What If Your House Caught Fire? Are You Prepared?

fmdog44

fmdog44

Well-known Member
Location
Houston, Texas
I keep my important documents in a fire box located in the room furthest from the kitchen. I live in a second story condo so I have a rope designed for climbing in a box beneath my windows. I fabricated bars from 1/2" steel tied to the bars to drape over the window's edge. Smoke alarms are in every room but they are for smoke and I would never depend on them to save my life. There is a fire extinguisher centrally located as well. But my point is here when all else fails are you prepared to get out and get out fast.
 

We have a one story house now with 4 exits. We also have a fireproof box for important documents. I also store my pictures near an exit because my pictures are very important memories for me. No other material things mean that much to me. Only my Husband and myself now are important to me in our house.
 
I live in a 1940's concrete building with steel doors in every room and sprinklers in the stairwells so unless the fire is actually in my apartment I'll be fine.

I should put together a "bug out box" with everything in a central location to make it more convenient for me and the burglars in the event that either of us needs to make a hasty retreat.

Good idea, thanks!
 

We recently attended a "Fire Safety" seminar, and it was mostly devoted to selling a grossly overpriced set of smoke/fire detectors. However, it did bring home a couple of good points....the need to have a sufficient number of smoke detectors properly located through the house, and a strong suggestion to keep a fire extinguisher in the bedroom. Most of the fire related deaths occur at night, while the people are sleeping...so we added a good extinguisher in our bedroom...where we can quickly grab it. We also bought a few more detectors, and now have about 10 located throughout the house, basement and garage. I have a fireproof gun safe in the basement, and that is where we keep all of our important paperwork.
 
I like the idea of keeping a fire extinguisher in my bedroom!

It might also come in handy for self-defense.

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We have a fire proof box with important papers easily accessible. Two exits. Also, we are in a 1 story with easy exit. I keep the animals travel cage on the floor next to their main cage. Also an extra car key near each exit. I do want to replace our fire alarms. They are wired to the electric and do n ot have battery back up. Have meant to replace them, but always seems to go forgotten. DH wants to get CO 2 detectors as well
 
I have to say, please don't bother with fire extinguishers unless the fire is small and contained, like on the stove. If you have a fire in your home, GET OUT of the house.

We have a fireproof safe but we live in a 2-story house and our bedroom is upstairs. I suppose I'll get a broken leg jumping out of here but I'll take that to burning. We do have smoke detectors and insurance.
 
One other thing. All of our windows are free from outside obstructions, and not far from ground. So, if in dire emergency we can just break the glass, push out the screen and get out.
 
Important papers are stored in a good, locked fireproof safe at the end of the house opposite to the kitchen. One story house with plenty of smoke detectors - an even mix of ionization and photoelectric types. Smoke detectors are all wired so that if one goes off, they all go off. They all have backup batteries. Carbon monoxide detectors on each floor. Fire extinguishers in the kitchen area and just outside our bedroom door, plus a large one near the shop in the basement. I replace batteries every October and buy new smoke detectors and fire extinguishers every ten years. We have excellent egress through doors at the front, back and one end of the house, but from the bedroom end we would need to go out a window. In the spring, I'll be having an exit door installed in our bedroom.

I like the idea of having a spare car key someplace accessible if we had to evacuate. Hadn't thought of that.
 
Pinky said:
We've always kept important documents in a bank safety deposit box.
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I don't know about in Canada, but I've been told that in the US when a person dies their safe deposit box can be sealed until the courts have reviewed their estate. I understand this can take some time. Perhaps someone else here has better information about this.

That's the reason ours is in a safe to which our children have access.
 
Tommy said:
I don't know about in Canada, but I've been told that in the US when a person dies their safe deposit box can be sealed until the courts have reviewed their estate. I understand this can take some time. Perhaps someone else here has better information about this.

That's the reason ours is in a safe to which our children have access.
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Aaah, hadn't considered that. I do have several copies of important documents that I keep in my files.
 
Tommy said:
I don't know about in Canada, but I've been told that in the US when a person dies their safe deposit box can be sealed until the courts have reviewed their estate. I understand this can take some time. Perhaps someone else here has better information about this.

That's the reason ours is in a safe to which our children have access.
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This is true here,also, unless you have someone else as a secondary signer with access. Even then, it could be iffy to get in.

The law office I worked for always advised people NOT to keep their original will in a bank safe deposit box, for this very reason.
 
fmdog44 said:
This may not be popular but once you are out never go back in your home to save your pets.
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Sadly, you are right. As some folks here know, we have a pair of rats as pets. I do keep their travel cage right next to their main cage. If I am able to get them out, I will. But if forced to let them go, the so be it. I think it is especially important to stress that to children, who may want to go back in. A few years back, there was a devastating house fire in my neighborhood. A young boy died because the other adults did not realize he went back in to find the dog.
 
Butterfly said:
This is true here,also, unless you have someone else as a secondary signer with access. Even then, it could be iffy to get in.

The law office I worked for always advised people NOT to keep their original will in a bank safe deposit box, for this very reason.
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Wow! Thanks for the tip. I'll add one of our children as a signer to the safety deposit box. When my mother died four years ago I had no problem getting into the safety deposit box (we were both signers).
 
Am I prepared...umm...toasting fork-check. Marshmallows-check.
Yep-all prepared.

[oh,btw,all my 'important' documents are triplicated and held in three separate locations-all of which are secure.]
 
No, we aren't really prepared for a fire. We do have a fireproof little suitcase type of thing with our passports, deed to the house, titles to vehicles, and in my dreams, a load of cash. About a year ago I put this behind the drapes near our front door and told my husband, kids and grandkids, if they are here and there is a fire to grab it as they head out the door. I do have an external hard drive full of photos I'd grab IF I had the time. My daughter is in the process of putting all my family photos online for anyone in the immediate family to access if they want to. So far I've just taken one small box of photos to her house. This will be a long process.
 

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