Do you have a fire safety plan?

Some of you may remember that my brothers house burnt down in May of last year. He wasn't home at the time but his friend and house mate was home and asleep. His home was an older property and their fire alarms weren't hardwired and from what I remember the batteries went flat in the weeks before the fire. His housemate did not survive.

B and I along with my Aunty and cousin were left with the task of removing any salvageable items before looters got in and pilfered anything. You see some parts of the house were okay each, smoke damaged but the items were able to be recovered. We managed to spare a few sets of photo albums as well as some souvenirs from his recent overseas trips. We were even able to recover some of his mates stuff too for his family. It was strange going through the charcoaled remains of the house. We found old books where the pages were perfectly intact but the outside was burnt. It was odd. The heat from the fire was so much that side of his aluminium boat in the carport melted and the other side of it exploded sending melted aluminium across to the next door neighbours and shattering there windows.

 After the fire B and I talked about what we would do in case of a fire. We changed from key locking the screen doors in the house to ensure that there was a quick escape route in case of emergency. We check our hardwired fire alarms regularly, but I would like to get another one or two installed as all our fire alarms are in the hallway. They are placed directly outside all bedrooms, but I would like one or two on the other side of the house near the lounge room and on the other end of the kitchen.

Now that Caden is getting a little bit older I am planning on including him in our fire safety plan. I am not sure if Mahli will understand, but she will be included too.

I was looking around for a fire safety template and found this information here :

Create your family's home fire escape plan

Step 1:
Download the grid below to create your family's home fire escape plan. Draw your home floor plan on the grid, marking all the exits.

Step 2:
Get the children involved by asking them to help identify the two quickest and safest ways to get out of the house from every room, including upper floors.

Step 3:
Decide on an outside meeting place, such as the letterbox.

Step 4:
Practise your home fire escape plan regularly with the whole family.

Step 5:
Keep the plan handy (on the fridge) to remind everyone of the safe exits in case of fire.

You can find the downloadable PDF plan template there too.

They also have this fire safety checklist:

Home fire safety tips
•	Never leave cooking, heaters, open fires or candles unattended
•	Don't overload power boards
•	Keep electrical appliances in good working order
•	Ensure cigarette ash and butts are extinguished. Never smoke in bed
•	Do not dry clothing less than one metre from heaters
•	Clean lint filters on clothes dryers after every use and always let dryers complete the cool-down cycle
•	Store all matches and lighters out of reach of children
•	By law every home must have at least one working smoke alarm installed on each level of the house. Clean and test your alarms regularly and make sure they are working
•	Install a fire extinguisher and fire blanket and know how to use them
•	Have a home fire escape plan and practise it regularly
•	Never deadlock yourself inside the house. Keep keys in the lock when you are at home

The QLD Fire and Rescue website also has some really useful information.  Please take some time to check it out.
In my searching for information I also came across this newpaper article. It states that there have been 21 deaths to residential house fires between January 1st and December 15th 2011 in Queensland alone. And this study concludes that 49% of house fires fatalies midnight and 8am. 




I don't know if I am more aware of house fires occurring or if they have just been more common these past 12 months. But I do know there have been a lot in Queensland alone. There have just been too many house fire fatalities. I am not saying having a plan and completing the checklist regularly will prevent them, but it will surely help.

Do you have a fire safety plan?

I am linking up with Jess from Diary of a SAHM for IBOT and The Organised Housewife for Love it, Like it, Link it.