Home Fire Drills

Once a fire has started it’s too late to plan how to get out. Sit down with your family today and make a step-by-step plan for escaping a fire.

Draw a Floor Plan of Your Home

Mark two ways out of every room - especially sleeping areas. Discuss the escape routes with every member of your household.

Agree on a Meeting Place

Find a favourite tree or another marker where every member of the household will gather outside after escaping a fire. This allows you to count heads and inform the fire department if anyone is missing or trapped inside the burning building.

Practice

Have a fire drill in your home and follow your escape plan at least twice a year. Appoint someone to be the monitor and have everyone participate. A fire drill is not a race. Get out quickly, but carefully.

Make your exit drill realistic. Pretend that some exits are blocked by fire, and practice alternative escape routes. Pretend the lights are out and some escape routes are filling with smoke.

Locks

Make sure everyone in the household can unlock all doors and windows quickly, even in the dark. Windows or doors with security bars need to be equipped with quick-release devices, and everyone in the household should know how to use them. If you live in a multi-story house and must escape from an upper story window, be sure there is a safe way to reach the ground such as a fire-resistant fire escape ladder.

Stairs

Make special arrangements for children, older adults and people with disabilities. People who have difficulty moving should have a phone in their sleeping area and, if possible, should sleep on the ground floor. If you live in an apartment building, use stairways to escape. NEVER use an elevator during a fire. It may stop between floors or take you to a floor where the fire is burning. Some high-rise buildings may have evacuation plans that require you to stay where you are and wait for the fire department.

Test Doors

Kneel or crouch at the door, reach up as high as you can and with the back of your hand touch the door, the knob, and the crack between the door and its frame. If you feel any warmth at all use another escape route. If the door feels cool, open it with caution. Put your shoulder against the door and open it slowly. Be prepared to slam it shut if smoke or flames are on the other side

Crawl Low Under Smoke

Since heat rises and smoke contains deadly gases, during a fire cleaner air will be found near the floor. If you encounter smoke when using your primary exit, use an alternative escape route. If you must exit through smoke, crawl on your hands and knees keeping your head 12 to 24 inches (30 - 60 centimeters) above the floor.

Drop and Roll

If your clothes catch on fire STOP where you are, drop to the ground, cover your face with your hands and roll over and over to smother the flames. (If someone gets burned, place the wound in cool water for 10 - 15 minutes. If the burn blisters or chars, see a doctor immediately.)

Get Out Fast!

Don't stop for anything. Do not try to rescue possessions or pets. Go directly to your meeting place and then call the fire department from a neighbour's phone or a portable phone. Every member of your household should know how to call the fire department.
. . . and STAY OUT!!
Once you are out of your home, don't go back for any reason. If people are trapped firefighters have the best chance of rescuing them. The heat and smoke of a fire are overpowering. Firefighters have the training, experience and protective equipment needed to enter burning buildings.

Trapped?

If you are trapped, close all doors between you and the fire. Stuff the cracks around the doors to keep out smoke. Wait at a window and signal for help with a flashlight or by waving a light colored cloth. If there is a phone in the room, call the fire department and report exactly where you are.