Inspection Checklist
ALWAYS REMEMBER:
- Crawl low under smoke to exit.
- Get out and stay out.
- Have a meeting place outside.
- Practice kitchen safety.
- Check out cords and wires.
- Stop, Drop, and Roll if your clothes catch fire.
- Tell a grown-up if you find matches or lighters.
- Give smokers ash trays.
- Give space heaters space.
- Keep your home fire safe. Learn the rules of fire safety and join the hunt for home hazards. Report your findings to an adult.
Help inspect your home for fire safety.
- Does everyone know what to do in a fire emergency?
- Plan two ways out. Find two ways out of every room so you can escape from a fire even if an exit is blocked.
- Know where to meet. Choose a meeting place outside where everyone in the household will gather after they’ve escaped. Memorize the fire department’s phone number and arrange in advance to use a neighbor’s phone. Tape the number to your phone and ask your neighbors to do this as well.
- Get out and stay out. Don’t waste time. In the event of fire, leave the building immediately. Once outside, do not go back in for any reason.
- Crawl low under smoke. If you encounter smoke or flames during your escape, use an alternative exit. If you have to escape through smoke, crawl on your hands and knees, keeping your head 12 to 24 inches (30 to 60 centimeters) above the floor – in the “safety zone” where the air is cleaner.
- If your clothes catch fire . . . Stop, drop, and roll. Stop where you are – don’t run. Drop to the ground. Cover your face with your hands and roll over and over to smother the flames. Practice- it is fun and it could save your life.
Is your home fire safe?
- Smoke detectors can warn you about a fire before it is too late. But they’re no good if they don’t work. Help your parents test smoke detector batteries once a month and learn the sound of the detector’s alarm.
- Put away matches and lighters. Matches and lighters should be kept up high where small children can’t see or reach them, preferably in a locked cabinet. Let the adults in your home know if you find matches or lighters around the house and tell them if anyone in the household is playing with fire. Remind parents to use special lighters that little children can’t operate.
- Give smokers ashtrays. If people smoke in your house, make sure there are lots of large, deep ashtrays around – the kind that won’t tip over. And make sure ashes are cool before dumping them into wastebaskets.
- Check under the cushions. Fires can start from smoldering cigarette butts dropped behind furniture cushions. If someone has been smoking in your home, ask an adult to help you look for hot cigarette butts or matches.
- Give space heaters space. Space heaters and portable heaters should be at least three feet (one meter) away from anything that can burn – including walls and furniture. Be sure to measure.
- Practice kitchen safety. If pots are on the stove, make sure their handles are turned inward so nobody can bump them and young children can’t grab them. Remind adults never to leave the room when something is cooking.
- Check out cords and wires. Loose or broken electrical cords and wires are evidence of a real danger.