If you think about it, it makes sense for every home to have its own, custom-made fire safety policy. After all, each hotel has one and so does every workplace and public building, so why should your family and home not be on an even footing with them? But how many families have one. I personally do not know of any. It is weird that we appear to undervalue our nearest and dearest such a lot.
So where should you go to find a fundamental fire safety plan? There are many places. You should be familiar with the fire safety scheme at your workshop for a start. Otherwise, you could go to you library or any public office and read theirs.
You will almost certainly have to adapt any public fire safety policy you read to home life, unless you intend handing out RFID tags or having a doorman to check everyone in and out. This is a difficult point. How do you know who is in and who is out in a big house?
The Fire Department will also be able to give you fire safety tips. In some countries, the fire department is glad to visit private homes free of charge to offer advice on how best to safeguard one’s family.
Smoke Detectors: There should be a smoke detector outside the kitchen (inside if nobody ever burns the toast) and on every stairs landing. They ought to be hardwired together, so that if one goes off they all go off and they could be coupled to the house main burglar alarm siren too. They ought to also be wired into the house mains electricity system with individual battery back ups.
Emergency Lighting: there ought to be emergency lights pointing towards the nearest ground floor exit. These ought to be mains and battery powered as well. Think about putting luminous strips on each (top) tread of the stairs, because you do not want individuals falling down the stairs in their dash to escape in the dark.
Fire Extinguishers: there ought to be a fire extinguisher in the kitchen and garage and on each landing too. Think about putting a small one in each bedroom.
Personal Fire Safety Kit: it is a wise precaution to place some sort of kit in every bedroom. This kit could contain: a fire blanket, safety goggles and a hand bell. A fire-resistant blanket against the heat; goggles so you may see in the smoke and a bell to warn the rest of the house if the alarms do not ring or to call for help if you become trapped.
Intumescent Strips: you could automatically seal off parts most likely to catch fire with intumescent strips. You cut a groove in an hour-fire check door with a router all around the edge and insert a strip. At a certain temperature, the strip expands very quickly, sealing the door shut and localizing any fire. These doors must be shut first (door closers) naturally.
Make sure that everybody knows where to muster and phone missing family members. Hang your safety policy in each toilet so that even guests have the chance to read it and you will have the safest home on the block.
Owen Jones, the author of this piece, writes on a number of subjects, yet is now concerned with Uvex Safety Glasses. If you would like to know more, please visit our site at Safety Glasses Bifocal