With two house fires this week that claimed the lives of three children, a local fire chief said the tragedy serves as a reminder of how crucial it is to have a fire escape plan.
Baxter Fire Chief Matthew White said the amount of time to escape a house fire has drastically decreased over the years due to the type of materials used in the newly constructed housing. White said having your family prepared in the event of a fire is crucial. White said many kids know what to do during a fire at school, but not at home.
“Make sure that they understand that when the fire alarm goes off, it doesn’t matter what time it is, day or night, that they need to get up and find a safe way out of the house, and you need to have a fire escape plan in place, you know, where they need to go,” White said. “You know, it’s always great to have that plan in place.”
White also reminded that smoke alarms can drastically reduce the risk of death from a house fire. White said every bedroom and common areas are ideal locations for smoke alarms.
“We also recommend that there be a smoke alarm on each floor of your house,” White said. “If you have a basement, there needs to be one there. If you have an upstairs, there also needs to be one up there. The great thing about the smoke alarms that you look at is that just about every fire department in any community in the Upper Cumberland has a program to install these for free of charge.”
White said to avoid installing smoke alarms in kitchens or utility rooms, as they can frequently falsely set them off. White said another fire safety tip is closing your bedroom door when sleeping.
“We even know that a small, simple door can keep flames and heat out of each bedroom at nighttime and make it a longer survivable spot for somebody in the event of a fire,” White said. “So we do recommend at nighttime for you to close your doors.”
White said performing fire drills at home can be different depending on the age of the children. White said children should at least know what a smoke alarm or fire alarm sounds like.