Imagine you wake in the middle of the night, groggy, disoriented and unsure what exactly disturbed your sleep.
You think you left the television on. There’s light coming from the hallway, noise all around and your dogs are acting quite strange piled up in your bedroom instead of sleeping soundly in the living room like normal.
Curious as to what’s going on in the living room you look down the hall. Instead of seeing the television was left on, flames fill the hallway, and a strange sensation fills you. You and your family must get out of the house.
This is the scene Mark Best awoke to early Monday morning.
Fortunately for him, his wife and their pets, they recently changed the batteries in their smoke detectors after reading a story reminding them the devices need to be checked regularly.
But outside of smoke detectors, what other precautions should you take to ensure your family can escape a structure fire without harm?
Outside of purchasing a fire safe for all of the essential documentation, such as birth certificates and social security cards, fire extinguishers are a wise investment. The fire safe will ensure you don’t need to worry about grabbing documents on the way out to safety.
However, if you have fire extinguishers don’t try to use them to put out a fire that is already out of control. Basically, if you wake to your home in flames, just get out of the house.
But, if while cooking, a pot or pan catches fire, then a fire extinguisher would most likely take care of it.
Outside of that, it’s best to have a fire escape plan.
What that will entail is a designated meeting point, once everyone is out of the house safely. This will enable everyone to know if someone was left inside.
And finally, once you’re out of the house, don’t go back in for any reason.
Documents, electronics and any valuables can be replaced.