Our Home Fire and Safety Checklist with First Alert

Thank you First Alert for sponsoring this post. October is National Fire Prevention Month and is the perfect time to gather your family and discuss fire safety.

As a mom fire safety has always been in the back of my mind, as moms it’s in our nature to imagine every danger our family could face and plan on how we will avoid or overcome it.  However, my fear of a fire-related emergency was heightened several years ago when my best friend had a house fire in her apartment.  She was a first-time mom, who ran out with her infant in tow to pick her husband up from work, on the way home she got stuck in traffic from the firefighters blocking off streets.  Come to find out it was her multi-unit house that was on fire, the fire had started in the unit next to hers which shared a wall with her baby’s nursery.  We are thankful that she wasn’t home and that everyone is safe, but from the moment I got the phone call from her sister that night I have moved fire safety from the back of my mind to front and center.

We have since bought our first home, and installing First Alert fire alarms and Carbon Monoxide detectors were the first thing we did prior to moving a single box into the house.  Having a plan and the right alarms put my mommy brain at ease and with October being National Fire Prevention Month, I figured it was the perfect time for me to share our story and how we plan with you so that you can gather your family together and come up with your own fire safety plan. 

My Family’s Fire Safety Checklist

1. Install Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarms:  Make sure you have alarms installed on every level of our home, as well as in every bedroom.

According to the National Fire Protection Association, 3 out of 5 home fire deaths occur in homes with no working smoke alarms.  Make sure you test your alarms regularly.

Also, remember to change the batteries in your alarms at least every 6 months.  If your busy like me and constantly running out of batteries, First Alert has you covered!  Our First Alert Alarms are 10 year sealed battery alarms which eliminate the need to keep replacing batteries. (these do not last forever and need to be replaced every 10 years)

2. Have a Plan and Make Sure Everyone In The Family Knows It:  Create an emergency escape plan with two ways out of each room in your home and decide on a meeting spot that is a safe distance away from your home so that everyone can be accounted for.  Practice your escape plan at least twice a year to ensure that everyone knows how to exit the house and where to meet as a family.

3. Keep Fire Extinguishers in your Home: Did you know the #1 cause of fires is unattended cooking?  Be mindful when you have something on the stove or in the toaster, but also make sure you have fire extinguishers in your home.  Having a fire extinguisher close by could mean the difference between an accident and a tragedy.  Fire Extinguidhers should be kept on every level of your home especially in the kitchen, however it is also good to keep them in laundry rooms, garages, near bedrooms, and by the grill.

Print out the First Alert Fire Safety Checklist here and create a family plan, and make sure you add trusted and reliable protection from First Alert to your home so that if the unthinkable happens, you are alerted right away and everyone knows what to do safely. 

To help your children get involved in creating your family’s fire safety plan, print out these First Alert Junior Fire Marshall Badges so they know they have an important role in the safety process. 

 

Have you created a family fire safety plan yet?  How did the practice go?