Stop, Drop and Roll - Fire Drills at Home

1/27/2021 (Permalink)

SERVPRO of Jefferson City will be faster to any size disaster in the event you have a home fire.  But to be completely honest with you, we'd much rather teach you some home safety tips to prevent us from having to clean up what remains of your fire ravaged home. Now is as good as time as any to begin fire drills with your family.  It will get your children interested in the change of routine and keep adults in practice as well. Practice exactly as you'd do it in real time. Define, step-by-step, what you expect your children to do.

• Start the fire safety training drill by sounding a smoke alarm, so children can recognize the beep as an early warning to fire.
• Leave everything behind and follow the escape route. They should never attempt to pick up toys and personal possessions, or look for their parents, siblings or pets. Sticking to the evacuation plan to get out safely is most important.
• Teach them to stay low to the floor, moving on their hands and knees, if there is smoke in their room. To avoid inhalation, instruct them to cover their face with a pillowcase or shirt.
• Show them how to crawl over to their bedroom door and touch the doorknob first. If it's not hot, they should proceed out the door and exit the house to the safe meeting place outside. If it's hot, they should go to their window and wave a shirt.
• Stop, drop and roll. Practice this important safety move so you can help prevent serious burns if your clothes are on fire.
• Repeat the plan until they have mastered it. With enough drills, you can avoid panic and confusion if a real fire strikes the home.

Talk about next steps, like calling 911. After you have gotten to your meeting space, talk to your children about calling 911. Children old enough to understand the phone should know how to call at the first sign of an emergency. But remember, kids can sometimes think it's funny to prank call 911, so stress to them that it is against the law and carries consequences.