Fire spreads quickly and produces poisonous gases that make you disoriented and drowsy. In fact, heat and smoke from fire can be more dangerous than the flames.
If fire breaks out in your home, there is no time to gather valuables or make a phone call. In just two minutes, a fire can become life threatening. In five minutes, a residence can be engulfed in flames. Fires happen everyday, make sure your household is ready.
How to Prepare for a Fire:
- Install smoke alarms. Place smoke alarms on every level, outside bedrooms, at the top of open stairways or at the bottom of enclosed stairs.
- Test smoke alarms once a month and replace batteries twice a year. Make it a habit when you reset your clocks for Daylight Saving Time.
- Replace smoke alarms once every 10 years
- Plan and review escape routes from your home with your family. Practice escaping from each room.
- Make sure windows are not nailed or painted shut, and that security gratings or burglar bars on windows have a fire safety opening feature so they can be easily opened from the inside.
- Consider escape ladders if your residence has more than one level. and ensure that burglar bars and other anti-theft mechanisms that block outside window entry are easily opened from the inside.
- Teach family members to stay low to the floor (where the air is safer) when escaping from a fire
- Install A-B-C-type fire extinguishers in your home and teach family members how to use them
- Make sure your home is insured. If you rent, buy renter's insurance.
- Place heaters at least three feet away from flammable materials. Use extreme caution when using alternative heating sources, such as space heaters.
For additional information, visit the Fire Preparedness page of the Philadelphia Office of Emergency Management website.
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