Create and Practice Your Home Escape Plan—Use Our Grid to Help!

This year's Fire Prevention Week theme, “Serve Up Fire Safety in the Kitchen,” focuses on cooking safety, as cooking is the leading cause of home fires and home fire injuries. But it's important to be prepared in case of a fire in your home, no matter the cause. While NFPA's survey data shows that 71 percent of Americans have a home escape plan, less than half (47 percent) have actually practiced it.

Home escape planning and practice are basic but critical elements of fire safety. Today's home fires are faster than ever. In a typical home fire, you may have as little as one to two minutes to escape safely from the time the smoke alarm sounds.

 To help be prepared in the event of a home fire and escape safely, download this Home Fire Escape Grid so that you can develop and practice a plan with everyone in your household. Practice makes perfect, so drill your escape strategy twice a year, in as realistic conditions as possible. Find more tips and recommendations for creating an escape plan, along with other valuable safety messages for kitchen safety, on our Fire Prevention Week website.