Prepare Now Before Fire Strikes Your Home

We never think it’s going to happen to us. It ALWAYS happens to someone else…until it does happen to us. Yesterday’s fire at 348 Chestnut Street in Oneonta sparked conversation around the dinner table last night about being prepared for a fire. Our kids were eager to talk about it because I think they just want reassurance that they’ll be safe if we ever have a fire in our house.

We talked about our family plan and what to do and where to meet. It’s great to revisit this conversation each year because I have found that it is easy to forget the details. After doing some research on preparing for a fire, I found out that we’re not as prepared as we thought we were. There’s a lot involved but well worth the effort for peace of mind.

Here are some great tips to follow from HowToDoThings.com

1. Change the batteries in your smoke alarm twice a year.

2. Have a fire extinguisher handy on each floor of your home.

3. Have a family escape plan and where to meet.

4. For insurance purposes make a list and take pictures of items in your home.

5. Copy valuable documents and keep CD backup of computer files off site.

6. Make sure you have complete fire insurance coverage.

7, Have enough money set aside as an emergency fund to live off of while you’re recovering from the fire.