In a typical home fire, you may have less than three minutes to safely escape. Taking a few proactive steps today can save lives tomorrow. Use this comprehensive guide to keep your household fire-safe year-round.
Working alarms cut your risk of dying in a home fire by nearly 50%.
Location Matters: Install smoke alarms inside every bedroom, outside each separate sleeping area, and on every level of the home (including the basement).
The Dual-Sensor Advantage: Choose dual-sensor smoke alarms that combine both photoelectric (detecting smoldering, smoky fires) and ionization (detecting fast-flaming fires) technologies.
Test Monthly: Press the test button on every alarm once a month to ensure it functions.
Change Clocks, Change Batteries: Replace traditional alarm batteries once a year (a great reminder is during Daylight Saving Time) or immediately if the unit "chirps."
Watch the Expiration Date:
Replace smoke alarms every 10 years.
Replace carbon monoxide alarms every 5 to 7 years.
Accessibility: If someone in your home is deaf or hard-of-hearing, install specialized alarms featuring strobe lights or bed shakers.
When an alarm sounds, there is no time to figure out a plan on the fly.
Two Ways Out: Draw a basic floor plan of your home showing two ways out of every room (usually a door and a window).
Establish a Meeting Place: Choose a fixed, safe landmark outside the front of your home (e.g., a specific tree, mailbox, or light pole) where everyone will gather.
Practice Twice a Year: Run a household fire drill at least twice a year—once during the day and once at night.
Close Before You Doze: Sleep with your bedroom doors closed. In a fire, a closed door can hold back toxic smoke, keep oxygen levels higher, and dramatically drop temperatures in your room from over 1,000°F to a survivable 100°F.
Get Out, Stay Out: If a fire occurs, get low under the smoke, exit immediately, and NEVER re-enter a burning building for pets or property. Call 911 only once you are safely outside.
Stay by the Stove: Never leave the kitchen unattended while frying, grilling, boiling, or broiling food. If you must leave the room, turn off the stove.
"Put a Lid on It": If a grease fire starts in a pan, slide a metal lid over the flames and turn off the heat source. Leave the lid on until it completely cools. Never throw water or flour on a grease fire.
Safe Zone: Keep a 3-foot "kid and pet-free zone" around the stove. Turn pot handles inward so they cannot be accidentally bumped.
Give Space Heaters Space: Keep all portable space heaters at least 3 feet away from anything that can burn (curtains, bedding, furniture). Turn them off when you leave the room or go to sleep.
Wall Outlets Only: Plug space heaters directly into a wall outlet. Never use an extension cord or power strip, which can easily overheat.
Check Your Cords: Inspect electronics regularly. Discard any power cords that are frayed, cracked, or warm to the touch.
No Extension Cord Overuse: Extension cords are intended for temporary use only. Do not run them under rugs or overload a single outlet.
Lock It Up: Store matches and lighters up high in a locked cabinet out of reach and sight of children. Teach kids that these are adult tools, not toys.
Safe Smoking: Never smoke in bed or when you are drowsy. Use deep, heavy ashtrays, and douse cigarette butts completely in water before throwing them in the trash.
Keep an ABC-rated multi-use fire extinguisher in or near your kitchen and garage. Only attempt to fight a fire if it is small (the size of a wastebasket), the room is not filling with smoke, and you have a clear escape route behind you.
Always remember the acronym P.A.S.S.:
1.Pull:Release the lock.
Pull the pin located at the top of the extinguisher to break the tamper seal.
2.Aim:Target the fuel.
Aim the nozzle or hose low, pointing it directly at the base of the fire, not at the flames themselves.
3.Squeeze:Release the agent.
Squeeze the lever slowly and evenly to discharge the extinguishing agent.
4.Sweep:Cover the area.
Sweep the nozzle from side to side at the base of the fire until the flames appear completely out. Watch the area closely in case it reignites.
Recreational Fires: Iowa law and local ordinances regulate open burning. Keep recreational campfires at least 25 feet away from structures, never leave them unattended, and completely extinguish them with water until the coals are cold.
Harvest & Farm Safety: Farm fires spike during the dry autumn harvest. Clean crop dust and debris off combines and tractors regularly, check for electrical shorts, and carry a fully serviced fire extinguisher on all field equipment.
Water Your Tree: If you display a live holiday tree, water it daily. Dry trees can consume an entire room in flames within seconds.
Check the Lights: Inspect holiday light strands annually for cracked sockets or bare wires. Always turn off decorative lights before leaving the house or going to bed.
Candle Caution: Keep burning candles in sturdy holders away from drafts and out of reach of pets and kids. Blow them out whenever you leave the room.