Preparing to get out

I had a friend Emil me last week as she watched the Colorado fires burning in the distance. She was safe or now, but felt that things could go bad fast, and she wanted to prepare. Here was my advice to her: Top 15 things to do NOW 1. Go thru your entire house w a video camera, and narrate the tour identifying everything including the date.  Open drawers, cabinets, closets, everything.   2. Fill easy to carry tubs NOW so you can grab and go.  Be thoughtful and prepared.  It will be easier to put things away than to hurry and grab.  Put the following in those tubs: 3. Pictures 4. Family heirlooms...if it's big, wrap in a garbage bag, tape it shut and put it in the car or basements 5. Jewelry 6. A weeks worth of clothes and shoes, deodorants, tooth paste, brushes, combs, mmbrushes... 7. A couple blankets, sheets, pillows in case you mare in a shelter for a while 8. Your homeowners policy and agent contact info 9. Medicines, eyeglasses, prescriptions, doctor names and phone numbers 10. Souvenirs that you would miss 11. Marriage licenses, tax returns seven years, birth certs, social security cards 12. If you have pets, their food for a week, a cage, leashes, meds 13. Wedding dresses, baptism gowns, etc 14. Portable computers, phone chargers, flash light and batteries, Download computer files onto an external hard drive and take it 15. Grab address books, etc. letters, etc Most importantly though, things are things. Houses can be rebuilt, but your family makes a house a home. Protect them first.

Here come the holidays

It's almost time for the first in a series of highly anticipated holidays, bringing with them their rituals, traditions and celebrations among families, friends, even strangers. Approach these holidays with a new perspective....make them safe. Read the post below on Holiday safety, and consider giving a gift of safe home planning this year. While my book hasn't sold record breaking copies (really hard without a publicist/publisher), those that HAVE read it have said the following: I loved your book..I am working through each chapter and my wife and I are making changes, creating lists, etc. We live in a log home, in a wooded area, and your tips have really made us look at everything in a new light...Mike E., St. Louis, MO........and another.....I was so inspired by your book that this year, I am giving each of my sisters and my son a copy of your book in one of those plastic storage tub you recommend, with a home fire extinguisher, a note pad, and a disposable camera...I hope they will be safe, and I hope my gift conveys how important they all are to me...Peggy B., Cape Girardeau, MO...

Please share your safety tips here and consider making someone you love safe this holiday. The book is available on the website, www.isurvivedahousefire.com. If you want an autographed copy, I'll make that happen if you email me via the contact page on the website. Happy SAFE holidays to you and your family!!

Fire Drills...how to, when to

Do you routinely practice home fire drills? Here's a quick and easy guide to get you started:

1) Where: Answer--everywhere. Each month, on a set day of the month, pick a new location to practice evacuating from until you've covered the entire house, then start over.

2) How: From the room you are practicing from, consider the following: Rescue: Who/what should you rescue from this room if it is the one you must get out of? Which doorway? Which window? What if one or the other is blocked? Use a red towel to symbolize the fire line, and then have your family figure out a safe escape. Alert: Where in this room can they find a way to alert the rest of the family? The fire department? Contain: What can they use in this room to try to contain the fire? Where is the closest extinguisher? Are there sprinklers? Smoke alarms? What do they sound like from that room? Extinguish: Is it possible?

3) When: Monthly...from at least one room in the house. Also, try it in the middle of the night at least twice a year...who does the smoke alarm wake up? Who sleeps through? Whose job is it to be whose buddy?

4) Have a meeting place outside the home, safely away from the building. Where is it? What do you do if someone is not there? Remind the family that no one goes back in...the fire department is trained to do this and will as soon as they arrive...so stay together.

These are the basics. For more info, read the book!