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Home › Articles › Safety › Smoke Signals of Safety

Smoke Signals of Safety

10 Life-Saving Tips Every Family Should Know

By Gina Roberts-Grey, LCSW

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According to the San Jose, Calif., Fire Department, 3 percent of smoke detectors fail within the first year of use, and 30 percent fail after 10 years. Replacing your smoke detector when the manufacturer's warranty expires ensures your family is protected by advanced alarms.

Ask for Help
Contact your local firehouse to learn of the laws and requirements for your area. By law, many multi-family dwellings and rental properties should be equipped with at least one working smoke detector. Empowering yourself with the codes and options for maximum safety provides your family additional peace of mind.

Train Your Family
Although proper installation of fire safety items is important, knowing how and when to operate fire extinguishers further reduces the risk of injury. Use your fire extinguisher's maintenance schedule as the chance for your family to brush up on what type of fires to use an extinguisher on and the safe operation of the extinguisher.

Know the Roads to Safety
When their Elmwood Park, Ill., house was stuck by lightening, the Scott family was thankful they conducted routine family meetings specifically to discuss escape routes and the methods to escape in the event of a fire. "We practiced crawling and using towels and pillowcases to shield our mouths and noses," says Michael Scott. Now the father two young children, Scott models the life-saving examples of his parents.

Help stress the message to younger children and draw an escape plan that diagrams your house and three potential escape options. If the unthinkable occurs, knowing how to get to safety and where to meet the rest of the family reduces the chances your children will freeze from paralyzing panic.

The love of family pets and personal attachment to sentimental memorabilia often sends children and parents alike running back into a burning structure. Consistently stress the most important factor is everyone exiting the house safely. Children should be cautioned that if possible, an adult will scoop up the family cat as he's escaping the fire while the kids proceed directly to safety.

Follow the Rules

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