Helping them retrieve items from their home once the fire was out was very heart wrenching. Through all of this however, looking over across the street where their three children were playing and laughing was enough to bring a smile to your face through all this craziness. They are young enough that they don't understand the devastation behind the front door so they were enjoying being outside after dark playing with the other neighborhood kids. That fire could have turned very tragic in only a matter of seconds and watching all those kids playing and laughing made me stop and thank God for keeping everyone safe tonight. After going home I hugged my kids a little bit tighter because you never know when something could happen.
The only good thing that came out of this tragedy tonight was our renewed awareness of home safety. My kids and I talked about what we should have in our home for safety and what some other things to think about might be. After discussions and a lot of surfing the web, here is a list of things we came up with for our family.
- Check the batteries in every smoke detector often (sources we found said every 6 moths)
- Place smoke detectors near bedrooms
- Test smoke detectors each month to make sure they are working properly
- Keep hallways and exits empty for easy evacuation.
- Have an ABC type fire extinguishers on each level of your home and know how and when to use them.
- Have an escape plan and a meeting place
- Practice your escape plan
- Be sure your home number is visible from the street so emergency vehicles can find you.
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| Infographic from LibertyMutual.com |
Whether your child is 2 or 20 you need to continue to reinforce home safety to them. Lead by example and your children will follow.
Do you have an escape plan and a family meeting place?
Such a great informative post. I need to check all mine TODAY!!! Glad everyone is okay in your neighborhood.
ReplyDeleteMy husband had a great idea when we checked ours he also decided we need to replace the batteries that we have in the "junk drawer", just to be on the safe side that they are not old and won't go bad quickly.
DeleteNo I am not prepared as we should be. Will need to plan ours soon.
ReplyDeleteI think everyone on our street has now put fire safety at the top of our priority list where it should be. It's as easy as adding to your calendar dates to check batteries. The trick however is to follow through with actually doing it. Good luck on getting your plan together for the safety of your family.
DeleteI'm not as prepared as I should be but this was a great list to get me going! Thanks :)
ReplyDeleteGood luck on getting your list going and being on your way to being prepared.
DeleteWow this just made me realize that we're not ready for anything like this! We don't have a fire extinguisher here so I'll have to talk to hubby real soon about being prepared. Glad you're okay.
ReplyDeleteIn talking to all the neighbors on our street it was crazy how many of us were not prepared. I bet if I poll everyone today we all will be.
DeleteI commend you for posting this. Very informative indeed. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteIf this post helps to have just one more family prepared it was well worth it.
DeleteOh, that's scary!! Glad they were okay. My mom's house caught fire when she was a kid--my grandpa got drunk and poured boat motor oil in the fireplace: BOOM. Thankfully they were all okay, but the house was messed up. As much by the water and smoke/fire. This makes me want to go check the detectors in my house now!
ReplyDeleteThe firefighters we spoke to said a lot of times the water damage is just as bad and sometimes worse than the fire damage. If you haven't checked your detectors do so soon.
DeleteGreat information, thank you for sharing. I have taught our kids about fire safety, and tried to be as prepared as possible. I really need to do a update fire drill, we also have to prepare for possible earth quakes. As a parent, a scrapbooker and family historian I have a lot that would be impossible to replace.
ReplyDeleteI agree that you should update your drill, its always good to make sure your drills will work. We don't have earth quakes here in Texas but I would suspect you would need drill for those as well.
DeleteWhat a great post! We actually are prepared... but a lot of families aren't, we see tragedy's all the time. We just gotta work on our 3 year old. Thanks for posting this, I'm going to have to share and tweet this!
ReplyDeleteCinella @ The Mami Blog
#Commentathon
Good for you Cinella! It is sad that people don't make sure their families are as safe as they can be and just a simple plan and practice can make such a difference.
DeleteSuch good advice and a great reminder!! We have a plan but have not practiced in a while. I know what we will be doing tonight.
ReplyDelete~Sharon @Sharon the Moments
Hopefully all went smoothly with your practice.
DeleteThank you for sharing, yes, we do have a plan.
ReplyDeleteThat's awesome Katie that you already have a plan in place.
DeleteWow, that "smartphone" fact really hit me in the face - I don't have children myself yet, but I work with kids for my profession. What a great reminder post; thank you!
ReplyDeleteI know that "smartphone" fact surprised me. Maybe someone needs to create an app for that! LOL
DeleteLast February two Twitter friends lost their apartments in a major fire, one lost a beloved cat (although his brofur CJ survived). This is a good post for folks to read and remember. - especially those with families. We have sevan cats and herding them out in a fire will be a challenge!
ReplyDeleteThat is something to think about. We have talked about our kids getting out but we didn't even discuss the dogs (we have 3). They are part of our family and we need to account for them to. Thanks for reminding me of our four legged family members.
DeleteWe have a plan for our family and we practice every once and a while just to make sure the kids know what to do. Our smoked detector just this week started beeping and say low battery. Never hurts to be prepared.
ReplyDeleteIt's great that you have a plan in place and practice. Thanks for stopping by.
DeleteThank you so much for the great reminder, the new year is a great time to make sure your family is prepared for any type of disaster. I'm glad no one was hurst in the fire, and it sounds like you are an amazing neighbor!
ReplyDelete~Terri
Eco-Crazy Mom
Thanks Terri. We are very lucky to live in a neighborhood where we all know each other and each others kids and are willing to help out when needed.
DeleteThank you for the reminder. I need to do a escape plan and practice it with my 5 year old. It is good to be prepared.
ReplyDeleteThat will be fun with a 5 year old. Mine got very serious about acting everything out at that age so it make it very fun.
DeleteI'm so glad you were safe. Thanks for the safety tips! What a frightening experience to live through!
ReplyDeleteCreate With Joy
http://create-with-joy.com
Yes it was frightening for it to have been so close. It really makes you stop and think about all the what ifs. I think everyone in our neighborhood it a little more prepared than what they were.
DeleteWe need to go over the plan with my toddler now that she is old enough to follow directions. Great reminder!
ReplyDeleteYou can make it into a game with your little one. I found that when I made things like this into games or if we sang songs about it they remembered it so much more. Mine are 23, 19, and 14 and they still remember all the songs and game things we did for safety and chores.
DeleteGood reminder and advice! I watched a TV program this week about a family not so fortunate - 3 children and the grandparents were lost in a fire on Christmas morning last year... ;-{ Your neighbors were fortunate! (here via Blogelina -)
ReplyDeleteLynden
http://aneleganttouch-lynden.blogspot.com
https://www.facebook.com/pages/An-Elegant-Touch-/162889457132788
That is so sad to have lost all of them like that. My neighbors were very fortunate. Stuff can be replaced people can't. Thanks for stopping by.
DeleteGrowing up, it was always clear that we would meet in our garden if something like a fire happened. It's important to have a plan!
ReplyDeleteThat was a great plan to meet up in the garden if anything should happen. A place to meet up once you are out of the house is so very important.
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