A few weeks ago, a video went viral about a Fresno apartment fire. After seeing fire erupting in his apartment building at around 3 o’clock in the morning, Robert Wright had enough time to save his family before the flames engulfed the rest of the building. While he carried his children to safety, his heroism wasn’t what made the video viral. Wright was also able to save the rack of barbeque ribs he just finished cooking and held them proudly throughout the interview with a news reporter.
While Wright’s enthusiasm over his ribs is entertaining and his quick actions to save his family are commendable, the cause behind the viral video is much darker and tragic. Household fires are a common occurrence across the US and cost many people their homes, belongings, and in some cases, tragically their lives.
If a fire starts in your home, your time to escape may be just under two minutes. In those two minutes, you have to gather your family, pets, and treasured items and get to a safe location. More often than not, in the case of a home fire, those two minutes are not enough to gather all that is dear to you. The only step to preventing the loss, heart break, and frustrations caused by a household fire is to educate those in your household on the basics of home fire prevention.
Preventing Household Fires
Start by creating a fire escape plan so each individual in the home knows multiple routes for getting out of the house safely. The plan should also include a specific meeting place so if there’s a fire, everyone in the house knows where to meet once outside and safe. If a fire does occur, everyone should no to get out as quickly as possible and call for help.
Installing smoke detectors is also another important step in home fire prevention. Once every level of your home has a smoke detector, test them once a month and make sure the batteries stay charged. It is equally important to install carbon monoxide detectors on every floor and outside bedrooms, but these must be used in conjunction with smoke detectors, not as a replacement.
During winter months, make sure you turn off all portable heaters before leaving the room and keep flammable items at least three feet away. Also remember to never leave the stove or oven unmonitored when they’re on. An unsupervised stovetop is a recipe for disaster, especially if you have pets or children.
For emergency disaster kits, burn first aid care, and more, visit 1st Aid Supplies’ website. We offer an wide variety of first aid supplies, emergency items, protective gear, and survival product.
