Fire safety plan will help keep loved ones safe

Winter is just around the corner and with that, folks are starting to use their wood stoves, fire places and pellet stoves.

Because home fires are so devastating and sometimes cause loss of life, it is very important to have a home evacuation plan in place and frequently practiced ensuring that everyone knows, especially children, what to do in the event of a home fire.

Below is a plan that my family used.

1. Carefuly examine each room, analyze what is the quickest and safest way out of each room. Include in that analysis an alternative escape route.

2. Practice fire drills so that each family member knows exactly what to do and where to go.

3. Have each family member get in the habit of feeling the door before opening it to see if it feels hot; if it feels hot, don't open it.

Make sure that children understand that heat means that there is fire on the other side of the door.

4. Have children practice crawling to their escape route. Smoke will rise to the ceiling.

If they try to walk, they will be overwhelmed by smoke inhalation caused by chemical vapors in the air formed by man-made materials used in the home.

5. Develop a special place for all family members to meet outside of the home so that you know immediately if someone is missing.

6. It is very important that children know what firefighters and police look like, so that if they enter the home, children will not hide in fear of them.

7. When firebreaks out, get out of the home, then call the fire department using your cell phone or a neighbor's phone. The time spent on the phone could cost you your life.

Note: Your family's safety is far more important than a personal thing.

Family members can't be replaced but everything else can be.

If you would like to share a cleaning idea or concept with the reading audience, call Ed at NWES (255-2266) or send them to the Bonner County Daily Bee, 310 Church St., Sandpoint, Idaho, 83864; Attn: What Would Ed Do?

Copy written by Edmond E. Madan, certified forensic, fire, flood, mold inspection and remediation contractor. Ed is the chief executive officer of Northwest Executive and Environmental Services, LLC.