Did you know that 43% of homeowners have an emergency escape plan and only 33% have discussed fire safety with their family?* In the event of an emergency, every second counts. That’s why it’s important to plan and practice your emergency escape route and discuss fire safety with your entire family. As Aimery is getting older, we want to teach him more about fire safety and what to do in the event that a fire would occur in our home. I initially thought the idea of it might make him scared, but he couldn’t have been more excited to learn and help Ben & I with our preparations!

Creating a home escape plan

The first step we took was to draw a map of our home showing the exits, including all doors and windows! Ben and I wanted to make this activity for the whole family, that way in the event of an emergency, everyone will know how to exit and where to meet. We made sure that all of us knew at least two ways out of every room in our home. We also thought it would be a great idea to have a meeting spot outside, a safe distance away from our home. We made ours at the mailbox a couple houses down, under the tree so it was easy to remember for Aims as well! We spent time together practicing our emergency escape route and plan to go over it together at least twice a year!

Installing new smoke and carbon monoxide alarms

Since we just moved into a new home, we made sure to install new alarms for smoke and carbon monoxide. It’s recommended to test the batteries in your alarm at least every 6 months or upgrade to 10-year sealed battery alarms which eliminates the need for battery replacements for the life of the alarm! Aimery loved to “help” with the installation as was so happy to hand Ben all the tools he needed on the ladder!

Putting away the fire extinguisher and escape ladder

When deciding where to put a home fire extinguisher, keep in mind that one should actually be kept on every level of the home, especially on the main level near the kitchen. Other areas to consider are the laundry room, garage, near bedrooms, by the grill, etc.! Ben and I took the time to review best practices for our new fire extinguisher in the event of an emergency we wouldn’t have to think twice! An easy way to remember is PASS: Pull, Aim, Squeeze, Sweep. We also decided to put an escape ladder next to our third floor loft window so we would have a safe way down in case an emergency occurs!

Learning more about fire safety and taking necessary preventative measures was such a rewarding experience for our family! It feels so great having peace of mind, that in the event of a fire we are prepped with the tools and knowledge to keep us safe! Remember -  Plan. Practice. Repeat. 

* Source: First Alert Research Report, June 2016 - Results  are based on the responses of 1,000+ adult homeowners, ages 25 and older, living in the United States.