Fire can spread rapidly through your home, leaving you as little as one or two minutes to escape safely once the alarm sounds. Read all of NFPA’s escape planning tips and download our free safety tip sheet.
Your ability to get out depends on advance warning from smoke alarms and advance planning.
In 2013, there were an estimated 369,500 reported home structure fires and 2,755 associated civilian deaths in the United States.
Fire can spread rapidly through your home, leaving you as little as one or two minutes to escape safely once the alarm sounds. Pull together everyone in your household and make a plan. Walk through your home and inspect all possible exits and escape routes. Households with children should consider drawing a floor plan of your home, marking two ways out of each room, including windows and doors. Also, mark the location of each smoke alarm. For easy planning, download NFPA’s escape planning grid (PDF, 1.1 MB). This is a great way to get children involved in fire safety in a non-threatening way.