Your ability to get out of your home during a fire depends on advance warning from smoke alarms and advance planning. Fire can spread rapidly through your home, leaving you as little as one or two minutes to escape safely once the smoke alarm sounds. 

• Install the right number of smoke alarms. Test them once a month and replace the batteries at least once a year.         

• Teach children what smoke alarms sound like and what to do when they hear one. 

• Ensure that all household members know two ways to escape from every room of your home and know the family meeting spot outside of your home.

• Establish a family emergency communications plan and ensure that all household members know who to contact if they cannot find one another.

• Practice escaping from your home at least twice a year. Press the smoke alarm test button or yell “Fire“ to alert everyone that they must get out.

• Make sure everyone knows how to call 9-1-1.

• Teach household members to STOP, DROP and ROLL if their clothes catch on fire