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Escape Plans

Surviving a house fireFamily writing a home escape plan

Do you know what to do if fire breaks out in your home?

Many families owe their lives to working smoke alarms.

A home fire can expose you to temperatures in excess of 600 degrees C. However, most people die from inhaling smoke and toxic gasses long before the flames reach them.

Families who are well-prepared are more likely to escape their homes safely and without panic.

You can't smell smoke when asleep, so smoke alarms are an essential early-warning system to alert you and your family to the dangers of fire and smoke.

Families who are well prepared for a house fire are more likely to escape their homes safely.

Making a Home Fire Escape Plan Home escape plan diagram

Gather the family and draw your home floor plan on the grid (pdf, 26k), marking all the exits.

Get the children involved. Ask them to help you identify the two quickest and safest ways to get out of the house from every room, including upper floors.

Agree on a place to meet outside and stick to it. The letterbox may be a suitable location.

Once you've prepared your plan, hold regular fire drills and see how quickly family members can get out of the house.

It's a good idea to practise at least twice a year - more often if you have young children:

  • If your home has a second storey consider how you will exit from upstairs windows. Many hardware stores sell chain ladders for this purpose
  • If you have window locks fitted, make sure keys are accessible should they be required
  • If children's bedrooms are located at the other end of the house, consider how you will be able to reach them if access is blocked by fire. Remember, children may not wake up to the sound of a smoke alarm operating
  • If your household includes members who are elderly or disabled or have limited mobility, you will need to make special arrangements in your plan.

Fire survival rules Family checking a door

If your clothes catch fire, stop, drop and roll to smother the flames.

  • To help someone else, throw a woollen blanket over them.

If there's smoke in your house, get down low and go, go, go!

  • In a fire, the safest area for breathing is near the floor where the air is cooler and cleaner, so remember to crawl low in smoke.

Check doors for heat before opening.

  • Use the back of your hand to check for heat, then get down low and crawl to safety. Close doors behind you if possible. If the door is hot, use another exit.

Get everyone out of the house as quickly as possible.

Call the fire brigade from a neighbour's house, public or mobile phone and wait for them to arrive.

  • Tell them where the fire is and if anyone is still inside.

Don't go back inside for any reason.

Don't let deadlocks block your escape

Your life could depend on how quickly you are able to get out of your home in the event of a fire.

Smoke spreads quickly, cutting visibility and causing disorientation.

  • Don't deadlock doors when inside the house.
  • If you need to use the deadlock while home, leave the key in it or install a key holder next to the door.

Learn basic first aid

If someone has a burn,

  1. Stop the burning process
    • Remove clothing, unless it has stuck to the skin
  2. Cool the burn
    • Immerse or flood the burnt area in cool running water for 15 to 20 minutes. Never use oil, butter or ointment
  3. Cover
    • Cover the burn with a clean cloth or cling wrap and keep the patient warm.

See a doctor if the burn is blistered, larger than a twenty cent coin or on the face, hands, feet or genitals.

Telephone 000 for an ambulance.

Find the Your Home Fire Safety brochure in the Home Safety page of the Publications section.

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