Guides
Fire escape planning, explained
Short, practical guides for families and vacation rental hosts. Read one, then make your plan.
How to make a home fire escape plan, step by step
Draw your home, mark two ways out of every room, pick a meeting place, and practice. A simple, complete guide to a family fire escape plan.
For vacation rental hostsFire escape plans for vacation rentals: what to post and where
Guests don’t know your house. What a vacation rental evacuation map needs to show, where to post it, and the other pages inspectors often ask for.
Florida hostsFlorida vacation rental fire safety requirements: a host’s checklist
The statewide fire safety rules for Florida vacation rentals: smoke alarms, extinguishers, emergency lighting, posted evacuation diagrams, CO alarms, and local extras.
Escape windowsBedroom escape window size requirements, explained
How big a bedroom escape window has to be: 5.7 square feet, 24 inches high, 20 inches wide, and a sill no higher than 44 inches. With worked examples.
AlarmsWhere to put smoke and carbon monoxide alarms
Inside every bedroom, outside each sleeping area, on every level. Where smoke and CO alarms go, where they don’t, and how often to test and replace them.
Local guides: Brevard County, FL
Melbourne Beach, FL vacation rental requirements: registration, inspection, and fire safety
What the Town of Melbourne Beach asks of vacation rental owners: the certificate of compliance, the drawings to submit, the annual inspection checklist, and the house rules.
Cocoa Beach, FLCocoa Beach, FL vacation rental requirements: registration and fire inspection checklist
How vacation rental registration works in Cocoa Beach, what the fire inspection checks, and the occupancy, parking, and posting rules for hosts.
Brevard County, FLBrevard County, FL vacation rental rules: taxes, licenses, and town requirements
The rules every Brevard County vacation rental host shares (state license, sales tax, the 5% tourist tax) and what each Space Coast beach town adds.