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Show Prepare plan for safe fire escape f What would you do if you heard the crackle of fire in your kitchen right now? What would you do if the smell of smoke awoke you in the middle of the night, while the rest of the family was sound asleep? People who don't have well-thought-out and well-rehearsed plans to meet such emergency situations are risking the lives of their loved ones and themselves, them-selves, the National Fire Protection Pro-tection Association warns. The first rule of safety from fire is escape. It's important to get everyone out of the house at the very first sign of fire. This means that some advance ad-vance thinking and planning are necessary. NFPA studies show that the majority of the 6,500 lives lost in a single year in home fires are lost needlessly primarily because of failure to pre-plan and rehearse escape procedures. Right now, take time to prepare pre-pare a home life safety plan for your entire family. Make sure each member of the household including each .child knows exactly what to do. Then hold a family drill, and repeat these drills at various times of the year, during both daylight and nightime hours, to keep your family's fire escape plan "fresh" in everyone's mind. NFPA offers these pointers to help you plan your fire escape es-cape measures: Carefully figure out at least two routes to the outside from every room in the house, especially es-pecially bedrooms. Allow for blocking of stairways and halls by fire. Since many home fires break out after the family is asleep, make it a rule to close bedroom bed-room doors at night. These closed doors will hold back flame and smoke, allowing vital vi-tal extra time for escape. For escape from upper floors plan to use porch and garage roofs, ladders, or trees as ways down to safety. Be sure exit windows work easily so that even a child can open them and see that windows are low and large enough to climb through. Pick an outside assembly point, well away from the house, where everyone in the family will meet. Emphasize the rule "Once out, Stay out! Make sure everyone knows how to summon the fire department depart-ment from a street alarm box or a neighbor's telephone. First get everyone out of the house, then call for the fire department. |