This is National Fire Prevention Week

The Hot Springs Fire Department offers the following public safety message in observance of National Fire Prevention Week.

The Hot Springs Fire Department is promoting the theme, “Have Two Ways Out!” in observance of National Fire Prevention Week (October 7 – 13). It is very important for families to develop a fire escape plan that includes two ways to exit from each room and two ways out of the home.  Two ways out allows you to use a different means of escape if the primary way is blocked by smoke or flames.

Fire escape planning, while simple to accomplish, is among the most important things that a family can do to ensure the safety of its members.  Locate the doors and windows in any given room, manipulate the hardware (door knobs, locks, window latches) to insure that it is operable, lift the windows and open the doors to ensure that the exits aren’t obstructed. Pick the fastest and easiest routes to leave the building from each room of the structure. Show your family members the “Two Ways Out” of each room and the structure. Have each member of your family demonstrate the ability to open the hardware on doors and windows.  This will ensure that everyone in the household can actually open the home’s windows and doors.

Once outside of the house, it is important to have pre-established meeting place. This meeting place can be any fixed immovable object or location, a tree in the front yard, a neighbor’s porch or a mail box. It is important that everyone in the family know where the meeting place is located, and that everyone stays at the meeting place until help arrives. Once outside, no one should re-enter a burning structure for any reason. Every year people die because they decide impulsively to re-enter a burning building in an attempt to retrieve some personal item or a pet. Please remember that your chances of surviving a re-entry into a burning structure are very small. Get outside and stay outside!