What Is a Fire Escape Plan?

A fire escape plane is an action plan on what to do if your home is on fire. A basic plan will show exit routes, how to leave safely, who's in charge of safely getting things like wallets and keys, and who the safety captain and co-captains are.  Everyone's fire escape plan is different based on what type of home you live in, if you have pets, and who lives with you if anyone. Your plan needs to account for pets if you have them. Keep in mind, pets like smaller children might panic and hide. Get out and alert firefighters to the last place your pet was, hiding places, name, and size.  

Specialized Fire Escape Plan

Your fire escape plan might include special instructions for getting those who are younger, have a disability, or older to safety. The key here is to keep age and ability in mind when creating your fire escape plan. The focus of this group is to get out safely and should not be given any other tasks to take care of. A specialized fire escape plan should include who will need help and who the helper will be.

Benefits of a Fire Escape Plan

The main benefit of having a fire escape plan is to make sure you and your family get out safely. There is also a benefit in planning what to do before a fire, during a fire, and after a fire. These are things that can be forgotten in the aftermath of a fire so pre and post planning can be beneficial.

Before a Fire

Before there's a fire, there is planning for things to put in place before, what to do during, and how to deal with the aftermath. Before a fire put together personal information to keep at relatives, neighbors, or in a safe deposit box at the bank. This should include medical records, birth certificates, copies of insurance policies, social security cards, drivers licenses, and medical insurance. If you have pets, include vaccination records for them as well. This will save time in worrying about replacing that information if it's lost in the fire.

During a Fire

The benefit of having a fire escape plan during a fire could be the difference between life and death. The information in your fire escape plan gives everyone the best opportunity of surviving and getting out safely. Having a fire escape plan in place can also inform your family about what to do if evacuation is not possible or not safe.

After a Fire

Having a fire escape plane can be beneficial after a fire so everyone knows where to go and what to do next. This includes where to meet during, knowing where all of you will go immediately after, and a plan to house pets if need be. This ensures everyone, both human and animals, has a place to go before it becomes a necessity.

How to Create a Fire Escape Plan for Your Family

So how do you create a fire escape plan? Start with the basics and plan your route. Make sure that every room has two ways to exit that are appropriate for your type of house. Look at the list below for ideas that cover different house types, who's in charge and how to exit safely.

Basic Plan

How to Exit

Who's in Charge?

If there is more than one adult in the home one should be in charge and the other should be the backup or co-captain. These are the people who will know where all the important information is, take a head count at the meeting place, call the proper authorities, and contact other family members for either help or updates. If there are two adults, they should discuss who will be in charge of any infants and young children, those with special needs, and the elderly.

Infants and Young Children

The main concern in a fire is those who cannot help themselves such as infants and young children. If there are more than one child and more than one adult, put in the action plan who will go to which child. This will avoid blindly running from room to room at the same time. When you have your assigned child proceed to the exit. Younger children may not hear an alarm or become frightened and hide. Check under the bed and the closet of your assigned child while calling their name.

Special Needs

Those with special needs might be more difficult to calm in a stressful situation. So it is important to practice the fire escape plan regularly. Again, assign an adult to the person with special needs who understands what those needs are. If they are in a wheelchair, make sure the assigned person can either lift them or safely drag them to safety. The assigned person will also need to know what calming techniques work if the special need is one where the person has a cognitive issue such as Down's syndrome, Autism, or diminished mental capacity.

Elderly

With the elderly, there can be mobility issues and problems with confusion. This is another group that should have an adult assigned to them. Make sure the adult assigned can assist with mobility issues and knows how to keep the person calm but moving. This is especially important for those with dementia. Stay calm, be as soothing as possible, answer their questions, but stress the importance of leaving without panicking them. If it is an issue of moving slower due to age, get them started towards the exit and then move on to your assigned people and then work back to them as long as it is still safe to do so.

Pets

Pets fall into the same categories as elderly, infants and young children, and those who have special needs. Assign the pets out evenly amongst the adults. Remember, pets are like young children. They might panic and bolt, or panic and hide. Look under furniture and in corners as you make your way out. Once you are out, let the authorities know there are pets inside, what their names are, favorite places to hide, and overall temperament when stressed.

Conclusion

We don't like to plan for bad things or tragedies but the more prepared we are the better the odds are that we will survive. Creating a fire escape plan does not have to be difficult. Keep it simple especially for younger children, the elderly, and those with special needs. Have kids help create the plan and make colorful maps to put on the back of doors. 

When choosing who is in charge of which child, a person with special needs, an elderly person, or a pet keep in mind who has the strength to bodily move who. The goal of the fire escape plan is to get everyone out safely. Remember, to do that follow your plan. Touch the doors, stay low and below the smoke, know your exit routes and the exterior windows. Practice often enough that everyone knows where to meet and who's in charge. Careful planning on your part and knowing your fire escape plan will help you and your family survive.

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As you know, the first implication of a power outage is no power. You might first notice a flicker of lights, especially during a storm, or the lights and all electronics might suddenly shut off. At that point, you need to verify what type of power outage is happening. Power outages can either affect your individual home, your entire neighborhood or your city. You should know how to tell which one is occurring and have a plan for either type.

Widespread Power Outages

When the lights go out, besides running around flipping switches, look outside. Are your neighbors' homes dark? If it's dark out, are the street lights on? If you answered yes to the first question and no to the second, chances are the power outage is affecting more than just your home. There isn't much you can do at this point, and the issue has most likely been reported.

Just Your Home

Ask the same questions here, but if your neighbors have lights and the street lights are on, then most likely the power outage pertains to just your home. You would want to call the utility company and let them know. They will have to have someone come out and find the cause of the power outage. They will tell you if the issue is something that is their responsibility to fix or if you need to call a certified electrician. In either scenario, you need to be prepared to be without power.

Being prepared for power outages means more than making sure there are candles and flashlights in your home. You need to have a short-term plan of what to do right after the power outage and a long-term plan to keep everyone, including pets, healthy and safe for its duration. Let's consider power outages that just apply to your home as a short-term outage and widespread power outages as a long-term outage. While both types of power outages will have some of the same points in being prepared, there will be differences in the number of supplies and types of supplies.

Just Your Home

If the power outage is only in your home, the information below should help you make sure everyone is okay until power is restored.

Alerting your local electric company allows them to come out and either locate the problem specific to only your home or find an issue that is causing a more widespread issue.

Widespread Power Outages

A widespread power outage might last longer than one that is just affecting your home. A widespread outage might take longer to locate or require the removal, or replacement, of equipment. Some things that can cause a widespread power outage include a car hitting a telephone pole, a natural disaster or a cut power line somewhere in the neighborhood. Dealing with a widespread power outage might require more supplies and ones that will be needed for a longer period.

10 TIPS FOR LIVING THROUGH POWER OUTAGES

Living through a power outage is manageable as long you've prepared in advance and use your resources wisely. Below are tips for getting through power outages without too much difficulty whether the power outage is just at your home or widespread.

A quick side note about medications:  there are medications that require refrigeration. If you're experiencing a widespread power outage, a full refrigerator will hold its temperature for about 48 hours and one that is half full:  for about half that time. If the power isn't back on within those time frames, go purchase a cooler and some ice to store medications. Place medications in double, zippered plastic bags to ensure they are usable when needed.

This also goes for refrigerated infant formulas and foods that are not going to be used within 24-48 hours. Keep them in separate plastic bags to avoid spillage and cross-contamination with medications. Putting in cold beverages can help keep the coolers colder longer. Frozen food will last 24-36 hours. Again, as those times approach, transfer these items to ice-filled coolers if you can or cook it up, and share it.

This is a time to look out for those around you too. Make sure if there are those who are elderly, or with a special need, you check up on them. They might not be prepared, or if they have a cognitive issue or are elderly, they might be agitated or confused. Help them locate basic supplies in their home, and reassure them that this is a temporary situation. If you find them in medical distress, call 9-1-1, and wait with them until help arrives.

Managing Children

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The key is to remain calm. This is especially true if you have young children. Children can become nervous and worried if you are. Don't forget to put things to keep young kids occupied in your disaster kit. Keep simple card games, storybooks, and board games in a dry location with the rest of your power outage kit. It's also okay if you forget these things. Use your imagination. Help them build a fort in a main room. If it's daylight out and the power outage is not due to a dangerous situation, take them outside to play for as long you can. This will help younger kids with restlessness focus on something else.

CONCLUSION

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So, the lights are out. This was something exciting when we were kids. As an adult, it can be stressful depending on how long the power outage lasts. It can be a minor inconvenience when it's just your home that's having the power outage. When the power outage is widespread, the situation can become worrisome. The concern about hot water, food spoiling or no internet or television increase. Again, the key is to remain calm.

Don't forget that you might have tasks to do after the power is restored. Reset clocks and any alarms that run on electricity. Go through your fridge and freezer. If the food feels warm or freezer items are cool/cold but soft, don't chance it; throw it out. Check your homeowners' insurance policy to see if losing food due to a power outage is covered.

Being prepared for a power outage is the same as preparing for a fire escape plan or what to do during a natural disaster. The key is all in the planning that needs to take place before a power outage becomes an issue. It's not a bad idea to include a power outage plan in your home disaster planning and reviewing it occasionally with your family. That way everyone will know where everything is to help your family stay safe and live through a power outage.

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