Home Fire Escape Plans

A child in a firefighter costume jumps out the window of an inflatable safety house during a fire safety demonstration.

Does everyone in your home know how to escape in case of a fire?

In some cases, you may have as little as 2 minutes to escape a house once a fire has started. By creating a home fire escape plan with everyone who lives in your home, you can help make sure everyone is prepared in case of a fire. It's actually pretty easy!

Start by drawing a bird's-eye layout of your home on a blank piece of paper, making sure to include every room in your home.
Walk through your home and find all of the exits out of your home. On your paper, draw each door and window.
Outside of your home, look for a good meeting spot. This should be a spot that everyone knows about that is far enough away from your home that you won't be in danger from a fire, but also a spot that is not in the middle of the street. We recommend a good tree or mailbox.
On your paper, mark two ways out of each room, including how to use every window and door in the room. Make sure these escape routes end outside at your meeting spot. This is also a good chance to find and mark the location of each smoke alarm in your home.
Practice how to escape from all the rooms, even those not normally used, to make sure the escape. When you practice, crawl on the ground and pretend there’s smoke in the house to help you find the best ways to get out, no matter the conditions. While practicing, it's okay to make changes to your escape plan if you find a better way to get out.
Post your home fire escape plan in an obvious place so friends and other visitors can see it too.

We recommend that everyone in our community creates, then practices their home fire escape plan with all other members of their household at least twice a year. For more information, please visit this page from the National Fire Protection Agency.