Ensuring your Families Safety Beyond Insurance Part 2: Fire Safety and Escape Planning
By: Mary Thompson, Capstone Brokerage President, May 9, 2015
Your home is a place where family gathers to live life, sleep, and prepare for everyday outings. Your home is where memories are made, life happens, and where the majority of Americans spend a great deal of their time. From an insurance perspective, it is not only smart to know different ways to exit your home but also to be prepared by enacting a family escape plan in the event of an emergency situation, especially a fire. Homeowners insurance covers and protects your belongings but not your families. Be proactive in protecting your loved ones by creating a Fire Escape Plan.
Last month I discussed the dire need for having a fire prevention checklist in your home. I would like to elaborate on that topic to include a family action plan in the event of a fire in the home. Remember your ability to get out of a fire depend greatly on advance warnings from working smoke alarms and advanced family planning. The National Fire Protection Association explains the need for a fire escape plan for families in depth here.
Family Fire Escape Plan tips:
– It is smart to make the safety plan as a family.
– Create an escape plan that is easy for everyone to understand.
– Choose an outside meeting place such as a neighbors home, light pole, mailbox, etc., which is far enough away from the home to allow for safety but close enough that all members are able to meet there.
– Be sure all family members know how to dial 9-1-1 and know their address.
– Have young children know the basics of stop, drop and roll.
– Be sure family members practice your families escape plan in a “fire drill” manner.
– Be sure young children are removed from the home.
– Prepare as a parent or guardian as to how your family will be responsible for each of the members in the family.
In addition, the National Fire Protection Association has also created a simple guide to creating a fire escape plan. This is a way to not only create your own fire escape plan, as well as keep it non-threating to children. Allowing children to be involved in the process.
Remember, a house fire can spread quickly leaving families very little time to escape. Creating and implementing a Family Fire Escape Plan will help prepare all individuals in the event of a fire on what to do to reach safety quickly. The way a family prepares for a fire in a home can depend greatly on the type of dwelling the family resides in. For example, a single family home may have many different exit choices whereas an apartment of high-rise building has limited options. In some cases having an approved fire safety plan can even save individuals money on their homeowners insurance. Keep in mind that your plan will also need to be tweaked and changed as children age, or a family grows.
Additional Resources:
Fire Escape Planning Fact Sheet (Red Cross)
A Home Fire Escape Plan can save your life (Red Cross)
A Smart Fire Safety Plan (Parents)
Homeowners Insurance is meant to protect individual’s property in the event of damage, loss, or theft. A fire safety plan is an extension of homeowners insurance which ensures the protection of the most important contents f in a home, the family living in it. Be smart and prepared, should you need assistance with fire safety in your home use the resources provided. WE hope your family never has a fire in the home but know if you do we will help to navigate the insurance side of the loss. It is up to you to protect your family and a fire safety escape plan is a great way to start. Next month I will be focusing on pool safety and accident prevention. Stay in the “know” and follow Capstones Insights, here.
