A home fire escape plan shows two ways out of every room, an outside meeting place, and who helps children or older adults get out. Draw it with your household, keep exits clear, and practice it twice a year. Once the smoke alarm sounds, you may have less than 2 minutes to escape.
Fire moves faster than most people think. The U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) says residents could have less than 2 minutes to escape a home fire once the smoke alarm sounds, and NFPA says fire can leave you as little as one or two minutes.
Many families have a plan on paper but have never tried it. In an NFPA survey, 71% of Americans said they had an escape plan, but only 47% of those had practiced it. One-third of households who made a guess thought they would have at least 6 minutes before a fire became life-threatening, and only 8% said their first thought on hearing a smoke alarm would be to get out. A practiced plan replaces guessing with a habit.
Gather everyone. NFPA suggests pulling the whole household together and walking through your home to inspect every possible exit and escape route.
Draw a map. Sketch each floor of your home and include all doors and windows (USFA). Mark two ways out of every room and the location of each smoke alarm (NFPA).
Check every exit. Make sure doors and windows aren't blocked and open easily (USFA, NFPA). If windows or doors have security bars, NFPA says they need emergency release devices on the inside. Its older adults guidance also says to check that no windows are painted or nailed shut.
Pick a meeting place. Choose a spot outside, a safe distance in front of your home, such as a neighbor's house, a light post, a mailbox or a stop sign. Mark it on the map (NFPA).
Assign helpers. If anyone in your home is an infant, an older adult or has limited mobility, NFPA says to assign someone to help them, plus a backup in case that person isn't home.
Make your home easy to find. NFPA suggests checking that your house number is clearly visible from the street.
Know the number. Everyone should know the emergency number (911 in the U.S.) so anyone can call from a neighbor's home or a cell phone once safely outside (NFPA).
Your plan depends on early warning. NFPA advises smoke alarms in every sleeping room, outside each sleeping area and on every level of the home, ideally interconnected so that when one sounds, they all sound. Our sister site covers smoke alarm placement and testing in more detail.
This is an example layout to copy onto paper, not an official form. Keep it on the fridge or near the main exit.
Our meeting place: (for example, the mailbox across the street)
Two ways out of each bedroom: door to the hallway, and the window (note any escape ladder)
Who helps whom: (name) helps Grandma, (name) is the backup; (name) carries the baby
Who calls 911: the first adult to reach the meeting place, from outside
Smoke alarm check: date of last test
Drill dates: two dates per year, about six months apart
Twice a year. NFPA says to practice your home fire escape plan twice a year and make the drill as realistic as possible.
Start with the alarm. USFA suggests pushing the smoke alarm's test button to start the drill, then getting everyone outside to the meeting place.
Get low. Everyone should practice getting low and going under the smoke to the exit (NFPA).
Close doors behind you. NFPA says a closed door may slow the spread of smoke, heat and fire.
Check who wakes up. During a drill, see whether children and others wake to the alarm. If they don't, assign someone to wake them (NFPA).
Practice ladders safely. In a two-story home, NFPA says escape ladders can add an exit. Practice setting one up from a first-floor window, and children should only practice with a grown-up.
Children: NFPA suggests letting children master the plan before a nighttime drill, and says that telling them a drill is coming can be as effective as a surprise. The goal is to practice, not to frighten. When kids go to sleepovers, ask the other family about their escape plan.
Older adults: NFPA says people age 65 and older are twice as likely to be killed or injured by fires as the population at large. Its tips include:
Consider sleeping in a ground-floor room if you don't live in an apartment building.
Keep a phone and emergency numbers near where you sleep.
If hearing is limited, consider a smoke alarm that uses a flashing light or vibration.
Make sure locks and window pins open easily from inside.
Get out immediately (NFPA). Don't stop for belongings.
Use the safest route, the one with the least smoke and heat, and stay low under smoke (NFPA).
Close doors behind you as you leave (NFPA).
Go to your meeting place and call 911 from outside.
Once you're out, stay out. NFPA says never go back into a burning building. If someone is missing, tell the dispatcher.
If you're trapped: NFPA says to close all doors between you and the fire, seal door cracks and air vents with duct tape or towels, call the fire department to report your exact location, and wave a flashlight or light-colored cloth at the window.
In an apartment or high-rise: USFA says to leave and close the door behind you, pull the fire alarm on your way out, and use the stairs, not the elevator, unless the fire department tells you otherwise.
NFPA recommends practicing twice a year, making each drill as realistic as possible.
A map of your home with all doors and windows, two ways out of every room, smoke alarm locations, an outside meeting place, helpers for anyone who needs assistance, and how to call 911 once you're outside.
Outside, a safe distance in front of your home. NFPA suggests a neighbor's house, a light post, a mailbox or a stop sign.
Don't go back in. NFPA says to tell the fire department dispatcher when you call, because firefighters have the skills and equipment to perform rescues.
Family Ready: Emergency Plan is a free iPhone app, with an optional Family Ready Plus subscription, that keeps the rest of your household plan in one place, with sections for contacts, health, documents, home, pets and care. It doesn't draw escape maps, but its free Emergency Card stores who to call first, allergies and medications and opens without internet, and you can choose a 6-month review schedule with optional reminders to match a twice-a-year drill. It does not contact responders for you, so call 911 yourself in an emergency.
Get Family Ready free on the App Store