What You Can Do If a Reported Fire Affects Your Home

Prepare to Evacuate-

• If you are asked to evacuate, prepare to do so immediately. The longer your wait, the more difficult it may be to get out of the area safely due to downed trees and increased traffic.

o If you have planned and are prepared for this event, your decisions about what to do and what to take are much more likely to be sound. Also, you will be able to act more quickly and take better advantage of any time available.

· Plan your escape route to avoid the location of the fire.

o Take advantage of as much information as possible: phone, radio (including scanner if available) and television. Radio stations KSRO 1350AM and KZST 101.1FM may be transmitting emergency information.

§ Be aware that you may lose transmissions from one or more of these modes of communication so always have a radio with fresh batteries.

§ Be aware of the location of smoke in your area and the direction of the wind.

• Pack your car(s) in preparation for leaving

o Advise all family members of what is happening & what they need to do to help.

§ Family members should wear protective clothing (e.g. long pants, long-sleeved shirt, handkerchief to protect face).

o Gather your pets in one room so that they can be loaded efficiently.

o Gather your container of emergency supplies (e.g. battery powered radio, cell phones, first aid kit, essential medicine, limited supply of food & water for all family members & pets, flashlight, money/credit cards etc.)

§ If you have time (and room), pack: a change of clothing for family members and important documents/computer drives.

• Consider taking irreplaceable objects (pictures, family heirlooms).
• Arrange for temporary housing.
• If you do not have to evacuate immediately, consider parking your packed car in a manner that will facilitate your leaving. This may mean taking it to a location near a main road (make sure you do NOT block access to any road).

If You KNOW You Have the Time, Take Steps to Prepare Your Home-

Inside

• Close windows, vents, doors, non-combustible window coverings (e.g. metal blinds). Remove lightweight curtains.
• Shut of gas at meter. Turn off pilot lights.
• Open fireplace damper. Close fireplace screens.
• Move flammable furniture to center of the home away from windows and sliding glass doors.
• Turn on a light in each room to increase the visibility of your home in heavy smoke.

Outside

• Seal attic and ground vents with pre-cut plywood or commercial seals.
• If not used to power an emergency generator, turn off propane tanks by turning the appropriate knob clockwise until it stops.
• Place doormats and combustible patio furniture inside garage or house.
• Set up emergency power supply to run well pump for exterior house water sprinklers.
• If fire sprinkler not permanently installed on roof, place lawn sprinklers on the roof and near above-ground fuel tanks. Wet the roof and area around the fuel tank.
• Hose down the side of the house facing the fire and the garden areas close to the house.
• Wet or remove shrubs within 15 feet of the home.

Information taken from: www.redcross.org , www.fema.gov , and www.cope.srcity.org