Do your children know….

what to do if there is a fire?  In light of the recent tragedy, it got my husband and I thinking…we had never discussed a fire plan with our children. 
Have you?

Tonight for family night, we went over what to do if there is ever a fire, and went through some drills.  Talking about it was not easy to do, especially because of recent events.  But it has to be done!  Our children need to know!
I found lots of great resources for Fire Safety and have created a Pinterest board.  Check out!  Come up with a family fire plan of your own!

After you make your plan, practice it frequently!
Do you have a fire extinguisher? 
Do you have fire escape ladders on your upper floors?
Can your children open their windows? 
Are your smoke detectors in working order?  Click here for step by step instructions to properly test your smoke detectors
We live in a one story house, but our windows do not open up, they are partitioned.  We had never even thought about that before, there is one floor to ceiling window, but it’s barred.  So we told the kids if their bedroom door is hot, to just sit under their window and yell for help, then we’ll break open the window to get them. 
We showed them how to get down, feel the door and if it’s not hot, crawl to the nearest exit, and run to our meeting spot.  We picked a spot in front of our neighbors house to gather. 
We also taught them to STOP, DROP and ROLL.

Our smoke detector goes off every time I use the oven at 400degrees or more, so we know it works, but I also told them that they should always check when it goes off to make sure everything is okay, and not just assume that it’s another ‘false’ alarm. 
I feel bad that as my son was going to sleep tonight he thought he saw fire outside of his bedroom window and made my husband check it out.  BUT, even though talking about it scared him, and I won’t be surprised if he doesn’t end up in our room tonight, it is something that NEEDS to be done!
Other possibilities are to plan a trip to the local fire station or have them come and talk to your group or school (if you do not homeschool).  (we did a fire house trip last year).
Though hard to do, it could save your child’s life!  (and heaven forbid something bad happens, at least you know you prepared them the best you could!)
Plan a fire safety talk VERY SOON!  Don’t put it off!

For information about the RECENT TRAGEDY I am referring too and how you can HELP, see the link in the upper right sidebar.