Make A Plan Monday: Fire Preparedness

No person that I know of would want their house to catch fire and burn down.  But, it is still wise to make a plan on what to do if it does.  For Family Home Evening, or otherwise as a family, counsel together about what your family can and will do if such a tragedy of a house fire were to happen.  Plan and teach fire safety, escape routes, plan a meeting place, and plan for recovery.

PLAN ESCAPE & MEETING PLACE:  every person in your home who can understand the dangers of a fire and move him/herself to another location should learn and know how to leave through doors or windows.  If bedrooms are on a second or third floor, there are ladders made for fire escape from an upstairs window.  Show how to exit through a window--and let them know that in a fire, if they need to break the window to get out--to do it!  Plan at least one place far enough away from the house that smoke and fire aren't a danger.  If you have a big fenced in yard, it could be in a far corner of the yard, as corners are easier to locate and find in the dark.  Think about which areas of the home family members are most likely to be in and plan a meeting place on that side of the house if possible.  If in an apartment/condo, choose a location in the parking lot or by the mailboxes (if they are in a separate area from the building on fire).

Write down your family escape plan.  Also, it is wise to notify a neighbor or family/friend that is close by about your plan.  Most local fire stations will gladly share fire safety tips and allow for tours where children and adults alike can learn what to do in a fire; call ahead and find out what their guidelines for tours and such are.

PRACTICE:  as a family periodically have fire drills where everyone can practice leaving the home and meeting up at the meeting place.  You can either plan these ahead or do random drills to really test everyone's knowledge.  To make it a little more real, invite a family member or friend to call randomly and notify you that you have 1 minute to leave your home for a fire drill.

PLAN RECOVERY:  Many people pay for fire/home or renter's insurance to help cover costs of items lost in a fire, others plan on simply replacing items over time as they are able.  Whether you carry insurance or not, though, a plan for what to do immediately after a house fire is needed.  Where will you live?  How will you meet basic needs of shelter, food, clothing?  What about documents and such that may have been lost in the fire, did you have a plan for replacing those that can be or reproducing them before a fire and having more than one copy?  Who will be notified of your loss?  How will you handle the emotional side of a house fire?  Do you have a good support system of family and friends?  Making a plan of how you will pull through a house fire tragedy, and possibly even loss of loved ones, will help should that time come that a plan needs to be used.  Without a plan, besides the loss of both things both physical and emotional, on top of everything you'll have to decide what to do, how to do it, etc.

No amount of planning and preparing for disaster ever really makes the disaster a breeze to go through, but it does help at least the emotional side of things to have thought it out and planned to the best we could.  The disaster very well may destroy any physical preparations, but I believe with physical, emotional and spiritual preparation we are better prepared to endure it well.