Thank you First Alert for sponsoring this post. October is Fire Prevention Month! Help ensure your home and family are ready for the unexpected by installing smoke & CO alarms and having fire extinguishers!
Fire Prevention is very important to us as parents of 4 little ones. My husband and I are constantly doing what we can to take care of our home and be prepared.
With October being Fire Prevention Month I want to share with you a few of the ways that we prepare our home, ourselves, and our kids in case of a fire. Our go-to for fire safety products is First Alert and you can find them at Lowe’s!
Fire Safety Checklist for Parents
1.Install Smoke & Carbon Monoxide Alarms
One of the most important ways you can prepare your home is by installing smoke & carbon monoxide alarms in your home. It is recommended you install one on every level and in every bedroom.
We love First Alert’s Combination Smoke & Carbon Monoxide Alarms with a 10-Year Sealed Battery. I love that I can have a smoke and carbon monoxide alarm in one. The instructions with their alarms are so great and easy to follow.
2.Test Your Alarms
It is important to test your smoke and carbon monoxide alarms regularly. To make it easy I added a monthly recurring event to my calendar so we don’t forget! It is recommended you test them regularly.
3.Change The Batteries
Along with testing your smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, CHANGE THEIR BATTERIES! You want to change their batteries about every six months.
According to the Nation Fire Protection Association, 3 out of 5 home fire deaths occur in homes with no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms. So please – test your alarms regularly! Do not remove your alarms or remove the batteries without replacing them.
However, with the First Alert Combination Smoke & Carbon Monoxide Alarms with a 10-Year Sealed Battery, you don’t need to! The First Alert 10-Year Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm includes a built-in 10-year lithium battery, so no more battery replacements or late night battery chirps!
It provides you with continuous power for the life of the detector. Super conveniently it has an end-of-life alert that lets you know when the alarm should be replaced.
4.Have a Fire Extinguisher
Having AND knowing how to use a fire extinguisher is so important! Fire extinguishers are crucial for fire safety and should be placed on every level of the home. You should especially have them in common places like the kitchen, laundry room, garage, by a grill, fireplace, etc.
This is especially important during these times that we are spending more time at home and cooking more. Did you know the #1 cause of fires is unattended cooking? So have those fire extinguishers within reach! Shown in this blog post is the First Alert Kitchen Fire Extinguisher — it’s small and can easily fit in one of our kitchen cabinets.
But we don’t just need them handy, we also need to make sure we know how to use them! An easy way to remember how to use a fire extinguisher is with the acronym P.A.S.S.:
P – Pull the pin
A- Aim the nozzle at the base of the fire
S- Squeeze the trigger
S- Sweep from side to size
5.Plan & Practice
It is important not just to create a plan in case of a fire, but also talk to your family about it. Fire safety and prevention is something we should talk to our kids about and include them in our plan so they know what to do.
Include things in your plan such as 2 exit routes out of each room, a place to meet outside (like your mailbox), and calling 911 once safely out!
Fire safety is such an important concept to practice. We all want to do what we can to protect our family and with this easy checklist, we can help prepare!
