Disney Dreams asked:


We’ve only practiced once when we moved into our new home. I’m sure with little kids they need to know all the right things to do. at our first practice. all the lights were off it was dark. I was with them giving them instructions. once all the fire alarms were set off at the same time. I had the door shut to the kids rooms. told them to feel the door if it was hot. If it was cool then it would be safe to open. they were scared from all the alarms. I told them to stay on their knees and stay calm. we crawled to the front door as quick as possible. It would have been more interesting if we had a fake smoke. it’s sad to hear kids or families dieing on house fire. I love to practice any hazard safetly with my children

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3 Responses to “How many times should we practice with the family fire safety evacuations at home?”

1. lynnweigel on October 27th, 2008 6:34 am

   Once per month would be officiant!

2. sglmom on October 28th, 2008 11:21 am

   You don’t need fake smoke or anything else …

   Here is the experience of a Long Term Single Parent, one who raised TWO Disabled Children on her own from the time they were very young toddlers (and now .. they are out on their own) …

   I made sure that EACH child knew the way out of the home and was able to practice the route at least once a month — twice a month for the first few months in a new home.

   They also attended all the children’s events around town — the ones where the local fire department brought to these free events their little ‘fire safety trainer’ (a model house on wheels), where the kids got to learn from the firemen what to do for safety, and then they got to go into the little model house and practice crawling for the door through ’smoke’ ….

   This all helps. Look around — find out when and where your local fire department has its safety classes for children and take them to it so they can learn from the firemen what they need to do as well!

3. firelt on October 31st, 2008 7:43 am

   As a firefighter and instructor, I usually recommend that parents perform fire drills at a minimum of two times a year. The time should correlate with the daylight savings time change. This is when you should also replace the batteries in your smoke detectors. You should also practice a fire drill after the children have gone to bed and are asleep to ensure that they wake up to the sound of the smoke detectors.

   You really don’t need to add fake smoke to ensure a successful fire drill. Also don’t forget to show your children a second way out such as a window or back door in case the front door is inaccessible. Unless of course the window is on the second floor or the window cannot be reached by them.

   Remember to show them a meeting spot outside the home, don’t take anything with them, get out and stay out, and call 911 from a neighbors home not from inside your home.

   For more information visit :

   Kudos to you for taking an active approach to your children’s safety! Most parents don’t do fire drills with their children!