Emergency Readiness: The Importance of Creating A Home Escape Plan

When there is a fire, every single second counts—and having a pre-established plan on how to evacuate your home safely can make a huge difference. At The Eureka Fire Protection District, we find that too families assume they will instinctively know what to do in an emergency, but in a real emergency, most people panic or get confused about where to go or what to do and that’s when the situation becomes a matter of life and death.

In our experience, we find that one of the most effective ways to protect yourself and your loved ones is by taking the time to establish and practice an effective home escape plan. Having a well-rehearsed emergency evacuation plan can help give everyone in your household the information and skills necessary to react, keep their composure and get to the set meeting place safely.

In this blog, we’ll outline why emergency readiness is just as important at home as it is at work or school, and walk you through the process of creating your own home escape plan. 

How To Create An Emergency Readiness Plan for Your Family?

Since every household and family is unique, there is no one-size-fits-all fire escape plan. The key to creating an effective evacuation plan that not only works for your family is considering all the details, such as the needs of your loved ones, anything that may become a hazard during an emergency and, most importantly, the layout of your home. 

Here are our recommended steps on how to build a home evacuation plan that can keep everyone safe during a real-life emergency.

Draw a detailed floor plan of your home

Sketch each level of your household, including high-traffic living areas like bedrooms, living rooms and exits. We recommend outlining at least two possible escape routes from each of the outlined rooms. Escape routes can include windows and doorways.

Assign a Safe Meeting Place

One of the most crucial elements of your evacuation plan is assigning a rendezvous point. Select an outdoor location that is a safe distance from your home that is easy to spot, remember and reach, like a neighbor’s driveway.

Assign Responsibilities

If there are young children or older adults in your household, establishing a buddy system where one individual is responsible for getting themselves, plus another family member with a limited range of mobility out of the house can help ensure that every member of your household safely evacuates the home.

Practice Fire Drills

For the sake of being properly prepared, we recommend that your household run test runs of your fire evacuation plan at least twice a year, with at least one run through being at night. Knowing how long it will take you to escape your home and reach your rendezvous point will help you either to adapt your plan or estimate how long it will take for each member of your household to reunite at the rendezvous point.

Fire Escape Planning Tips From Firefighters

Our rescue team at the Eureka Fire Protection District strongly supports the idea that emergency preparation saves lives. Here are a few key tips on how to best prepare your household for the event of a fire:

1. Teach Everyone How to Escape

Ensure that everyone in your household is familiar with the escape routes and any hazards that could block their path.

2. Keep Emergency Numbers Accessible

Every member of your household should know how to call emergency services or locate where any emergency contact numbers are listed within the home. 

3. Test Smoke Alarms and Exit Paths

We strongly recommend that the smoke alarms in your home are regularly tested to ensure that they are performing optimally, plus there should be a smoke alarm in every room on every floor. So, if there are no smoke alarms on the lower or upper levels of your home, we advise getting them installed. 

4. Review and Update Your Plan

Updating your evacuation plan any time your furniture layout, home structure or number of individuals living in your household changes can make a real difference in the chance of an emergency. Whenever your plan changes, we recommend running additional test runs until every member of your household is familiar with the new emergency evacuation steps.

Prepare Your Household for Fire Emergencies With Guidance From Eureka Fire Protection District

Protect yourselves and your families by establishing your own fire safety and evacuation plan. Need a little extra guidance in establishing your own plan. Contact the Eureka Fire Protection District today for more information. 

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