Insurance Corner: Your home fire escape plan

by Martha Marton

Taking the time to develop and practice a home fire escape plan is time well spent. The valuable seconds you save during a fire can make the difference between a simple inconvenience and a tragedy.

Statistics show that most residential fires occur between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m. when people are asleep. It has been proven that exit drills reduce chances of panic and injury in fires and that trained and informed people have a much better chance to survive fires in their home.

An early warning or a fire is crucial, so be sure that you have properly located smoke detectors and change the batteries every year. (If you always change the batteries on the same date, your birthday for instance, you will be less likely to forget.).

Ideally, bedroom doors should be closed while people are sleeping. It takes fire 10 to 15 minutes to burn through a wooden door. That's 10 to 15 minutes more for the inhabitant to escape. Family members should visit each bedroom and figure out two escape routes: one normally used and one to use if that exit is blocked.

Once an alarm sounds, the goal is for everyone to leave the home as quickly as possible. Leave the firefighting to the professionals. Needless to say, no personal possession is worth risking a life.

Test all closed doors before opening them. Feel the back of the door. If it is hot, don't open it. Turn and go to the second route of exit. If the door is not hot, open slowly but be prepared to slam it closed again if there are flames. Smoke and heat rise so the best place to find fresher, cooler air is near the floor. If a person is caught in a building filled with smoke, they should drop to their hands and knees and crawl to the nearest exit.

If no exit is possible, keep the door closed and stuff clothing under the door and cover any vents to keep the smoke out of the room. Since doors hold back smoke and firefighters are adept at rescue, the chances of survival are excellent. If there's a phone, call in your exact location to the fire department even if they are on the scene. Wait at the window and signal with a sheet or flashlight or something visible.

A special meeting place should be established a safe distance from the house. It could be a mailbox, the neighbor's driveway or a large tree in the yard. Whatever it is, it must be something that is stationary and won't be moved (such as a car). It will help stop family members from wandering around the neighborhood looking for one another, or worse, being tempted to re-enter the burning house for one thought to be trapped inside.

Once outside at the special meeting place, a person can be sent to the neighbor's to call 9-1-1. If anyone is missing, give that information to the fire department immediately and tell them where the probable location of the missing person could be. Under no circumstances should anyone reenter the burning building.

For additional information, contact Martha Marton at Tupling Insurance Brokers Limited (705)458-8111 martha marton@tuplinginsurance. com

Tupling Insurance Brokers, 1070 Innisfil Beach Road, Innisfil, ON L9S 4T9 (705) 431-5585

Martha Marton, CAIB, CRM, Registered Insurance Broker, Tupling Insurance Brokers Limited