Having a fire safety plan for your home is not just a great idea – it’s a necessity! As your family grows, you need to ensure the safety of each family member. Knowing what to do in the event of a fire in your home can drastically reduce the risk of injury or accidental death. If you are affected by a fire, your only concern should be the safety of your family. The aftermath can be professionally resolved by companies that specialize in fire restoration services such as ServiceMaster Professional Cleaning and Restoration in Norristown, PA.
There are several steps for you to consider when establishing an effective safety plan tailored to your particular home environment:
1. Look at the layout of your home and make sure that you have two different exits for every area you could occupy. For instance, if you are in a bedroom, you can evacuate through the egress window, or move to the nearest exit door, depending on where the fire is located.
2. Set up a meeting place outside the property. Perhaps the streetlight across the road. This will ensure everyone meets up after they escape.
3. You should never re-enter the home after you have escaped.
4. Make sure family members understand the first concern after getting to the meeting place is to immediately call for help.
5. Write this plan down and make sure each family member has a copy and understands the plan. Leave a copy on the fridge as well. This is an easy centralized location and if you have a babysitter, they can easily access the plan.
6. Practice the plan. A good idea is to review the plan once a year, in case anything changes. Schedule the practice plan around a holiday, so you remember to do this every year. February is not the ideal month for this due to cold weather in Pennsylvania, but you can still get your plan ready now and practice the plan on the first day of spring.
These steps are just the basics that you should include and every home is different. The great thing about a safety plan is that it not only keeps your family safe, it may also make you aware of potential hazards in your home as you go through and find all your escape routes for each room in the house. One last note, please remember to include your family in the plan development, as everyone will likely have different concerns.
In the unfortunate event your home experiences fire damage, please give ServiceMaster Professional Cleaning and Restoration a call as soon as possible. Our professional and certified fire restoration specialists will immediately put a plan together to effectively mitigate the damage and begin the restoration process to fully restore your home as soon as possible.