Fire Prevention Week: Does Your Family Have a Fire Escape Plan?

October 9, 2012 by

October 7-13 is Fire Prevention Week: Does Your Family Have a Fire Escape Plan?

The National Fire Protection Association, an international nonprofit established in 1896, recognizes the need to remind the public about the importance of fire prevention and safety. That’s why every year the organization selects one week in the month of October to educate communities all over the world about the topic. This year’s Fire Prevention Week takes place October 7-13.

When it comes to fire prevention and safety, the greatest thing a family can do to protect themselves from the dangers of a home fire is to come up with an emergency exit plan. What procedures have you put in place to make sure your family reacts smartly to a potential home fire? Listed below are some of the NFPA’s best fire escape plan ideas to implement into your strategy.

Fire Security Alarm
Get a free monitored smoke detector

Have Two Ways Out

“Have 2 Ways Out” is this year’s Fire Prevention Week theme. It is a good idea to designate two escape plans for every room in your house, just in case one exit is blocked by smoke or flames. Be sure to practice both plans with your family, so that everyone knows how to escape on their own.

Clear Your Escape Routes

Be sure to always keep your hallways and exit ways clear of clutter and furniture to allow for a smooth, easy exit. Blocking windows and doorways with tall, heavy pieces of furniture is not advised, as they will be difficult to remove in the event of a fire and could cause someone to become trapped.

Purchase Fire Extinguishers

Generally, if a fire in your home is small and a fire extinguisher is near, it is OK to try to fight the fire using the extinguisher. Purchase small fire extinguishers for your home and place them in strategic places that are easy to reach. Walk each member of your family through the proper use of the extinguisher. To combat small grease fires, place baking soda by the kitchen stove. If a fire is large or there is excessive smoke, exit your home immediately and call the fire department.

Purchase Fire Safety Ladders

Fire safety ladders are ideal for second story rooms. Escape ladders are retractable and lightweight, so they can easily be stored in your dresser or nightstand and attached to the window. The best safety ladders shouldn’t tangle when deployed and should feature anti-slip rungs. Be sure to practice using the ladder to reduce misuse and injury. Purchase one safety ladder for each second-story room with a window, in case the doorway becomes blocked by smoke or fire.

Know the Tricks to Prevent Smoke Inhalation

Use a shirt or towel to cover your nose and mouth until you have escaped the building. If possible, find a way to soak the towel in cold water. If you become trapped, close the door to the room you are trapped in and seal the bottom with towels or clothing. If possible, cover all air vents, as well. Open the window to the room, and wave your arms to alert the fire department of your location. Never break the window. Smoke from the outside could begin to enter the room, and you will want to close the window, if that occurs.

Because fire can spread rapidly, you and your family could have as little as two minutes to escape safely once your smoke alarm goes off. This is why it is so important to have a solid escape plan and know the dos and don’ts of fire prevention and safety. For more information about how to plan a fire escape plan for your home, please visit the National Fire Protection Association’s official website at NFPA.org.

Silvia Brooks is a freelance blogger who writes for several consumer help websites, such as www.HomeSecurity.org. Her articles cover a wide range of topics but mainly focus on home upkeep, family budgeting and personal security. Please leave your questions and comments for Silvia below.

– This blog entry was written by Silvia Brooks for Canadian Security Professionals. For more information on how to get a monitored smoke detector call us today – We are a 100% Canadian Alarm System Company.

Leave a Comment






5 Comments

  • Posted on 11 Dec 2012 By Joondalup Security Alarms

    We should take these tips seriously because this can simply determine our house and family’s safety. As easy as they seem they are still worth doing.

  • Posted on 04 Dec 2012 By Anonymous

    Merely wanna state that this is extremely helpful, Thanks for taking your time to write this.

  • Posted on 30 Nov 2012 By moncler solde

    Really good post!

  • Posted on 12 Nov 2012 By doudoune moncler

    Very good.Thanks

  • Posted on 06 Nov 2012 By Martin J Potter

    It took me time to read all the tips, but I clearly loved the post. It proved to be very helpful to me and I’m certain to all of the commenters here!

"Our company has been working with CSP for almost 10 years. We use them to secure our retail stores and have always had a great experience with them. Their technical team is terrific and always..."

Tony W, Greenhawk Inc.­.

"I own a small coffee shop on the Hamilton Mountain, and after many issues, I was considering the idea of changing companies for our security system. I checked out several reviews of some local..."

Bring Your Dog Cafe And Pub, Jim Ervin.

"What a company, Heather was such a pleasure to work with. Tamim was also a great person to work with. Set my company alarm system in no time. Tamim is very friendly and answered all my questions. And..."

Gastro Market, Anthony Zolkiewicz.

"My whole experience with Canadian security professionals has been positive from the 1st step. I spoke to numerous companies and Curtis from Canadian security professionals was by far the most..."

Delicate Touch, Mark Eisenberg.

"Hands down it’s the best service you can get. Very professional from the time you reach out to them and to the final installation and set up. Heather from the office and Tamim on-site were both so..."

UCA Associates, Arun R.

"Excellent Experience I had my business and home system installed by this company and I can’t say enough about the professionalism.. The installer was so patient, explained all the functions to..."

Paradise Subs, Dan Lafleur.

"We had an alarm setup in our commercial office space by CSP. The amazing service started with Anas, who helped us understand what we needed. From there, the installer showed up on time, installed all..."

The Influence Agency, Tom Yawney.

"Tamim and Anas have helped us on numerous occasions for installation for our business and home! Its not even a question on who we would call to help us feel safe – they are quick, professional,..."

Ciscon Landscaping, Carmen Cisterna.

"What a fantastic company this is. I had a couple of issues with the doorbell camera and these guys were right ON IT. Emily is super fast, super smart and super nice when assisting me. Reminds me of..."

Dante D.

"Great service, I’m glad to have them in my business and would definitely recommend this company to my friends and family. "

Plains Laundromat, Ali Saadati.

"Heather (customer service) and Tamim (technician) were very helpful in explaining and demonstrating the services to myself and team. I had it installed in my home and office. Thank you very much for..."

Responsive Consulting Inc, Nole Coutrouzas.

"Thank you for making the process so simple and easy during a very stressful store opening. The technician was both professional and very pleasant to work with. Have nothing but positive things to say..."

The Thrifty Designer, Leslie Smith-Aragona.

"Received the best service, from first visit from the sales guy to the installation finish, gave me the best product out there and i was really pleased got them at my business and home now never will..."

Sam’s Auto, Sam Eltawil.

"Products seemed well-made and service was excellent; during the install, the technician was knowledgeable and professional. The install itself was straight forward and not intrusive aesthetically. I..."

Ali Al-Hashimi.

"Great feeling to have made right choice selecting Canadian Security Professional for Remote (smartphone) activated Alarm/Monitoring package. I highly recommend. "

Anil Kaul.

"Super helpful friendly team at CSP. Outstanding tech support. Would definitely recommend as a security company and a company that can help sort out all that is new in smart home technology. Not being..."

Kathy Shaw.

"I wish there was a 10 star button. From the first interaction until the final installation, it was an amazing experience. Not only my equipment was set up professionally but the service was..."

Ammar Albaqali.

"Excellent Staff to deal with. Very thorough about everything they install. Very friendly customer service. We were happy that they were a few minutes early to do the installation. They cleaned up..."

Giuseppe Battaglia.

"We had an alarm setup in our commercial office space by CSP. The amazing service started with Adam, who helped us understand what we needed. From there, the installer showed up on time, installed all..."

Tom Yawney.

"Very friendly conversation and nice work done by Tamim in setting up the home security installation. Also would like to thank Chelsee for all coordination and smooth installation. Thank you. "

Asha Topagi.

"Great company from sales to install . Fast install and friendly knowledgeable installers . Helped with setup and made everything easy to understand. Very nice system with cameras . Will recommend to..."

Craig Kawucha.

"We were so pleased when we contacted Canadian Service Professionals. Heather was prompt and very helpful in answering all of our questions. Our service technician, Tamim, was wonderful. He installed..."

Aravinth S.

"Choosing the right alarm company is a daunting task but right from the onset Heather was informative and unbelievably helpful. Heather helped me with my choices, advised and made sure that my alarm..."

Linda Kasprzak.

"Chelsee was so efficient and pleased to help me get the right system for my house. I wanted it installed as quickly as possible after we had a break in. It was installed the next day! Tim showed up..."

Amy Hoo.

"Very quick job, next day installation, good communication with sales person Eric. Next day Tamim showed up in our house and did a quick, professional and clean job with clear explanation and..."

Natalie M.

"Could not be happier with our new alarm system. It is user friendly and was easily adapted to suit our needs. Our Technician (Rabah) went above and beyond to ensure that our system was installed..."

Barry Snider.

"I’m very happy with the service CSP has provided, the discussion I had by email, before the installation of the system, was really helpful for finding what would be the best and the most efficient..."

Loïc W.

"Tamim came extra early to accommodate my doctor’s appointment that day. Unfortunately, some of my other installations were running late (cable, HVAC), Tamim stayed later than he was supposed to..."

Nicole.

"Canadian Security Professionals is a wonderful company to deal with. The team was very knowledgeable and educated me about the product and I felt more comfortable to use the alarm system. It is..."

Angela.

"We’re so glad we did our research and selected CSP! Incredible service from initial to the installation. Both representatives were professional, patient and educated us on how the products..."

Angeline Shawn.

"I would highly recommend CSP. The entire process was very easy and headache free. "

Francisco Peria.

"Excellent service from original contact, who immediately responded to my queries, to providing a quote based on my needs, and the professional installer. System is everything I wanted and then some...."

Luke Desimone.

"Had good communication with the sales person. He explained everything in detail. There was no hidden charges. Everything was straight forward. And the technician was super helpful, professional and..."

Ajay Mathews.

"Installer’s work was exceptionally neat and clean. I’m looking forward to having him install my security system at our cottage as well. The sales person was excellent. I will be pleased and..."

Phil Wiseman.

"Excellent experience! Thorough, professional and patient technician.. Thank you very much. We won’t hesitate to recommend you. "

Jason McMaster.

"I just switched from a well-know security firm to Canadian Security Professionals. The change over was done exceedingly well, the installation was quick and professional and service has been great...."

Eric.

"CSP has exceeded my expectations in both customer service and system quality. The pre sales interactions were handled very professionally and with a keen interest in helping me obtain a security..."

Adam H.

"Just wanted to say thanks for coordinating the install and just say that the installer did an excellent job and I would recommend your service. The installer was very patient and did everything to..."

Aldo.

"From the inital phone call consulation with Jennifer M., she was very knowledgeable and professional. I even had my spouse speak with her in order to help us make this important decision somewhat..."

Bob & Shauna.

"I want to say Thank You for all of your patience, and help. I downloaded the manual for my Simon XT Security System.. Everything is working perfectly. I went to previous employer today (I am retired)..."

From Jan and Bob.

"The installation was great, Equipment seems to be perfect, Your self and the installer was very Professional, courteous and a Pleasure to have met. I could not say enough about the Installer, I can..."

Skye’s Fashion Jewelry.

"I would like to take this opportunity to tell you how pleased I am with the excellent customer service I recently received from your technician Tamim. I wanted you to know that his patience, courtesy..."

Catherine N.

"Hi Jennifer, Great experience ! Rabah was absolutely amazing , very pleasant , friendly and fast. Explained everything very well to me and my hubby. We are very impressed with your outstanding..."

Renata.

"Just a quick note to commend Rabah who installed our alarm on Monday, Oct. 21, 2013. We are very pleased with his installation. He accommodated us, choosing the best possible location for the unit,..."

Joesph & Dee.

"Just had my alarm system set up today, and the gentleman that set it up was absolutely amazing. So kind and professional, my husband and I were truly blown away by the customer service we received..."

Kristina Kamber.

"I recently had a system installed at my house. So far, the system appears to be working great, easy to use and is a real peace of mind. I hope it continues this way. I would like to comment on the..."

Pierre Jean.

"The alarm system is all that I expected. The installation guy was polite and helpful. Thanks again for your help. I’m confident that I made the right choice in going with your company. "

Ed Doherty.

"We are very excited about making the switch. I really like the idea that the home will not only be monitored for burglars but also for fire and the fact that we will finally have a keypad (so my..."

Susie.

"As we were looking into purchasing a home security system, we got in touch with Jennifer Morgan. Throughout the entire process, Jennifer was extremely helpful and went above and beyond our..."

Rob and Sherry P.

"You will be delighted to know that both Tamim and I exchanged good words about you. We both agreed your enthusiasm and ability to compromise wins business. For example, I was dealing with 3 other..."

Raymond.

"Thank you for all the help with our alarm system quote helping us grasp the vital distinctions between the various models and monitoring services available. The installation team you sent were..."

Cliff.
Canadian Security Professionals Logo

Head Office Address:

911 Golf Links Road #114,
Ancaster, ON L9K 1H9

Phone: 1-877-494-9911

Email:

info@cspalarms.ca

Hours of Operation:

Monday to Thursday: 8:00 AM to 9:00 PM

Friday: 8:00 AM to 7:00 PM

Saturday: 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM (EST)

Press option 1 to reach our 24/7 Monitoring Centres