Make a Fire Escape Plan
By Don King | New Britain Fire Marshall at January 16, 2024 | 8:15 am | Print
By the time you are reading this you may have already given up on your New Year’s resolution. Eating healthier, hitting the gym regularly and saving money are great goals, but they do not provide the immediate gratification members of our society have grown accustomed to. Therefore, I am going to make a recommendation that will allow you to start off the New Year in a positive manner. If you act upon my recommendation, I guarantee you will have a sense of immediate gratification and make your family and home safer. Quite simply, I recommend that you take the time to sit down with the other members of your family and create a fire escape plan.
Most residential fires occur during the night time hours, and this is when we are typically not completely alert. This is why the creation of a fire escape plan prior to an actual event is so important. The first thing you should do create a floor plan of your home. Every window and door that could be used as an escape route should be included. Use green arrows to show the primary exits from every room within your home. Then use red arrows to indicate a secondary means of escape from each room. Next, you need to establish a meeting place where your family should gather after escaping from your home. A neighbor’s front yard on the same side of the street as your home is a good place to meet. Any members of your family that are unaccounted for at the meeting place should be immediately reported to the fire department. Once your fire escape plan is completed it is important to review and practice it regularly to ensure its effectiveness.
Creating a fire escape plan should put you in a safety conscious frame of mind, and you should ride the momentum by making sure that your home is equipped with smoke alarms with working batteries. If your home lacks smoke alarms, or needs fresh batteries please do not hesitate to contact the New Britain Fire Department. The New Britain Fire Department maintains a supply of smoke alarms and 9-volt batteries that are free to residents of the city. In addition, this would be a good time to check your home for other fire hazards such as extension cords being misused, keeping combustibles at least 5 feet from a portable heating device and making sure that candles, matches and lighters are kept out of the reach of children.
I cannot think of a more positive way to start the New Year then spending time with family members and increasing their level of safety. If you would like further guidance in creating a fire escape plan for your home, or if you are interested in obtaining a free smoke alarm please call the New Britain Fire Marshal’s Office at 860-826-4310.
