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E.D.I.T.H.
Drills
Exit
Drills
In
The
Home
Do
you know what to do if there's a fire in your home?
You
can survive a fire in your home if you plan and practice your escape.
Plan
your escape...
- Draw a floor
plan or your home. Show two (2) ways out of each room. Discuss
escape routes with everyone in your home.
- Agree on
an outside meeting place in front of your home where everyone
will gather once you've escaped.
Be prepared...
- Teach every
member of your household the sound of your smoke alarms.
- Have everyone
in your home memorize the fire department emergency number.
You should call from a neighbor's phone or portable phone once
you've escaped.
- Teach everyone
in your household how to unlock and open all windows and doors.
- If your
windows have security bars, equip them with quick-release devices.
- Keep stairways
and exits clear and free from clutter.
Install and
maintain your smoke alarms...
- Install
smoke alarms on every floor of your home - and near or inside
all bedrooms. In new construction, NFPA's code requires a smoke
alarm in each bedroom and that each alarm is wired together
so that if one sounds, they all sound.
- Test your
smoke alarms once a month.
- Replace
alarm batteries twice a year.
- Replace
any alarm that's more than ten (10) years old.
Practice...
- Practice!
Hold home fire drills at least twice a year.
- Ensure that
smoke alarms alert everyone sleeping in your home.
- Make drills
realistic by pretending some escape paths are blocked by smoke
or fire.
If you live
in an apartment building...
- Learn and
practice your building's evacuation plan.
- Leave immediately
if you hear a smoke alarm.
- Know the
location of all building exits and fire alarms.
- Do not go
back inside once you've escaped a fire.
- Use the
stairs - never use elevators during a fire.
- Report any
locked or blocked exits to your building's management.
If you live
in a high-rise building...
- Your building's
management should post an emergency evacuation plan on every
floor.
- Your plan
may instruct you to:
- leave
immediately;
- stay
where you are and wait to be rescued; or
- move
to an area away from the fire and wait to be rescued.
- Follow instructions
given over your building's public address system, if you have
one.
- Keep a portable
phone with you during a fire emergency.
- React immediately
if you are trapped. Seal vents and cracks around doors with
a wet cloth. Call the fire department, tell them where you
are and signal from a window with a flashlight or light-colored
cloth.
- Be patient;
evacuating large buildings can take hours.
- Do not assume
that you can, or will, be rescued from the roof.
Escape tips...
- Test the
doorknob and spaces around the door with the back of your hand.
If the door is warm, try another escape route. If it's cool,
open it slowly. Close it quickly if smoke pours through.
- If you have
to escape through smoke, crawl on your hands and knees, keeping
your head one (1) to two (2) feet above the floor, where the
air will be cleanest.
- Close doors
behind you as you escape to slow the spread of fire and smoke.
Sprinklers
control fires...
- Consider
installing an automatic fire sprinkler system in your home.
Sprinklers can control or extinguish small fires faster than
it takes the fire department to arrive.
Information
provided courtesy of Exit Drills in the Home, National Fire Protection
Association, Batterymarch Park, Quincy, MA 02269-9101.
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City
of Crystal Lake, Illinois
100 W. Municipal Complex
P.O. Box 597
Crystal Lake, IL 60039-0597
Telephone 815-459-2020
Fax 815-459-2350
Office Hours:
Monday - Friday 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
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