During the formative years of your child it is important to bear in mind fire safety in his her bedroom. To this end here are a few tips that you should keep in mind.
Avoid synthetics. That goes for everything from toys to clothing to decor. Synthetics burn faster, hotter and produce much higher quantities of toxic fumes than natural materials.
First and foremost consult with your local hardware store to acquire as class 'A' fire retardant paint. This will help stop the spread of fire on the wall surfaces. Also avoid the use of carpet, they are all synthetic in nature and produce copious amounts of toxic gases under fire conditions. Natural hard-wood floors are preferred.
The baby’s clothing is also important to consider. Choose natural cotton fibers and avoid synthetics. Synthetic fibers will actually melt and fuse to the skin under fire conditions.
Keep plastic toys outside the baby’s bedroom for this same reason. In general make certain that anything in the baby’s room is made of natural fiber or wood.
Install inter-connected smoke alarms with one in your baby’s room and one every else. The current fire code requires one working smoke alarm on each level of the home and one outside each sleeping area. However, there is no such thing as too many smoke alarms.
Have interconnected smoke alarms. That means that if one goes off they all go off. They make these in a wireless format now and they are CSA listed and inexpensive. This doubles the effectiveness of your safety plan.
I know this sounds mundane and repetitive but PRACTICE A HOME ESCAPE PLAN! Have two ways out of every room, have a plan about who mom is going to get and who dad is going to get, how you will get out and where you will meet in the event of a fire.
If bedrooms are on the second floor consider rope ladders as means of escape. Make sure your windows open to allow you to get out. Train your children to leave pets and toys and just get out.
Unless you live in an urban core you must realize this…… it will take the fire department seven minutes to arrive…… you have three minutes to get out.
Plan, plan, plan, practice, practice, practice. The key is early fire detection, a well planned escape route, a meeting place and a way to survive.
