroom and our two DD's sleep on a full size bed in our bedroom. We have a one story house. My only real plan is to open the window and have all four of us hop on out.

 

I do need to install a few more smoke detectors in our house though.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Do you have a smoke detector on each floor?

 

Is the fire extinguisher near the kitchen and/or fireplace?

 

We had a folding ladder in one of our 2 story homes. In our last one, you could go onto the top of a porch and then onto the ground. I probably need to get a couple folding ladders for this new house.

 

At the least, you should talk through a fire plan with your kids. Discuss things like:

Leaving when told, without going back for shoes, special stuffed animals, the cat, etc.

Meeting up at a designated spot (mailbox, neighbor's driveway, etc. Pick something that isn't right next to the house, but that isn't really far away either.

If there is smoke, they may need to crawl. Smoke rises.

If they can't get get out of their room safely, they shouldn't hide under the bed or in the closet. Be where the firefighters can find them, but at floor level. There are some fire booklets that talk about the "friendly monster", because a firefighter in helmet and airpack can be scary looking.

 

Pretty much any fire department will be happy to talk to you about fire drills and fire safety. Many even have smoke detectors to give away.

 

Our kids do fire safety inspections and plan fire drills as part of scouting. My fil is a fire chief, so he gets some grandpa time in and helps us spot any trouble spots.

 

Good on you for thinking about this now.

[Mommyfaithe]

We have a plan and we have had fire drills too. It was a good thing too. The day before dd's wedding, our smoke alarms went off and smoke was filling my bedroom through our attic. My ds had been up in the atic a few says before getting down papers and pictures for the wedding....anyway, i figured he hit a wire and it smoldered or maybe he left the light on and it shorted. I told the kids to follow our plan. Each child had their partner, each grabbed their pet and met on the hill next door by Grandma;s house. One dd used her cell and called 911....and I grabbed our fire box.

 

It turned out that I was bbq'ing too close to the house and the smoke went up into the vent and out into my room in the attic.I was horribly embarrassed, but our fire plan rehearsals and drills worked beautifully....we were all out and safe in under 2 minutes.

 

Faithe

[gardening momma]

We have smoke detectors in each bedroom, plus hallway and basement (one story house with basement). When I talked to dd's about fire safety, I started in their bedroom and talked about (and showed):

touching the door/doorknob to see if it's hot before grabbing it

 

If you can't go out the bedroom door:

going to the window if you can't go out the door

opening the window

yelling for help through the window (I didn't actually yell)

kicking out the screen (didn't kick the screen either, but I assured her it was perfectly fine to do it if there's a fire and she can't get out of the bedroom)

reminded them not to hide under the bed or in the closet--or anywhere

If you can go out the bedroom door:

crawling down the hall (demonstrated and had them do the same while following me)

crawling through the living room to the front door (nearest exit from the hallway & bedrooms)

reaching up to unlock and open the front door

 

I had dd7 go through the motions for some of this, like staying low while opening a door, and reminding her she can't stand up (if there's thick smoke--remind them they can walk if there's light smoke--they can get out more quickly).

Edited March 5, 2011 by gardening momma

[Wyndie]

After my neighbors fire two weeks ago we also realized we needed a fire plan. We have a fire ladder but it was still in the box. So we got it out, had each kid take a turn hanging it out the window. We weren't sure if we could practice on it but later that week we went to the fire dept. for instruction and they said yes we could; so we still have to do that. But at least it's out of it's box and everyone is familiar with how to use it.

 

We reviewed all rules. We ran through a mock fire drill (we walked calmly and crawled, rather than running pellmell). We have a meeting place across the street. Everyone knows to run out the nearest door, if a door is not available to get to, break a window and go out that; no stopping for anything unless it's to grab a sibling on the way out the door/window.

 

The biggest thing we had to deal with was the thought that two of the children had that they should HIDE if there was a fire. Children hide from danger so naturally they thought you would hide from a fire. The firefighters told us that is the #1 problem they encounter with children... they hide. So not only did DH and I drill that into the children's head, but so did the firefighters. DO NOT HIDE. If for any reason you can't get out a window or door, you get to the wall and get low. That's where the firefighters check.

 

Oh and everyone knows how to dial 911 now too. :D

 

Going to the fire dept was the best thing. We thought we covered all ground with the kids but they reminded us of somethings we hadn't covered. Fire drills are a must IMO.

[elegantlion]

We have a fire plan for our new house. We need to practice it though, thanks for the reminder. This is our first house where we have an upstairs, it's ds's dormer bedroom.

 

ETA: I think a trip to your local fire house is a great idea, especially if you have younger children. We made it a priority to visit each time we moved. We even took ds's friends there for a birthday party, scheduled of course. The firefighters have always been very helpful and gave great tours.

Edited March 5, 2011 by elegantlion

[FaithManor]

As per building code, we have a very reliable brand of smoke detectors that are all inter-connected/wired so that if one goes off, they all go off. The detectors are in the kitchen, bathroom, laundry room, each bedroom, one in the living room, one in the hallway, and two in the balcony.

 

Since two of the boys will be moving upstairs this summer and the balcony isn't exactly finished...it will be a lot like having a huge area to camp out in and no amenities except one outlet a piece and lights, we will have fire "ladders". These are rope ladders that are screwed to the sub-flooring with long screws. They will be placed underneath each of the cathedral windows and a club will be stored next to the window since these are 110 year old windows that do not open. Each child will be prepped on breaking the window, using the club to knock out the shards of glass, and then slip on the gloves that are stored with the ladder. That way they won't cut their hands trying to get out and have difficulty holding the ropes. Dh is going to mount the ladders first to our shed, have the boys shinny up, and come down several times to get the hang of placing their feet firmly on a dangling ladder. The boys won't have to come down very far from their rooms before meeting up with a level ridge that they can follow to the either side of the house. From there we can bring them down with dh's rather tall ladder he stores in the shed.

 

Otherwise, for the downstairs, we've got three exits from the house and windows in each room. The exits are north, south, and west with east or west facing windows (cathedral, so again, they'd have to break them). The half of the house that was totally renovated has modern windows that would be easy for them to get out. This also doesn't count the basement exit on the east side.

 

Though dd is not a firefighter, she is a first responder and has had some basic training at the fire department. She's put the boys through a couple of drills to make sure they are prepared.

 

We've picked a common meeting point so that if the family gets out from multiple points, they will quickly assemble for a head count.

 

Faith

[Wheres Toto]

Right now we are in a one story, 750 square feet. There are smoke detectors in each bedroom, in the living room, in the kitchen and in the foyer between the kitchen and living room. Since it's so small and one level, we have taught the kids not to hide in case of fire and discussed where to meet outside but that's about it.

 

Our new house is going to have two stories plus a basement and the kids bedroom windows will be 3 stories above the ground, while ours will be two stories up. We plan to get ladders for the little guys room and our room (in case can't get through the hallway). There will be detectors in each bedroom, the upstairs hallway, the kitchen, living room and basement.

[angela in ohio]

We did these because of our Keepers of the Faith program, then re-did it for Cub Scouts requirements.

 

I am a bit safety nuts, so we have detectors in several places, fire extinguishers all over, and fire safety ladders in the upstairs bedrooms. We have a spot at the front of the property to meet after we all get out. My kiddos get the fireman safety lecture every year through Cub Scouts or community events, so they know what the firemen will look like if they come in, not to hide, how to get low, how to check doors, etc.

[mommymilkies]

We haven't gone over ours in awhile, but we live in a one story close to the ground. Our windows open easily, too, so it should be easy to escape.

[regentrude]

The kids' bedrooms are on the second floor. Each has two windows, one facing the side of the house and one in a dormer over the front porch. We removed the screens on the dormer windows. They are the fire escape. The kids can step out of the window on the porch roof and from there jump down into the bushes - they will get scratches but not be seriously hurt.

Parents' bedroom is on the first floor.

We have smoke detectors on all floors.

[Kathleen in VA]

Thanks for posting this. We live in a small one-story house and all mine are old enough to open the windows and jump out. Still, I think we need to have a family discussion so everyone knows exactly what to do. We also need to decide on a place outside to meet.

[Ravin]

We've had conversations about fire safety, including play acting what to do if there's a fire. DD's window isn't as accessible as it could be, but she knows it's okay to do anything she has to to reach it if her bedroom door is hot or there is smoke coming under it, including knocking the TV over to get it out of her way and breaking the glass if she has trouble with the latch. We're in a 1 story house.

 

We are due for a refresher. Probably the last fire safety conversation we had was at our last block party. A neighbor got the fire department to bring out a truck and do a demo of their safety gear, etc. We talked about how firefighters look in all the gear and the importance of cooperating with them in a fire, as well as not hiding under the bed or in the closet--something small children commonly do that costs lives.

 

As far as safety gear in the house, we have 1 ABC and 1 BC extinguisher, and 1 smoke alarm, located in the hall outside the bedrooms next to the house's main vent, between the bedrooms and the rest of the house.

[nd293]

We have a small house with detectors (compulsory in new Australian houses, and must be retrofitted before an existing house can be sold). Our big issue is that the opening windows have security grilles on them - if we couldn't exit through a door, we would have to break a window. This worries me a lot - but not as much as the possibility of someone entering through a window while we sleep. A fire is far more likely than an intruder in Australia, but I am still a South African at heart, and can't sleep without security bars on the windows.

 

A homeschooling family I know who live in a bushland area with high fire risk have a very detailed fire plan posted on the wall for their children, detailing everything from compliance (on a high fire risk day the children go where the parents tell them) to who is in charge (the oldest child in the house drives them out if the children are alone) to what to do if trapped (take refuge in a bathroom).

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

We have smoke detectors on every level and a fire extinguisher in the kitchen. I have had my kids practice opening windows and climbing out. They know where to go for a rendez-vous point. They know not to come back into the house for any reason, even if mom and dad are still inside. They know to crawl on the floor if there is smoke. They know to feel the door of their room to see if it is hot before they open it. They know that fire fighters wear scary looking masks and make strange sounds and carry axes and other scary equipment, and they should not be afraid if a firefighter wants to carry them. They know that if they can't get a window open for some reason, they are to stand by it and bang on it to get someone's attention.