EXIT DRILLS IN THE HOME (E.D.I.T.H.)

Gather your family together. It is important that this activity involves every member of the family.

• On a piece of paper, draw a floor plan of your home. Be sure to indicate where the doors and windows are located.
• Decide upon a family meeting spot and draw it on the piece of paper. This can be a neighbor's house, a tree, a mailbox or anything that is away from the house.
• Have each family member draw two ways out of their room. Discuss the importance of how to safely exit out a secondary exit if the main door or path is blocked by fire.
• Make sure that every family member knows two ways out of every room and that once you are out of the house, you do not go back inside.
• Conduct a practice drill by having family members go to their room.
• Press the test button on your smoke detector to start the fire drill.
• Teach each family member to crawl low to the ground while exiting to stay below the toxic smoke.
• Make sure that every family member gets out of the house safely and meets at the family meeting spot.
• Remind your family to call 9-1-1 once they are out of the house if there is a fire.

Tips

• Practice your home escape plan monthly to ensure that each family member remembers what to do in case of a fire.
• Using graph paper makes it easier to draw your floor plan.
• Make sure that each family member can open the windows and take out screens quickly.
• Most house fires occur at night when people are sleeping, practice a fire drill in the dark to simulate the low light conditions produced by fire.

For a step-by-step guide, visit www.nfpa.org/sparky/miller_escape/m_escape_1.html.