Thank you First Alert for sponsoring this post. Plan, practice, and repeat your escape plan with First Alert!
Six years ago, in February, it snowed.
It snowed so terribly much that our home in western Massachusetts lost power. We had no electricity and no heat, and couldn't cook. The heavy snowfall had incapacitated cell towers and wifi, so we couldn't communicate with any of our family or friends, including my parents, who live in CT and who'd no doubt been hit hard, too.
On day three, Kristie and I packed our shivering dog into the car and drove south. Even though the roads had been cleared, much of our region was still without power. It was the most eerie feeling in the world to drive along a highway unlit by street lamps as the sun set. Radio DJs listed over and over the locations of places that did have power, or at least heat, where people could go to warm up.
We kept driving, and ended up pulling into my parents' driveway after dark. Their windows were all dark as well, except for a flicker in the living room. Not having been able to communicate beforehand, we had no idea if they were faring better than we, and they didn't know to expect us.
Needless to say, we were all happy to see one another. As it happened, they were in the same boat, having lost power and heat. My childhood home has a fireplace in the living room, however, where my father had stoked a fire and my mother had hung sheets over the doorways to keep the heat in. We stayed in there under blankets most of the night, cooking toast over the fire. The next day our neighbor texted to say that the heat and power was back at our home, as was cell service, so we drove back (and happily were able to extend the same hospitality to my parents since their electricity hadn't yet returned).
It was the biggest storm I can remember – or at least the one that made the biggest impact on our lives. Since then, Kristie and I have been thinking more about the importance of planning for emergencies, especially now that we have Miles. And of course not just snowy emergencies, although that particular memory looms large.
Before that storm, we didn't have a snow emergency plan. And I feel embarrassed to say that before now, we didn't have a fire emergency plan. But I'm so glad that we didn't have to experience it first this time before sitting down to review the layout of each room, plot escape routes, and decide on a meeting place a safe distance from the house.
Thanks to First Alert, we were able to make our home safer and actually make an escape plan. We installed a new smoke detector, set up a smoke/carbon monoxide detector, placed a new fire extinguisher in the kitchen, practiced using an escape ladder, sketched the layout of our home, and even practiced getting the dog and baby together and walking to our safe meeting spot.
You can download the escape planning sheet for free if you want to create a plan, too. The most important thing is to create your plan and practice it again and again, especially involving any children who live with you. (43% of homeowners have an emergency escape plan, and only 33% have discussed fire safety with their children.) That's the message First Alert shares: Plan. Practice. Repeat.
It's important to have an emergency escape plan, of course, but there are protections you can install ahead of time that can alert you and your family if something is amiss. The National Fire Protection Association recommends installing smoke alarms on every level of your home, including the basement, and inside and outside each sleeping area. Carbon monoxide alarms should be on every level, including the basement and near each sleeping area. Test your alarms regularly, keep a fire extinguisher on each level of your home, and get an emergency escape ladder if you have more than one story.
It feels so good to have this plan in place to protect our family. The next time it snows hard, we'll know what to do. And if there's ever a fire or carbon monoxide emergency in our home, we'll know what to do (though hopefully we'll never need to!).
