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Simple Steps to Make Your Home Fire Safe
 Find how to fire-proof your home, protect your valuables and plan a safe evacuation.
Fire safety Equipment: Must-haves for every home
 | Smoke alarms save lives. Install a smoke alarm outside each sleeping area, If people sleep with doors closed, install smoke alarms inside sleeping areas, too. |
 | Get fire extinguishers in your home. Get training from the fire department on how to use them. |
 | Consider installing an automatic fire sprinkler system in your home. |
Protect your home
 | Turn off electricity and water. Turn off electricity at the main fuse or breaker |
 | Remember. houses do not explode due to air pressure differences. Damage happens when wind gets inside a home through a broken window, door, or damaged roof. | Protect your valuables
 | Move objects to safer areas of your home. Move television sets, computers, stereo and electronic equipment, and easily moveable appliances like a microwave oven to higher levels of your home and away from windows. Wrap them in sheets, blankets, or burlap. |
 | Make a visual or written record of all of your household possessions. Record model and serial numbers. This list could help you prove the value of what you owned, if those possessions are damaged or destroyed, and can assist you to claim deductions on taxes. |
Emergency Contact Card
Tell everyone in the household where emergency contact information is kept. Be sure to include an out-of-town contact. It may be easier to call out of the area if local phone lines are overloaded or out of service. Educate your children how and when to call your local Emergency Medical Services number for help.
Evacuation Plan
 | Coordinate your evacuation plan in advance. Ensure that you've tested the evacuation routes and that you have planned several in the instance of closed roads and routes. |
 | Find alternative fire escape routes. Determine at least two ways to escape from your home. Consider escape ladders for sleeping areas on the second or third floor. Learn how to use them and store them near the window. |
 | Select a location outside your home where everyone would meet after escaping. Practice your escape plan at least twice a year. |
Safety Tips in the event that a Fire Strikes Your Home
 | Once you are out, stay out! Call the fire department from a neighbor’s home. |
 | If you see smoke or fire in your first escape route, use your second way out. If you must exit through smoke, crawl low under the smoke to your exit. If you are escaping through a closed door, feel the door before opening it. If it is warm, use your second way out. |
 | If smoke, heat, or flames block your exit routes, stay in the room with the door closed. Signal for help using a bright-colored cloth at the window. If there is a telephone in the room, call the fire department and tell them where you are. |

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