A well developed Fire Escape Plan could save your family

If a fire occurred in your home today, would your family get out safely?

Everyone must know what to do and where to go when the smoke alarm sounds. Take a few minutes with everyone in your household to make a home fire escape plan, following these steps:

Draw a floor plan of your home

Use a grid notebook to draw a plan for each level of your home and include all possible emergency exits. Draw in all the doors, windows, and stairways. this will show you and your family all possible escape routes at a glance. Include any features such as the roof of a garage or porch, that would help in escape.

Show two ways out of every room, if possible

The door will be the main exit from each room. However, if the door is blocked by smoke or fire, identify an alternate escape route, which could be a window. Make sure that all windows can open easily and that everyone knows how to escape through them safely. if windows have security bars, equip them with quick releasing devices.

Does anyone need help to escape?

Decide in advance who will assist the very young, older adults, or people with disabilities in your household. A few minutes of planning will save valuable seconds in a real emergency.

Choose a meeting place outside

Choose a meeting place a safe distance from your home that everyone will remember. A tree, street light, or a neighbor's home are all good choices. In case of a fire, everyone should head to this meeting place so you and your family is all accounted for.

Call the fire department outside your home

Don't waste valuable seconds calling the fire department from inside your home. Once you have safely escaped, call the fire department from a cell phone or a neighbor's home.

Practice your escape

Review the plan with everyone in your household and walk through all the escape routes. Make sure all the exits are practical and easy to use and practice so you wont hesitate as your escape routes may be quickly blocked by smoke or flames.

REMEMBER

• Plan two ways out of every room if possible
• Once out always stay out - never re-enter a burning building
• Hold a fire drill twice a year

If you live in a high-rise apartment building, contact the property manager or superintendent for information on your building's fire safety plan. 

At Sturino & Associates we want you to get the most up to date information and cater to all of your insurance needs. for more information call us at 416-233-8252 or drop by locally at 7 Jopling Avenue S. Etobicoke, ON.

H.F.S.T. (Home Fire Safety Tips)

Weather you are a brand new home owner or have owned your home for a few years now, it is always important to set down some prevention initiatives for your home. These initiatives can make a difference when disaster strikes.

At Sturino & Associates, we want to make sure that you and your family are aware of the best practices to protect your investment, the following are some tips to prevent, detect, and escape in case of a fire at your home.

Prevention

• Ensure that all matches and lighters are out of the sight and reach of children
• Teach young children not to touch matches or lighters
• Always stay in the kitchen when you are cooking
• keep children at least one meter from the stove
• If you are sleepy or have consumed alcohol, don't use the stove
• Always blow out candles before leaving a room
• If anyone is the home smokes, smoke outside
• Ensure that you have no overloaded electrical outlets or circuits
• Extension cords must be used only as a temporary connection
• Ensure that items that can burn easily are at least one meter away from space heaters or any ignition source

Detection

• Ensure working smoke alarms are installed on every story of your home and outside all sleeping areas - It's the law and the responsibility of every homeowner and every landlord!
• For extra protection, install a smoke alarm in every bedroom
• Install smoke alarms with a "hush" feature to silence nuisance alarms - never remove batteries of disconnect smoke alarms
• Use of Photoelectric smoke alarms may reduce the frequency of nuisance alarms outside the kitchen and bathroom
• Ensure a carbon monoxide alarm is installed outside of sleeping areas in homes with a fuel burning appliance or attached garage - It's the law and the responsibility of every homeowner and every landlord!
• Test your smoke and carbon monoxide alarms at least once a month
• change smoke and carbon monoxide alarm batteries annually and whenever the lo-battery warning sounds 
• Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms have a limited lifespan. In general, replace smoke alarms that are more than 10 years old and carbon monoxide alarms that are more than 7 years old. Check with the alarm manufacturer or the manufacturer's instructions for complete details
• Always follow the manufacturer's instructions for installing, testing, maintaining and replacing smoke and carbon monoxide alarms

Escape

• Develop a home and fire escape plan and practice with the entire family - You may have less than one minute to escape a fire emergency
• Keep all exits at home clear and easy to use