Press Release: Test Your Emergency Fire Exits

More people die from home fires than any other kind. 2,000 – 4,000 people in the U.S. perish every year in home fires, many because they didn’t know what to do. Hopefully, your family has prepared and practiced a home fire escape plan. One important part of such a plan is locating and learning to use emergency ways out and alternate routes to safety. The Wilton Fire Department suggests that you practice using emergency exits to make sure they are useable. It’s too late to discover your window is stuck shut and won’t open when a fire has occurred.

In most homes and apartments, emergency exits are usually windows or stairways. Make sure that windows can be opened and that screens and storm windows can be removed from the inside. Make sure children can operate locks and know how to get out quickly, not wait for you. If they cannot get out, they should know to wait at the window where fire fighters can see them. Make sure everybody knows to stay low and crawl to the nearest exit.

If bedrooms are on the second floor, provide folding ladders. There may not be time to tie bed sheets together and jumping from a second story can result in severe injuries or death.

Your family should have several alternate routes to take in case of a fire. Make sure you practice all of them as much as possible. Fast actions are needed in a fire and trained responses help those happen.

If your family does not have a home fire escape plan, contact the Wilton Fire Department for information and assistance in developing a plan for your home.