How to Teach Your Kids About the Family’s House Evacuation Plan
Providing for a child’s safety during a house fire should be a top priority for parents. It can be difficult to know what your children will do during an emergency, so discuss the possibility of such an occurrence. Planning and taking the proper steps toward making your kids understand how a house evacuation works can give you peace of mind that they will know what to do during the real thing.
1.Map an Easy Evacuation Route
The first step toward protecting your children during a fire is to create a comprehensive, easy-to-understand evacuation plan. Walk through your home and make note of all possible escape routes, including windows. Make two ways to exit in each room – the door and a window. Mark the location of smoke alarms. You can have your children draw maps of his or her room, pointing out the two escape routes, for a child-friendly fire safety activity.
If you have children sleeping on the upper level(s) of a home, consider investing in escape ladders. Your children must be old enough to know how to safely climb down the ladder in an emergency. Have children practice on these ladders (under adult supervision), and make sure they realize they are only used in emergencies. All windows in your home should open easily, without sticking. Ensure windows are not warped in their frames or rusted shut.
Decide on a meeting place a safe distance from your home. Every family member should memorize the meeting point you choose. It can be a neighbor’s house, a streetlight, mailbox, or another easy-to-remember point. Practice exiting the house and meeting at the safe location at least twice a year to know that children remember what to do during a fire.
If your household includes special needs children, infants, or disabled persons, remember to assign someone else in the family responsibility for them. It can be you, your spouse, or an older sibling. The assigned person needs to have quick access to the other person’s room and must know how to get him or her out safely without compromising personal safety.
2. Test Your Evacuation Plan Regularly
It may take time and practice for your children to grasp your emergency evacuation plan. Be patient with them, and don’t stop practicing until you believe they will remember the plan in an actual emergency. After all, an evacuation plan is useless if it’s forgotten during a real fire. The best way to make sure your children remember what to do is to perform regular fire drills. Practice your evacuation twice per year and regularly test your children on what they would do if a fire occurred.
Make the drill as realistic as possible. Children should understand they will need to perform the evacuation with a sense of urgency and not stop to save pets or favorite toys. Time your children’s escape and try to get them to beat their time on the next drill. Mastering an escape plan is all about practice, not fear. Your children should be fully prepared to practice a drill before you spring a surprise one on them or set the alarm off without warning.
3. Understand Your Rights in a Fire
If you have any questions regarding building fire codes in San Diego and beyond, don’t hesitate to contact the lawyers at Liljegren Law Group. We know the law requires buildings to have suitable fire exits, fire alarm systems, and unimpeded escape routes. If your home or the building your family occupies isn’t up to code, we’ll help you take steps toward ensuring the property owners remedy the problem. Contact us for help concerning burn injuries, child injury, defective products that started a fire, and other personal injury cases.