The Importance of Practicing Fire Drills at Home
“This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company. All opinions are 100% mine.”
October is Fire Prevention Month and while we have shared some fire safety tips in the past, today we want to talk about the importance of practicing fire drill at home. We will be sharing our Fire Safety and Firefighter Tot School unit soon (just tying up a few things) so be on the lookout for that early next week!
As children, we all practiced fire drills at school. Sometimes we knew about them ahead of time and other times they were quite the surprise.
As adults, you may experience occasional fire drills at the workplace.
It’s important, at all stages of life, to be aware of fire safety procedures.
So why don’t we practice fire drills at home?
On Saturday, October 15, 2016, Nationwide Make Safe Happen, with members of the Make Safe Happen Advisory Council will launch a new national observance day: Home Fire Drill Day.
Families across the country are encouraged to practice their home fire drills, ensuring that American families – especially children – know the escape plan and are prepared in the event of a home fire.
While a home fire could happen at anytime, they’re more common in the Fall and Winter. A home fire, in the United States, happens every 86 seconds. And yet, many parents say that their kids wouldn’t know what to do if the smoke alarm started to go off.
Most homes should have at least one working smoke alarm. Smoke alarms should be tested monthly and the batteries should be replaced yearly. If you have a 10 year battery, you should still test your smoke alarm monthly.
Smoke alarms do expire and should be replaced every 10 years or as recommended by the manufacturer.
If your smoke alarm is “chirping” at you, that’s an indication that the batteries need to be replaced immediately.
Smoke alarms are only one component of fire safety at home. Another important component is a fire drill.
Home fire drills should be practiced at least twice per year, ideally one during the day and one during the night. You may even want to practice when the weather isn’t great but that’s entirely up to you!
Home fire drills don’t have to be boring and you could make a game out of it to introduce important steps. Another helper in the process for home fire drills is the Make Safe Happen app.
* Easy to follow instructions take the guess work of doing a home fire drill,
* Tips and advice are focused on your children
* A built-in timer will reinforce the need to get out in two minute or less – the average length of time to escape most home fires.
* Through the app, parents and caregivers are prompted to schedule their next family fire drill and learn more
The app is available through the Google Play Store and the iTunes App Store.
Make Safe Happen and participate in Home Fire Drill Day to help keep your family safe and prepared.
Kori
Latest posts by Kori (see all)
- Sleep Hygiene Tips for Improved Sleep Quality for Neurodiverse Families - September 11, 2024
