Practice your fire escape plan

The Newberry Fire Department is working to educate the public on the importance of having a fire safety plan in place. This year marks the 100th anniversary of Fire Prevention Week with this week, October 9-15, known as Fire Prevention Week in the United States.

Our department is busy year-round sharing fire safety messages within the community.

This year’s campaign for Fire Prevention Week is: “Fire won’t wait. Plan your escape” and works to educate everyone about simple, but important actions they can take to keep themselves and those around them safe from home fires.

The campaign emphasizes the importance of developing home escape plans with all members of the family and practicing them regularly.

Often, we practice drills at the workplace and school, but not at home where many emergencies occur.

While we can teach young children to get down low in the fire safety house, what a smoke alarm sounds like and ask if they have working smoke alarms at home, the best teaching moments are at home with parents, grandparents and relatives working and practicing with them to make sure they have a plan in place.

An important acronym to remember, is E.D.I.T.H. which stands for: “Exit Drills in the Home.”

Finding all doors and windows that lead to the outside as part of your fire safety plan, is important. Given that every home is different, every home fire escape plan will also be different.

Windows and doors with security bars, grilles or window guards should have emergency release devices for escape.

Knowing two ways out of every room is also an important piece of a home fire escape plan.

A secondary escape route may be a window, rather than a door. Emergency ladders for multi-story homes may also be needed.

Plans should account for special escape needs such as young children, older adults or people with disabilities. A meeting place should be chosen for each fire escape plan that is a safe distance in front of the home where everyone should meet.

Once out of the home, never re-enter the home. Make sure everyone knows how to dial 9-1-1 once safely out of the home.

If unable to escape the home, seal vents and cracks around doors with a wet cloth prior to calling 9-1-1 to tell them where you are and if possible, to signal from a window with a flashlight or light-colored cloth.

Fire is fast. It only takes minutes for thick, black smoke to fill your home. You may have as little as two minutes or less to safely escape a home fire from the time the smoke alarm sounds. Your ability to get out of a home during a fire depends on early warning from smoke alarms and advance planning.

The Newberry Fire Department is always here for you! For tips on your fire safety plan or any other safety questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to us at 803-321-1030.