How To Develop a Home Fire Evacuation Plan

1/23/2023 (Permalink)

By having a fire evacuation plan, you will be prepared for an emergency situation and know what to do if one occurs.

Fire is one of the most dangerous threats to any home. It's important to know how to evacuate your house in case of an emergency and have a plan in place if something goes wrong. Having an evacuation plan can save lives, including those of your pets and children. Here are some tips on how to develop a plan:

Know Your Emergency Exits

Know the best way to get out of your house when a fire erupts. Know how many exits there are in each room, and how to easily get out to the hallway and the outside.

Know Your Meeting Place

The meeting place should be a safe, nearby location where everyone in your group can gather. Designate specific locations following a fire so that you can be sure to meet up with all of your family and friends. Remember this is an emergency, so if someone does get separated from the group, they should report to their designated meeting place immediately.

Build a Disaster Supply Kit

Your kit should include:

• A working flashlight with spare batteries
• Bottled water and nonperishable food
• Special medications (if needed) in a waterproof container, such as a plastic bag or metal canister. 

Teach Your Kids What to Do and Practice

Teach your kids what to get low and go. Teach kids to drop to the floor, cover their heads with their hands and crawl toward the nearest exit. Practice this in a safe environment, such as at home when there's no danger of fire or in an empty classroom if you can get permission from your school.

Have you practiced the plan with your family? If not, it's time that you do. Make sure everyone knows what to do in an emergency and practice using your family's home fire evacuation plan at least once a year. If some members of your family have special needs or access issues, consider practicing with them as well so that they can get out safely in case of a fire.

As with the rest of your family, you should include pets in your evacuation plan.

Special Considerations

If you have family members with disabilities, it’s important to consider their needs during an evacuation. People with mobility issues may need assistance getting out of the home, while those who require medical attention will need to make arrangements for their care.

Once everyone is safely outside, make sure that disabled people are not separated from their caregivers or friends. If possible, stay together as a group until everyone has been accounted for by firefighters or another emergency response team

There are steps you can take to ensure that you and others on your property stay safe from fire and other emergencies. By having a fire evacuation plan, you will be prepared for an emergency situation and know what to do if one occurs. If you experience a house fire, give SERVPRO of San Ramon a call! We will get your san Ramon home back to normal as quickly as possible.

Holiday Fire Safety Tips

12/19/2022 (Permalink)

When fire damage affects your home, our team at SERVPRO can remove the debris and restore your kitchen!

It’s the season for holiday celebrations and family get-togethers, but it's also a time when homes are filled with more people than normal. And that means more potential for fires. Here are some tips on how to keep your home and loved ones safe this holiday season.

Reduce the Risk of Christmas Tree Fires

• If you are planning on using a real tree, make sure it is fresh and green.
• Keep the tree well watered. A dry tree will be more flammable than a well-watered one.
• Keep the tree away from heat sources such as candles or lamps that use flame, ovens or electricity.
• Don't place candles near the tree because they can cause it to catch fire if they fall over or get too close to branches of your Christmas tree when lit up with lights that have become old and worn out over time (more than 3 years old).

Holiday Decorating Tips

Use lights that are marked as flame retardant. When buying holiday lights, look for the label "flame retardant" on the package. These types of lights are designed to withstand a potential fire and contain less toxic materials than most other artificial Christmas decorations.
Keep your tree away from heat sources such as candles or space heaters.
Don't overload extension cords with too many light strands; make sure they aren't tangled up with each other or anything else in your home that could cause them to short out (like paper towels on the floor). Also consider using an outlet timer so you don't have to worry about turning off all those lights at night!

Avoiding Candle Fires

Keep candles away from curtains and other flammable materials.
Don't leave candles unattended, even for a brief period of time.
Burn candles for no more than 4 hours at a time—and never leave them burning overnight.
Place your candle on a stable, heat-resistant surface that is not easily combustible (such as wood).

How May Electrical Fires be Prevented?

Christmas lights are a popular feature in many homes during the holiday season. It is important to practice Christmas light safety and use caution when installing or using electrical decorations.
It is recommended that metallic trees not be illuminated with electric lights. Extension cords should be used for indoor and outdoor lighting needs, including those for trees, garlands, wreaths, etc.
All electrical decorations should be turned off when leaving the house or going to bed at night. This includes indoor and outdoor Christmas lights as well as other electrical decorations such as inflatable lawn figures or inflatables of any kind that require electricity for operation. 

Is Your Fireplace Prepared for the Christmas Season?

Check your fireplace to make sure it's clean. This will help prevent creosote buildup, which can cause dangerous chimney fires.
Make sure you have working smoke detectors that are properly installed and maintained in every room of your house.
Make sure you have a fire extinguisher located on each floor of your home (in addition to the one in the kitchen), near all exits and clearly labeled with instructions on what type of fire they can be used on (such as "Class A" or "Class B"). Some states require two types of extinguishers per building, with at least one being automatic; check your local regulations for specifics about placement and maintenance requirements for these devices before purchasing them from a hardware store or online retailer.
Having an easy-to-reach location for a fire blanket nearby is also important—if anything catches fire before you get back from running errands downtown this afternoon then hopefully you'll remember where it was stored!

With these tips, you can make sure your home is safe and secure during this holiday season. Remember, a fire is not something to take lightly. While most people know how to deal with small fires, larger ones can quickly overwhelm even the best-equipped homes unless you're prepared for them ahead of time!

What to do in case of a fire

1/18/2021 (Permalink)

Fires are unnerving situations that one hopes never to be put in. None the less, you should be prepared in case a fire breaks out because you may only have seconds to act. The main three aspects to surviving a fire is the following:

• Learn how to work a fire extinguisher. Learning to protect your home but having a fire extinguisher can minimize the amount of damage to your home. If you don’t have a fire extinguisher, you should go out and get one. For smaller household fires, these tools can be effective in stopping the spread of the fire and save your home. When using an extinguisher, remember to use the P.A.S.S
  1. Pulling the Pin.
  2. Aiming the nozzle at the base of the fire (From a safe distance)
  3. Squeezing the lever (to release the extinguishing material)
  4. Sweeping the nozzle from side-to-side until the entire fire is extinguished.
• When fires cannot be extinguished easily, or you don’t have one readily available, you should get your family and pets and vacate the building as soon as possible. Having an escape plan and a safe meeting place in case of emergency is important during this process to make sure that all members of your family are safe. Here is what you should do when you need to escape the building:
  1. Move quickly but safely. If there is smoke, you should always crawl on your hands and knees. Smoke rises first along the ceiling, so you’ll want to crawl quickly to any exit.
  2. Test doors and doorknobs. Before you open any door, you should check the doorknob. If the doorknob is hot the fire is on the other side of the door and that is not a safe exit. If you open a door, do so slowly.
  3. Get out. If you can reach members of the family or pets without risking your safety, do it quickly and get out. Once you have reached the outside off the building, do not re-enter the building. Take a headcount and report to the authorities any missing people or pets.
  4. Call for help. Once you are safe outside, call 9-1-1 for help. Enlist neighbors for assistance if needed.
• When you can’t escape, this is where prior preparation could save one’s life. It is important that all family members, including children, know what to do in case of a fire within the building. Make sure that children are not afraid of firefighters, making sure they know how they dress in order for them to call out for them. They should never try to hide from a fireperson trying to save their life. Make sure that everyone knows to close doors and cover vents, cracks, or holes. Use a phone, window, or your voice to call for help and alert everyone where you are in the building. Have a backup plan in case you are in a building that has multiple levels and finally, if you catch fire, Stop Drop and Roll. Do this until the fire has been extinguished from your clothing.

If your business or home has been affected by a fire, call SERVPRO of San Ramon @ (925) 999-0927.