Protecting Your Children From Fire

October is National Fire Safety Month so it’s a good time to review a fire safety checklist and educate your children on the dangers of fire.

The following are a few tips for your home:

• Install and properly maintain smoke detectors in your home. These should be placed on each floor level, and in or just outside each bedroom. Test the smoke alarms each month. Replace the batteries at least once a year and replace the smoke alarms every ten years, or as recommended by the manufacturer.
• Program 911 on your speed dial, and teach you children how to use 911 for emergencies only.
• Create a fire escape plan for your family and stage some mock fire drills. Review this plan with your children on a regular basis. Establish a designated meeting place outside the home, preferably at a neighbor’s house where you can call 911. Make sure they understand that once they are safely outside they should never go back into the house for anything! 
• Show children how to crawl low on the floor, below the smoke, to get out of the house in case of a fire. Also, demonstrate how to stop, drop to the ground, and roll if their clothes catch on fire.
• Buy a flame-retardant blanket, and for second-floor rooms, invest in a chain link ladder for use as a fire escape. These can be found at your local hardware store.
• Have a portable fire extinguisher easily accessible in high-fire hazard areas such as the kitchen, utility room, and near the fireplace.
• Ensure that extension cords are UL-listed and connected to a fuse. Do not connect one extension cord to another. Electrical outlets are designed for a certain amount of power demand. The use of multiple outlet extension cords can easily overload a circuit.
• Never place a halogen floor lamp near draperies, clothing, or other combustible materials and remove them entirely from children’s bedrooms. Children may play with lamps or place combustibles such as stuffed toys or clothing too close to the bulb.
• Do not leave children alone around open flames, stoves, or candles.
• Keep matches, gasoline, lighters, paint thinners, and other flammable materials out of children’s reach, away from sources of heat, and outside of the home.