October 8-14 is National Fire Prevention week. This week is focused on preventing fires, as well as preparing yourself and your family for a fire. This is a great week to review the fire safety procedures that you already have in place with your family. It is also an excellent time to make sure that you are checking fire safety items on a regular basis. Here is a list of things, which you should try to do this week.
1) Check your smoke detectors and your fire extinguishers, and make sure everything is in order. You should have at least one smoke detector on every level of your home. You should also have a fire extinguisher in your kitchen, and any other fire hazard area. You will want to make sure it is designed for kitchen fires. This should be a Class B fire extinguishers. You should do this on a monthly basis.
2) Hold a fire drill in your home. Review with your children the way to tell if it is safe to enter the hall or a new room. Have your children practice exiting the home. If you have bedrooms on the second floor, install the hanging ladders and practice using them. You should practice on a regular basis as well.
3) Check for fire hazards around the home. You will want to check your chimney to make sure it is clear of debris. Check your furnace and change the filter in it. You should also check your dryer vent to make sure that it is not clogged. Make sure that you are using space heaters correctly.
4) Check for fire hazards around your yard and outside your home. This could include clearing dead brush from the perimeter of your yard. If you choose to burn your old leaves and other brush do so in a clearing, make sure that you have water on hand. You should burn on a day that is not very windy and only if it is permitted where you live.
5) You should have a fire evacuation plan in place. This is especially true if you live in an area that is prone to wildfires, such as the West. You will be able to evacuate with confidence, because you will know what to take with you, and where you are going.