What to do if a fire starts in your Missoula home

2/16/2023 (Permalink)

If a fire starts in your home, the most important thing to remember is “Get out, Stay out!”

Sometimes fires happen. Despite preventative measures, despite early warning systems, approximately 370,000 residential fires occur in the U.S. each year. In the event of such an emergency in your home, it is important to think and act quickly, and talking with your family about what to do during a fire can help ensure their safety if the unexpected does occur.
The most important thing to remember if a fire starts in your home (and becomes too large for a fire extinguisher) is to get out. The American Red Cross also advises us to shout “Fire!” several times as we are evacuating, to alert others. Checking closed doors on your escape route to make sure they’re not warm. If doors are in your path and are warm to the touch, do not open them; use your secondary route, or place a wet towel under the door and call 9-1-1 if you cannot evacuate safely. If your evacuation route is filled with smoke, stay low and close doors behind you until you reach an exit. As soon as you are outside, call 9-1-1 and go to your family’s emergency meeting place.
Once your family is safely evacuated and the Missoula Fire Department has responded to the fire in your home, call SERVPRO of Missoula as soon as possible to begin the process of making the fire “Like it never even happened.”

For more fire safety tips, head to https://www.redcross.org/get-help/how-to-prepare-for-emergencies/types-of-emergencies/fire/if-a-fire-starts.html