Teach children basic fire safety such as check a door for heat, crawl below smoke and stop, drop and roll.
Designing a home safety plan is an activity the entire family can and should participate in. Including children in the planning will help them feel more confident about what do in the event of an emergency inside or outside of the home. Begin by creating a list of possible emergencies that could impact your home. For example, if you live in an area where wildfires exist or seasonal flooding occurs you might need to create slightly different safety plans. After you identify possible emergencies, begin designing your home's safety plan. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
1. Draw a map of your home. If your home has multiple levels, draw each level on a separate sheet of paper. Indicate on the map all doors, windows and other available exits. Mark where fire extinguishers and emergency kits are kept. Indicate where shut off switches are for any gas, electricity and water sources in your home.
2. Locate a place to meet up with family members outside of the home. This could be at a neighbor's house or by a mailbox. Your meeting place should be far enough from the home to be clear of fire or other hazardous events.
3. Create a plan for emergencies that may take place when members of your family are not at home. Create an emergency contact list for each family member that includes contact information for work, school, friends and relatives. Post the list in your home and have family members carry it on them at all times. Choose an alternate place to meet up with your family, such as the home of a relative or a favorite restaurant, in case it is not possible to get back to the house during such things as a natural disaster or national emergency.
4. Create an emergency kit. Think about everything you might need to survive for at least three days and what documents you would need to have quick access to if you were to have to evacuate your home. Include three gallons of water per family member and additional water if you have pets. Also include in the kit nonperishable food items, cookware--such as a pot and can opener--medications and copies of prescriptions, first aid supplies, spare clothing, flashlights and extra batteries, a crank or battery-operated radio, hygiene items such as soap and shampoo, waterproof matches, copies of important documents--such as birth certificates and bank statements--and cash.
5. Practice your safety plan for different emergencies, such as fire, flooding and earthquakes. Make certain all family members know their escape routes, meeting place and where the emergency kit is located. Review your safety plan every six months to make sure children remember where to go and what to do in the event of an emergency. Teach children dial 9-1-1.
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