Creation of safety plans urged as part of fire prevention week

In observance of Fire Prevention Week Oct. 6-12, the Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction’s Division of Fire Prevention, together with the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), reminds Kentuckians to develop an emergency fire safety plan.

According to the NFPA, in 2017 U.S. fire departments responded to 357,000 home structure fires. Over 2,600 deaths and 10,600 injuries resulted from those fires.

State Fire Marshal and Director of the Division of Fire Prevention Mike Haney encourages families to take fire safety seriously.

“In a typical home fire, you may have as little as one to two minutes to escape once a smoke alarm sounds,” said Haney. “I encourage families to sit down together, make a plan, and practice it regularly.”

The Kentucky Division of Fire Prevention recommends taking the following steps to develop an emergency fire safety plan:

• Draw a map of each level of the home, showing all doors and windows
• Go to each room and identify two exits
• Designate family members to wake and assist children, older adults, and disabled individuals
• Teach children how to escape independently if help is unavailable
• Establish a location to meet after exiting the home
• Install and maintain smoke alarms properly

For additional fire safety tips, visit, http://dhbc.ky.gov/sfm/Pages/Safety.aspx.