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OSFM »   Community Risk Reduction »   Fire Prevention & Education »   Home Escape Plan

Home Escape Plan

Escape Plan

Did You Know...

  • In less than 30 seconds, a small flame can turn into a major fire. 
  • Fire can spread rapidly throughout your home, leaving as little as one or two minutes to escape safely once the smoke alarm sounds.
  • Only 47% of families have developed and practiced a home, fire escape plan.
  • Every two and a half hours, someone is killed in a home fire. In a typical year, 20,000 people are injured in a home fire.
  • Having a working smoke alarm reduces the chance of dying in a fire by nearly half.
  • Children and older adults are twice as likely to die in a home fire.
  • A closed door may slow the spread of smoke, heat and fire.

Top Safety Tips

Create a Home Fire Escape Plan

  • Draw your home floor plan.
  • Label all the rooms and identify the doors and windows.  
  • Plan 2 escape routes from every room.
  • Provide alternatives for anyone with a disability.
  • Agree on a meeting place where everyone will gather after you have escaped.

Practice Your Home Fire Escape Plan

  • Review your escape plan with everyone that stays in the house, including children.
  • Test the smoke alarm, monthly.
  • Practice crawling low beneath the smoke.
  • Remember to check doors for heat with your hand; if a door is hot, do not open it.
  • Close the doors as you leave.
  • Practice with a collapsible ladder if you have one.
  • Go directly to your meeting place; do not stop to find your pets or valuables.
  • Remember to get out and stay out.
  • Practice your plan at least twice a year.

Home Escape Plan Resources

  • Sparky - Fire Escape Plan Template
  • Ready.gov - Home Fire Escape Plan Information
  • NFPA - National Fire Protection Association
  • Nationwide - Make Safe Happen
  • American Red Cross

This page was last modified on 03/21/2022

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North Carolina Office of State Fire Marshal

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325 N. Salisbury Street
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https://www.ncosfm.gov/community-risk-reduction/fire-prevention-education/home-escape-plan