If Your House Catches Fire

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GET A PLAN

Once you get out safely, stay out. Don't get any lame ideas about saving your high school yearbook.

If you have children you owe it to them and to yourself to work out an escape plan. Remember, chances are any fire will start while they're sleeping and you may not have the opportunity to tell them what to do. They need to know what to do, and they'll only know if they've practiced it. Plus, children, when they panic, look for places to hide, like a closet or under the bed. They need to know to get out of the house, and how to do it, by crawling to the nearest exit.

If a window is your only option, lower any children to the ground first. Kids might panic and not follow if you leave first. Once outside head to the meeting place that's the final piece of your escape plan, like a mailbox or the big tree in your yard. You want to make sure as soon as possible that everyone's safe.

Do the plan.