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Fire Plans.....
Fire
Plan
Fire Drill
In a Real Fire
What would you do
if woke up tonight and found your home on fire? How would you and your
family escape to safety? If everyone in your family cannot answer these
questions you need to prepare a Fire Plan and practise a Fire Drill. Regularly
practising your Fire Drill will prevent panic and injury and make your
safe exit procedures an automatic response. And don't forget to make sure
you have working Smoke Alarms in your home - they will give you
precious early warning to make your escape.
Fire
Plan
Draw an outline
map of your house including all of the rooms in it. Make sure everyone
knows 2 escape routes out of every room - 2 exits are a door and a window,
make sure they are marked on your map drawing.
Also mark a meeting
point on your map with a big X and
write 'meeting point' - this needs to be
a safe area clear of the house where you can all get together after
evacuating to be accounted for and then kept together.
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Fire
Drill
Here is an example
of a fire drill.
1.
Everyone
to be in their bedroom as if it were night time and they were asleep,
or where-ever they might normally be if a fire broke out.
2. One
person to shout to alert everyone there is a 'fire'.
3. All members of
the family to crawl low to the floor to an exit - keep low to avoid
smoke and heat. Alert others to fire on your way out.
4. Test
doors for heat before opening them - if they are hot to touch or have
smoke coming from under them keep them closed and go to the second exit
for that room. If the door is not hot, slowly open it and, if safe to
do so, exit the room and head for a door that leads outside and preferably
furthest away from the fire. Close doors and windows behind you to slow
the spread of fire.
5. Exit to your
planned safe meeting point outside where you can check everyone is there.
Take pets with you only if you can easily get them on the way out -
don't go searching for them. Move
around the outside of the house and knock on all the windows to
wake anyone inside.
6. Ensure no-one
re-enters the house until the Fire Drill is declared 'finished'.
7. Also practise
exiting through windows to make sure you can do so safely - make sure
that you can use both exits from each room so that you both check the
exit and familiarise yourself with using them.
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In
a Real Fire...
If
exiting through a window try to avoid breaking the glass unless absolutely
necessary - if you do have to break glass be very careful not to cut
yourself - remove as much glass as possible and cover with blankets
or pillows as best you can. Best to wait by the window for the Fire
Brigade unless absolutely vital to break a glass window. During your
Fire Drills ensure freshly painted windows can be opened, fly-screens
can be removed from inside, security screens and deadlocks do not imprison
anyone in the house, children can exit via bedroom windows or know to
wait by a safe window to be rescued by the Fire Brigade - NEVER HIDE!
Once
out use a neighbour's phone or public phone to call Fire Brigade. Give
a clear address and wait for them at the end of your driveway.
Do
not re-enter the house for possessions, toys or pets. Wait for the Fire
Brigade with their Breathing Apparatus or you risk losing your life.
When
the Fire Brigade arrives let them know who is still missing and if pets
may still be inside. Make it clear who needs to be rescued and from
where.
Pets
will run or hide from a fire and may already be out of the house - don't
waste time looking for them when the Fire-fighters can do it better
and safer. If you do have your pets out of the house or if the fire-fighters
rescue them - firmly secure them so that they do not try and reenter
their home.
And REMEMBER...
The
first thing to do when you enter your house is to put a key in each deadlock. The
last thing to do before you leave your house is to remove
the keys from each deadlock. Keep
keys in all deadlocks while anyone is in the house
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