Safety in the Home

PLAN AHEAD FOR SAFETY

Prevention is always the best cure. You can guard against a fire by taking a few simple precautions.

  Never Leave Young Children  Unattended
 
  Put Away Matches  Keep matches, lighters, or other smoking materials up high, where small children can't reach them.

  Give Space Heaters Space Keep space heaters at least 3 feet (1 meter) from anything that can burn, such as furniture, curtains, and paper. And keep children away from space heaters, too.

BE KITCHEN WISE

   Never leave cooking unattended. Set a timer to remind you to turn everything off.

  Turn Pot Handles In You can prevent dangerous spills of hot food if you turn pot handles so they point inward, instead of hanging over the edge of the stove.

  Use Microwaves Safely Never put anything into a microwave oven unless you know it is safe. Paper, glass, and microwave-proof earthenware are safe. Metals, including aluminum foil, are not.

Keep children away from the microwave when you remove food. Be careful when removing covers from microwave containers: Escaping steam can cause severe burns. And cool the food sufficiently before serving it to children.

PLAN YOUR ESCAPE

 Have a family escape plan.  Know where to go in case of an emergency. Know where to meet!

  Know Two Ways Out Have two ways out of every room, in case one escape route is blocked by smoke or flames.

Go over the plan with the children. Make sure every child knows where to meet outside.

IN CASE OF FIRE

  Get out! Stay out!  If you smell smoke, hear a smoke detector, or see flames, get everybody out! Don't wait for any reason. Go outside and count heads to make sure that everybody is there.


  Call 911 Take everyone to a neighbor's or a safe place and call 911. Give the dispatcher the complete address of the fire and stay on the phone until you're told to hang up.

  Do Not Go Back Inside!  Make sure no one goes back inside for any reason. Keep everyone a safe distance from the fire and away from the fire fighters.

  If You Can't Get To Others Inside the House If you can do it safely, get everyone out right away. If heavy smoke or flames are blocking the way to the bedrooms, get out and call the fire department. Tell them that the others are still inside and where they are.

EMERGENCY TIPS

  Stop, Drop, and Roll If your clothes catch fire: 1) Stop, don't run. 2) Drop to the floor and cover your face with your hands. 3) Roll over and over until the fire goes out. Babysitters may have to help young children do this.

  Cool A Burn The best first aid for burns is to run cool water over the burned area for 10 to 15 minutes.

  Crawl Low Under Smoke If you encounter smoke as you are escaping, use another way out. If you must escape through smoke, remember that cleaner air is always near the floor, because smoke rises. Get down on your hands and knees and crawl to an exit, telling the others with you to follow you.

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