09-24-2012, 12:22 PM
Hope it's okay to put this in this section. One of my common responses when some asks me why I feel the need to carry a gun to protect myself is "do you have smoke detectors and fire extinguishers? Do you keep them because you think you will need them or just in case? My reasons for carrying is similar to that.
Which leads me to ask people here, how prepared are you for a fire.
Hopefully everyone has smoke detectors and fire extinguishers in their house, but is that enough? I say not by a long shot especially if you have a family. If you have a family you should practice fire drills and make sure everyone knows what to do in a variety of scenarios.
Here are a few of my thoughts on the matter, feel free to add your thoughts and ideas.
1. I have smoke detectors in every room of the house. If a fire breaks out I want as much warning as possible. Sure it takes a bit of time and cost to replace all the batteries but losing my family to a fire scares the hell out of me.
2. I keep fire extinguishers in easy to access places. They are all the same style to that I do not have to fumble and figure out what to do. My wife also knows how to use them. I will be showing my son how one works in the next week or two.
3. We practice fire drills every 3 months. I should probably do it more. I set up different scenarios, What if we are sleeping, eating dinner, scattered throughout the house. What if there is a lot of smoke or just a little bit etc.... Most are easy except the one where it happens if you wake up to the sound of alarms. Basically if I can think of a scenario that we would not be prepared for, we prep for it. The quicker you can assess what is going on and what you have to do, the better your chances of survival are.
My wife and I know what to do. We keep a folder with important papers where my wife can quickly get it if we determine we have time. I keep my wallet and car keys in the bed room so I can quickly grab them if needed. Of course I am extremely worried about my 6 year old in this case. I have given my son many different scenarios and what the best course of action is in them.
a. He knows to Check the door to see if it is hot, if it is go through the window onto the roof outside where he can get down on the back porch.
b. I keep a fubar wrecking bar in my room so that if there is a fire and I can't get to his room through the hallway, I can go through the wall. I have a place marked off between the studs on the wall to my bedroom and his. It is a place where I know there are no pipes or wires. I can be through the wall in seconds if the need arises.
c. I have him practice stop, drop and roll. He knows that if there is smoke he should get on his hands and knees.
d. In the case that I do not get to him first and he gets out of the house on his own, he knows where to meet us at. It's far enough away from the house that we will be safe from the fire, close enough that I can quickly see if he is there.
One of the things I need to do is get a fire rope ladder. We can get out of most situations without one, but having one would make things a bit easier.
Anyone else prep for fires? Anyone else have any ideas or suggestions?
Also one of the things I struggle with is whether or not I should have my son wait for me, or get out on his own. Arguments can be made for both. Any thoughts on this?
Which leads me to ask people here, how prepared are you for a fire.
Hopefully everyone has smoke detectors and fire extinguishers in their house, but is that enough? I say not by a long shot especially if you have a family. If you have a family you should practice fire drills and make sure everyone knows what to do in a variety of scenarios.
Here are a few of my thoughts on the matter, feel free to add your thoughts and ideas.
1. I have smoke detectors in every room of the house. If a fire breaks out I want as much warning as possible. Sure it takes a bit of time and cost to replace all the batteries but losing my family to a fire scares the hell out of me.
2. I keep fire extinguishers in easy to access places. They are all the same style to that I do not have to fumble and figure out what to do. My wife also knows how to use them. I will be showing my son how one works in the next week or two.
3. We practice fire drills every 3 months. I should probably do it more. I set up different scenarios, What if we are sleeping, eating dinner, scattered throughout the house. What if there is a lot of smoke or just a little bit etc.... Most are easy except the one where it happens if you wake up to the sound of alarms. Basically if I can think of a scenario that we would not be prepared for, we prep for it. The quicker you can assess what is going on and what you have to do, the better your chances of survival are.
My wife and I know what to do. We keep a folder with important papers where my wife can quickly get it if we determine we have time. I keep my wallet and car keys in the bed room so I can quickly grab them if needed. Of course I am extremely worried about my 6 year old in this case. I have given my son many different scenarios and what the best course of action is in them.
a. He knows to Check the door to see if it is hot, if it is go through the window onto the roof outside where he can get down on the back porch.
b. I keep a fubar wrecking bar in my room so that if there is a fire and I can't get to his room through the hallway, I can go through the wall. I have a place marked off between the studs on the wall to my bedroom and his. It is a place where I know there are no pipes or wires. I can be through the wall in seconds if the need arises.
c. I have him practice stop, drop and roll. He knows that if there is smoke he should get on his hands and knees.
d. In the case that I do not get to him first and he gets out of the house on his own, he knows where to meet us at. It's far enough away from the house that we will be safe from the fire, close enough that I can quickly see if he is there.
One of the things I need to do is get a fire rope ladder. We can get out of most situations without one, but having one would make things a bit easier.
Anyone else prep for fires? Anyone else have any ideas or suggestions?
Also one of the things I struggle with is whether or not I should have my son wait for me, or get out on his own. Arguments can be made for both. Any thoughts on this?
Everytime we look the other way when someone else loses rights we disagree with, we make it easier to lose the rights we support.