How to make a home fire escape plan, step by step
A home fire can fill a house with smoke in a few minutes, and fire safety groups warn you may have as little as two minutes to get out once the alarm sounds. That is not enough time to work out a plan. A fire escape plan is that thinking done ahead of time: everyone knows two ways out of every room and where to meet outside.
It takes about half an hour. Here is how to make one, or watch the two-minute walkthrough first.
1. Draw a map of your home
Sketch each floor from above: the outside walls, every room, and every door and window. It doesn’t need to be to scale, but it helps if it is, because a clear map is easier for kids and visitors to follow. Draw a separate map for each floor.
2. Mark two ways out of every room
The first way out is usually the door. The second is usually a window, or a second door. Draw arrows for both on the map. Bedrooms matter most, because that is where people are when a fire starts at night.
- Check that every window you plan to use opens easily and is big enough to climb through. Paint, broken latches, and window air conditioners block a lot of second exits.
- Security bars need a quick-release latch on the inside that everyone knows how to use.
- For upper floors, decide how people will get down. A rated escape ladder stored near the window is the usual answer.
3. Mark your smoke alarms
Put a symbol on the map for each smoke alarm. You should have one inside every bedroom, one outside each sleeping area, and one on every level, including the basement. If a spot is missing one, add it to your to-do list. See our guide to smoke and CO alarm placement.
4. Pick a meeting place outside
Choose something fixed, in front of the house, a safe distance away: a mailbox, a tree, a light pole, or a neighbor’s driveway. Everyone goes straight there, so you can count heads and tell firefighters right away whether anyone is still inside.
5. Plan for the people who need help
Young children may sleep through an alarm, and older adults or anyone with limited mobility may need help getting out. Decide in advance who helps whom, and write it on the plan. Don’t plan on going back for pets or belongings. Once you’re out, stay out.
6. Write down the basics
- Call 911 from outside, after you are out.
- Your full street address, so whoever calls can say it clearly.
- Make sure your house number is easy to read from the street, day and night.
7. Practice twice a year
Walk through the plan at least twice a year. Press the smoke alarm test button so everyone knows the sound, then go: each person from their bedroom, by both routes, to the meeting place. Practice once at night too. A plan nobody has practiced is just a drawing on the fridge.
Make your plan in a few minutes
FireEscapePlan.com draws the map for you. Enter your room measurements, mark the doors, windows and alarms, and it marks the escape routes and checks for problems, like a bedroom with only one way out. The home plan is free to make and print.
Free for your home. Draw it, check it, and print it in minutes.
Sources
- NFPA escape planning tips (City of Sterling Heights handout)
- American Red Cross: Two minutes may be all you have to escape a home fire
- Vail Fire: Fire escape planning
Guides are general information to help you prepare, not legal advice or an inspection. Your local fire marshal, building department, or licensing agency decides what applies to your property. See the disclaimer.