Bell Insurance Fire Safety Checklist

Fire Safety Checklist

Use the following checklist as a guide to help protect your home and family from fires and burns.

___Have you identified and remedied anything in your home that could interfere with your ability to get out quickly in an emergency including windows that are stuck, heavy furniture blocking an exit and broken and dangerous locks?
___Are you careful to always keep escape routes clear of clutter?
___Have you replaced two-keyed deadbolt locks (require a key inside) which can delay a quick exit, and made sure that security bars on doors and windows have a quick-release mechanism?
___If you have a multi-story home, have you considered purchasing fire escape ladders for upstairs bedrooms?
___If you have fire escape ladders, have you opened them safely from a ground-floor window for practice?
___Have you pushed the “test button” on a smoke alarm to ensure everyone will recognize the sound of the alarm?
___Have you ensured that family members with special needs, such as ill or frail family members or small children, have a buddy to help them get out safely?
___If anyone in the household has a hearing impairment, have you purchased special smoke alarms that use strobes and/or vibrations to signal a fire?
___Do family members know to get out first if there is a fire, and then call for help once safely outside?
___Have you made copies of the escape plan sketches and posted them in a visible area of your home?
___Do you hold family fire drills frequently and at various times so your escape plans become second nature?
___Have you held a drill when family members are sleeping to test each family member’s ability to waken and respond to the smoke alarm?
___If someone cannot awaken to the smoke alarm, has a family member been assigned to waken them for future fire drills and in an emergency?
___During your fire drill, have you practiced what it would be like to escape through smoke by getting down on hands and knees and crawling below the smoke to the nearest exit?
___Has your family practiced feeling doors before opening them to escape, by testing for warmth with the back of the hand?
___Are flammable items, such as fertilizers and turpentine, kept in their original containers in a locked storage area separate from the home?
___Is gasoline stored in a garage or shed in a container approved for gasoline storage?
___Are you careful not to bring or use gasoline indoors?
___Do you keep things that can burn away from your fireplace and keep a glass or metal screen in front of your fireplace?
___Do you have chimneys, fireplaces, wood and coal stoves, central furnaces and space heaters inspected by professionals once a year and cleaned regularly?
___Do you keep space heaters at least three feet away from combustibles, such as curtains or stacks of newspaper, and always turn off heaters when leaving the room or going to bed?
___Do you keep matches and lighters in a locked cabinet?
___Do you always stay in the kitchen when food is cooking on the stove?
___Do you keep things that can burn, such as dishtowels, paper or plastic bags, and curtains at least three feet away from the range top?
___Do you douse cigarette and cigar butts with water before dumping them in the trash?
___Are you careful not to wear loose-fitting clothing when cooking which can be ignited by hot burners?
___Are you careful not to leave barbecue grills unattended while in use?
___Do you keep grills away from play areas and at least three feet away from other objects, including the house and any shrubs or bushes?
___Are you careful not to bring a barbecue grill indoors?
___Are you careful not to leave burning candles unattended?
___ Do you keep candles out of the reach of children and pets?
___Are you careful not to allow children to keep candles or incense in their room?
___Are you careful not to overload electrical outlets, extension cords and power strips?
___Do you check all wires and cords for damage and cover all unused electrical outlets?

Smoke Alarms
___Have you installed smoke alarms on every level of your home and near every sleeping area?
___Have you pushed the “test button” on smoke alarms to ensure everyone will recognize the sound of the alarm?
___ Are smoke alarms mounted high on walls or ceilings away from windows, doors and ducts where drafts might interfere with their operation?
___Are smoke alarms located well away from the path of steam from bathrooms and cooking vapors from the kitchen, which can result in false or nuisance alarms?
___Do you test your smoke alarms once a month to make sure they are working, and replace the batteries every year?
___Have you considered installing hard-wired, interconnected smoke alarms with battery back-up so that if one alarm operates, they all signal together?
___Do you replace your smoke alarms when they are 10 years or older?
___Are your smoke alarms listed by Underwriters Laboratories (UL)?

Fire Escape Plans
___Have you identified two exits out of every room?
___Does your family have a designated meeting place outside of your home?
___Does your family practice a home fire escape plan twice a year?
___Have you sketched out a floor plan of your home, including all rooms, windows, interior and exterior doors, stairways, fire escapes and smoke alarms? Is every family member familiar with the layout?