Fire Escape Plan - Saving Tulsa and OKC Families with Advanced Planning

Fires have damaged or destroyed countless homes in Tulsa and Oklahoma City. With a fire, every second counts. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) notes that “your ability to get out depends on advanced warning from smoke alarms and advanced planning.” Mac Systems can provide smoke alarms in Tulsa and OKC, but the advanced planning still remains with families.

Having a Fire Escape Plan is vital to the safety of your family in the event of a fire. Here are a few tips from the NFPA and the U.S. Fire Administration about planning an effective fire escape route.

The NFPA recommends that families with children draw out a floor plan of their home, marking two ways out of every room, as well as marking the location of each smoke alarm. Make sure the escape windows and doors open easily. If the windows in your home have security bars, make sure they have emergency release devices inside so that they can open immediately in the event of an emergency.
Choose a safe place to meet outside that is a safe distance from your home where everyone can meet after they have escaped from the home. This could be a stop sign, a neighbor’s house, or at the end of the driveway. Mark the location on your escape plan. Make sure your house numbers and street number are clearly visible from the road so that emergency personnel can quickly identity your Tulsa or Oklahoma City home.

Ensure that children know how to escape on their own in case you can’t help them. Make sure family members with disabilities, infants, or small children have someone assigned to assist them in the fire drill and in case of an emergency.

Practice your fire escape plan twice a year, during the day and at night. Escape first and then call 911. Once you are outside your house, never go back into a burning building. Make sure every household member knows how to call 911 or the local fire department. The USFA noted that children should be taught not to hide from firefighters.

Designing a basic fire escape plan can save your family when it only takes minutes for a home to be engulfed in flames.

For more fire escape planning tips and fire safety, visit http://www.nfpa.org/safety-information/for-consumers/escape-planning/basic-fire-escape-planning and http://www.usfa.fema.gov/campaigns/smokealarms/escapeplans/ or talk to your local fire detection and suppression specialists at http://macsystems.co/.