If a fire occurs close to or inside your home, office, or property, your life and the lives of your pets, exotics, and livestock animals, may depend on your preparation and response, which requires a knowledge of fire safety and evacuation procedures. By creating, practicing, and enacting fire escape and evacuation plans, you multiply the chances of yours and others safe escape from the fire. Creating fire escape and evacuation plans is only the initiation step to getting out of a fire alive. The part that will matter the most in the time of crisis will be how practiced and calm you are when you have to enact your plan during a fire. If you do have pets, exotics, or livestock animals, you will need to write and practice fire escape and evacuation plans for them, as well, if you want to make sure you to keep them safe before, during, and after a fire. You also want to make sure that you practice these plans, so that your pets and other animals do not go through too much stress during a real fire. In this article, we will discuss the above-mentioned topics, so that you are able to protect yourself, your family and your pets, exotics and livestock animals.
A. How to Prepare for a Fire Escape and Evacuation Plans
It is common to have to evacuate structures and areas in the case of wildfire occurrence. In some cases, a wildfire will approach housing areas within minutes, so fast that people might not have time to gather their basics or valuables, which is why planning and calm action, are of the utmost importance. Typically, officials will notify the public via television, the Internet, or radio, of a major disaster such as a deadly wildfire that requires evacuation.
If something happens and you find yourself needing to evacuate, there a multitude of things you can do that will expedite yours and others, safe escape away from a potentially deadly fire. As with any disaster that requires urgent attention, it is best to be prepared at all times. A "bug out bag" or a bag one prepares in case of the need to leave everything suddenly, which tends to be what you can carry on your person, is a good thing to have in preparation of a fire escape or evacuation. The bag you prepare should include the basic-essentials for your survival and emotional comfort, as well as your important paperwork. We highly recommend having first aid kits as "must have's" in your emergency fire escape and evacuation bag.
When preparing your "bug out bag", make sure that you have an emergency fire escape, evacuation plans in place, and you practice the plans with everyone in your office or household, the same as with other any other type of disaster. It is best to update your fire escape and evacuation plans on a regular and continuous basis. Make sure that your drills are random enough to keep everybody on their toes. In the fire escape and evacuation plans, make sure to include a diagram, maybe even have it laminated, the locations for all doors, windows, alert systems, ladders, and fire suppression equipment such as a fire extinguisher.
B. Fire Escape and Evacuation Plans Basics
Regardless of the reason for the evacuation, you will need an escape and evacuation plan in place. Fire escape and evacuation plans can be simple to complex. The details of each household's fire escape or evacuation plan will differ naturally and no one is alike, as every household or office building is different. Also, various barriers and other hindrances can be troublesome so it is up to everyone in the household or office building to be preventative by storing items in proper spaces that are not obstructive, in case of an emergency. The best way to evacuate any structure, regardless of the plan in place, is to evacuate calmly, safely, and carefully.
I. Windows
In some urgent situations, such as a house or a wildfire evacuation, you may find your escape route blocked by fire or other obstructions, so make sure to have a backup fire escape and evacuation routes. If your office or room has a window and there is no other option, the window may be your only chance of surviving. Therefore, be sure you know how to use any window fire safety releases or fire escape ladder before a fire strikes.
II. Meeting Points
Make sure to plan meeting points with your family or coworkers for different scenarios, such as a fire or wildfire evacuation. Meeting points are meeting places that are locations for everyone to meet in case of an emergency. These meeting points can vary from circumstance to circumstance. Some of the most common places for a meeting point are light posts, mailboxes, sidewalks, or a neighbor's house. Household members and public building officials must agree on a meeting point and include them in your fire escape and evacuation plans. Make sure to include the location of the meeting point, and an alternative, on your fire escape and evacuation plans.
Be sure to include any potential visitors and people with disabilities, in your fire escape and evacuation plans and remember to have a backup escape route for them. In the case of a wildfire evacuation, make sure that once everyone evacuates and gathers at your designated meeting point, no one returns or re-enters the building. If you find that someone is unaccounted for, make sure that you notify emergency officials immediately and let them handle any fire rescues.
C. Practicing Your Fire Escape and Evacuation Plans
When planning fire escape and evacuation routes, you should only consider the options with the least amount of smoke, heat, or obstructions in the way of you and your way out of the fire. You should practice your fire escape and evacuation plans regularly with your family and coworkers. It is best to practice your fire escape and evacuation plans at least twice a year. Ideally, you should hold the drills at random times to keep everyone on their toes. Make sure not to tell anyone that you are going to conduct a drill, as the element of surprise helps children and adults alike, retain information more efficiently.
Another good way to practice your fire escape plan is to turn the lights off, blindfold yourself or family members, drop to the floor, and feel your way out of the building or house. In doing so, this will help you and your family to escape a fire if the building is thick with smoke. In addition, make sure to familiarize your children with firefighters and the gear they wear. This will minimize the chance of a child being scared or intimidated by the appearance of the firefighter in full rescue gear. If you live in a high-rise or multistory residence, make sure to account for any window safety releases or ladders necessary, along with various other alternative routes of escape.
If you are caught in a structure fire, the best thing to do first is to stop, stay calm, and drop to the floor to get away from the smoke, and cover your face and nose with a piece of cloth. The idea of crawling on the floor, is that staying low to the ground helps you avoid the heat and smoke, while you make your way towards the door or window. Then, make your way to your planned escape route exit options in the order that you prioritized them in your fire escape plan.
If you have time and it is feasible to do so, close and then plug the doors behind you with clothes or blankets in order to slow the spread of the fire, while everyone evacuates. Once you reach the door, make sure to feel it for heat, before opening. If it is hot or there seems to be flame on the other side, consider your alternative route of escape. In many cases, that alternative option is the window, so make sure to have any burglar bars or locked window keys readily available. If you make a fire escape or evacuation plan, stick to it, and be prepared to react calmly, to the unforeseen, you can greatly increase the chances of escaping the fire safely.
D. Fire Escape and Evacuation Plans for your Pets and Livestock
No matter what type of animals you have on your property, whether its goats, sheep, cattle, horses, pets, or otherwise, it is important to make sure you include them in your fire escape and evacuation plans. For the most part, domesticated and semi-domesticated pets, exotics, and livestock animals rely upon their owners for survival, so it is your responsibility to take care of them at all times, especially during a fire escape or evacuation. You should make sure to account for every living animal located on your property within your fire escape and evacuation plans and practice them when conducting drills for you and your family. It is best to locate kennels or stalls in a manner that allows animals to evacuate quickly, safely, and as calmly as possible. Make sure that you have all travel kennels, trailers, and other necessary transportation devices, ready and located close by your home or property. The Red Cross can help you with temporary boarding and shelter if necessary, however, they may have requirements or deadline policies in place, so be sure to know what they can provide and what you need to provide to them in order to board your pets, exotics, and livestock animals. Most boarding facilities will require your pet, exotic, or livestock's medical records to make sure all vaccinations are up to date, so be sure to have a pet survival kit including a picture of your pet. A few things to prepare ahead of time should include food, water, and a first aid kit for your pets, exotics, and livestock animals. As the same with humans, we suggest you have a "bug out bag" for each pet, exotic, or livestock animal as well, including the essentials in an emergency.
There may be times where your livestock get out because they are scared of the fire. Some of them will be retrievable and some will not. Therefore, the better you prepare and the more help you have, the better your chances are of evacuating yourself and your animals from dangerous fires. Make sure to include everything necessary to care for and give comfort to the animals just as you would for yourself or a family member. Be sure to separate every animal if possible. Even if you know, they get along, when animals are exposed to any kind or level of discipline or trauma; they can act irrationally due to anxiety. In most cases, covering the animals will have a calming effect and it can help keep them warm if it is cold. It appears that by not seeing or hearing the intensity of the situation, although still aware when covered, the animals are more likely to maintain their rationality during and after a fire or evacuation.
In the first few days after a fire, be sure to comfort your pets, exotics, and livestock and be sure to keep a close eye on their behavior. After a fire occurs, your pet, exotic, or livestock animals may become confused and lost without the familiar scents and landmarks that were present before the fire. The behavior of your pets, exotics, and livestock may also change after a fire; animals that are normally, quiet and friendly, can become aggressive or defensive, and so watch them closely for signs of distress.
If you plan and practice your emergency fire escape and evacuation plans for you, your family, coworkers, pets, exotics, and livestock animals on a regular yet random basis, you will stand a greater chance of making it out of a fire or evacuation safely without any unnecessary problems arising.
