Fires in the home can be particularly devastating both in the loss of personal property and the potential for injuries and fatalities.

An important element of home fire safety is to have an escape plan in the event that a fire does occur in your home. “Escape Drills in the Home” known as the E.D.I.T.H. program has been devised to help you make an escape plan.

IT IS IMPORTANT THAT ALL MEMBERS OF THE FAMILY PARTICIPATE IN THE PLANNING OF YOUR ESCAPE PLAN.

The first step is to draw a plan of each floor of your residence. Be sure to indicate all rooms, stairways, hallways and roofs that could be used as escape routes. Be sure to provide for 2 exits from each room or area in the dwelling. Be sure to test windows and doors to make sure they are wide enough to exit and that they open easily.

Choose a family meeting place outside the building and show it on the map.

Next make sure that all levels have working smoke detectors and that smoke detectors are outside each sleeping area.

Make sure all members of the family know how raise an alarm to notify other family members that there is a fire. Yelling, pounding on walls, and whistles are methods you may consider.

After you have made your escape plans, have a fire drill. Have someone sound the alarm by pushing the test button on your fire detector or raising an alarm some other way.

Everyone should roll out of their bed, crawl on the floor and follow their primary route out of the structure. Be sure to feel all doors before opening. If the door is hot, there may be fire on the other side of the door. If the door is hot, do not open it and use your second way out.

Once outside, assemble at the predesignated family assembly point. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO RE-ENTER THE BUILDING! ONCE OUT OF THE BUILDING, STAY OUT. Be sure to notify arriving firefighters that everyone is out of the building, or if someone is missing.