Thank you First Alert for sponsoring this post
Fall is officially here! Though judging by the temperatures in Texas, you would’ve never guessed it but, according to the calendar, it’s fall y’all!
In the last few posts, I have shared a few of our favorite fall decor pieces (you can check here and here), but today we are talking about how to help keep our home safe.
October is Fire Prevention Month, and truth be told, many of the fall pieces we all love so much can be highly flammable and can cause a fire in our beautiful, fully decorated homes! I have teamed up with First Alert to chat about how we can help protect our homes this fall, winter, and well the entire year!
More importantly, how we can teach our littles fire safety so they know what to do in case of an emergency!
First, let’s chat about home fire safety.
Home safety is key to keeping our family safe. What do I mean by this?
It’s making sure our home is equipped with the right products to help us in an emergency!
I think we have all been there when the alarm starts to chirp in the middle of the night, and we unplug it since we don’t have the correct battery size. It’s a horrible thing to say, but it’s the truth! Then with everything in our busy schedules, we forget to place the new batteries in, and for many people, this can last days if not weeks! (Note: this is not recommended) Or the chirping alarm that you have had with a low battery for so long that you are so used to the chirp that you don’t even hear it!
I don’t have to tell you how busy our lives are, because I’m sure your days are just as busy but making these little errors can have bigger effects on our family than we would like!
First Alert has made it 1000% easier on us with their Combination Smoke & Carbon Monoxide Alarm with 10-Year Sealed Battery included! This means no battery replacements or late-night, low-battery chirps for a decade. We can easily upgrade our alarms little by little or all at once and have nothing to worry about for the next 10 years.
Important fact: Make sure to change your alarm batteries every 6 months unless you have the 10-year battery one listed above. All alarms should be replaced completely at least every 10 years.
2. Smoke & Carbon Monoxide Alarm Placement and Age
We live in a two-story home and most rooms are upstairs. It’s important to place alarms on every level of your home and inside all bedrooms. Cami and I took inventory of our alarms and made sure we had a working alarm in every room upstairs! Our home is also on the older side, 23 years old to be exact and many of the regulations now are not the same as they were back then.
If your home is like ours, make sure you have alarms placed in every room and on all levels! It’s important that it is heard in every room of our homes in case of an emergency!
I also saved the number of alarms we have all throughout the house to make sure we can start replacing them little by little with the 10-year battery alarms so I don’t have to worry about having to replace the batteries every 6 months.
You know, taking one thing off our to-do list! ☺️
3. Create and practice a fire escape plan.
For the longest time, I wanted to avoid sharing all of this with Bella as I didn’t want her getting worried or scared, but she does it in school and knows exactly what and how to do it, so why not make sure she knows at home as well?
Most of our children are either in daycare or school and are already used to the idea of fire drills, and we must make it a priority at home too! Home is their safe haven and, we, as parents need to have a plan that, even on difficult days, is still their safe place! Draw an outline of our home and identify two exits out of each room. This will be your home fire escape plan.
Be sure to also designate an outside meeting spot, it can be with a neighbor or a nearby park to make it your family’s meeting place in case of an emergency, and then call 9-1-1 once to your meeting spot!
4. Have a Fire Extinguisher and know how to use it.
I’ll be 100% honest, I had no idea how to use a fire extinguisher for a good part of my life. We’ve had one in both of our homes but I had little to no idea how to use it or that they also expire! Crazy!
We have the Rechargeable Home Fire Extinguisher from First Alert in our kitchen downstairs and have a second extinguisher on our list for the second floor! First Alert recommends we have one on every floor of our homes, especially in the kitchen.
The National Fire Protection Association states that the #1 cause of home fires is unattended cooking, which makes it crucial we have one in our kitchens within reach! Ours hangs in the pantry very close to the stove and the entire family knows where it is!
Here is an easy acronym to remember how to use a fire extinguisher.
P.A.S.S.
P – Pull the pin
A- Aim the nozzle at the base of the fire
S- Squeeze the trigger
S- Sweep from side to side
5. Practice, Practice, Practice
Like anything else in life, to get it right, we have to practice and fire safety is the same!
As parents, there are many things we can do like
Stay in the kitchen when cooking
Install smoke and carbon monoxide alarms and ensure they are in working condition
Have a designated box of keepsakes that is fireproof
Keep important documents in a fireproof box
Keep the right batteries on hand for alarms
Have a fire extinguisher on every floor and especially in the kitchen
Turn off space heaters when you leave the room
Remove dryer lint and change filters
Keep flammable items away from heat sources
Don’t leave candles unattended- Remember the fall decorations*
Use surge protectors
Have a first aid kit
And the list can go on and on.
For kids, the only thing to do and the most beneficial is to practice, practice, practice!
Have it fresh in their memories and make them a part of this exercise! They will feel included and will find it fun.
I hope this post helps and motivates us all to keep our home running smoothly and our families safe! Practicing fire safety and installing the proper protection is key to help protect your home and family. You can purchase all the products listed here at your local Lowe’s!
Do you have any fire safety tips that you use with your family?
You can find First Alert fire safety products at Lowe’s.
