I just read a blog post from a woman who had recently trained her children on how to respond to their smoke detector if it went off in the middle of the night.
Shortly after they had gone through the training, it did happen that the alarm sounded after every one was asleep.
The mom woke up worried that her children would be disoriented and not remember what to do.
It was a very impressive story and it had a great ending.
The kids did exactly what they were taught and no one was injured in the process.
The outcome was a happy ending.
This story started me wondering how many parents actually do take the time to teach their children what to do in the event of an emergency.
There are more excuses for not having a plan than I have the space to address here.
However, there is really one very good reason that overrides all the ones for not teaching them.
That reason is because you love your children and want no harm to come to them.
You want to see them growing and enjoying life.
Because houses and apartments are so many and varied I will cover the basic considerations in this article so you can have a foundation upon which to build.
Specifically I will be addressing the physical layout and planning for your home.
In a subsequent article I will address the actions (do's and don'ts) to take in the case of an emergency evacuation.
The first thing you need to do is consider the layout of your house.
Is it a rambler with all of the rooms on one floor? Do you have rooms in a basement? Do you have rooms upstairs? Where are the nearest exits from each of the rooms? What if that exit is blocked, what are the alternatives? For most houses in general it would seem the primary exit is going to be the doorway that you would normally use to enter and exit the room.
The alternate exit would generally seem to be a window.
This may not be the best plan.
If you have younger children that may not be able to effectively determine if going out the door is the best choice, you may want to instruct them to use the window to get them out of the house as quickly and safely as possible.
Even though this seems counterintuitive, it may mean the difference of a safe and successful evacuation and a family disaster.
If the room has a door, you will want to make sure it can be opened easily and is not blocked.
It should be installed so it can be opened from inside the room.
If it can be locked you will want to store a key in a location that is very near the door in case you have to go in to rouse a sound sleeper.
So, if the door is locked and I can't access the key quickly I could lose even more time, resulting in possible injury or death.
A better choice is to change the doors to the types that do not have locks on them.
Kids rooms don't need to have locks.
If you are using a window as an exit - whether primary or alternate - be sure that everyone will be able to exit it with the minimum possibility of injury.
For ground floor and basement windows this will generally not be a problem.
For some basement windows there may be an issue of it being too high off the floor to easily negotiate, so you would want to have a plan for accommodating that challenge.
Another problem with basement windows is their size.
Sometimes they are too small to get through or are nonexistent.
In those cases you will want to determine a backup plan if your only escape route is up the stairs.
A house with a second floor presents even more challenges.
For example, the room I am in as I write this article is on the second floor and has two windows in it.
The problem is, if I have to go out one of those windows, there's a 20 foot drop to the ground below.
The solution to this is a fire escape ladder that is secured with window sill hooks from the inside of the room.
These come in lengths from 12 feet all the way up to 50 feet in a wide range of prices and styles.
They are pretty compact and could easily be stored in a closet or toy chest when not in use.
Now that you've gone through the house to see where all of the primary and alternate exists are for each room, you will now want to look at those exits to determine if they are blocked from the inside or outside.
Maybe you have chosen a window as an exit.
Is there a bed, dresser or other piece of large furniture directly in front of it? Or maybe there's a hazard outside of the window that could hurt your child or get in the way of their safe exit.
Maybe it's your prize climbing rose bush.
Sure, it's better for them to be cut and scratched up a bit than to be trapped in a burning house.
But, a child may not be able to make that determination quick enough to make the right choice.
Try to imagine your children trying to negotiate their way out of the room in the dark as a fire is rapidly approaching.
Remember many fires are of electrical in nature and you may not have the luxury of turning on the lights.
Think of the various scenarios that could happen with fire or other emergencies.
Ask yourself, "Is this the best arrangement for that scenario?" Some things you can change, others you will have to be aware of and account for in your escape plan.
Another factor to consider is the proximity of your family members to each other.
Are bedrooms on a different floor than yours? Are they on the same floor but at the other end of the house? I had a friend that built a 3500 square foot "U" shaped single story house with the master bedroom at one end of the "U" and the kids rooms all in the totally opposite end of the "U".
That worked out well for most nights, but I wonder how it would have worked if there was a fire in the middle section and they hadn't formulated a plan.
Would the kids have known what to do or would they have tried to reach the parents through the house? You will also want to be sure you have clear paths to the exits.
Those books or boxes you put in the upstairs hallway just to get them out of sight can become the difference between life and death when a shrill alarm is sounding in a dark, smoky night and your children are trying to get out of the house.
Be sure you don't have toys, papers, boxes or any other clutter in any of the exit paths.
Make it a part of your evacuation plan to keep these areas clear, train your children, and work as a family to keep the exits pathways clear.
Keep various emergency equipment in a location that everyone knows about.
It doesn't have to all be together in the same place, but it is important that it doesn't move around from place to place.
When the emergency is happening is not the time to be asking the family members if they have seen it lately.
Emergency equipment should include, at a minimum: a well stocked first aid kit, working flashlights with spare batteries in each bedroom, and at least one fire extinguisher in the kitchen.
If you take the time to evaluate your house through the eyes of your children and apply these basics to an evacuation plan, you and your family will be well on your way to a safe and secure home.
In a subsequent article I will concentrate on the evacuation plan if there actually is the need to evacuate your home in an emergency situation.