Question for our resident Fire Chief, Ed
MommyToAshley wrote: I have been wondering something and hope this isn't a stupid question.
When we make our plans on how to escape if there is a fire, and practice drill, I am wondering what is best to teach the child....
1) Get down low and get out of the house and have a meeting place.
or
2) Get down low and come to our room and we help her get out of the house.
We know that we would always get her out first if we were to detect the fire, but what should she do if she is the one that detects the fire? My first gut feeling tells me #1, but then I wonder if she really could get out on her own without our help at this age.
What does everyone else tell their kids?
boyohboyohboy replied: I am glad you asked this question..we have told caleb where to meet us out front, but i wonder too if in a real fire with the stress he wouldnt go into the house to look for us first..when asked he answers with all the right answers...
but then one day we heard of a child that was in a house fire, he was calebs age, and he managed to get out, but then realized he left his fav. stuffed animal in his bed, and went back in to get it, and died.
now i asked caleb this, because he has a frog that is his life! so i said what would u do if you were outside and realized froggy was inside and he said GO BACK!
i was shocked..so we talked about that..but i dont know if he would go back.
so i wonder to, do you tell the child to stay low and wait in the room till we come get them?
and does the answer change for kids depending on their age?
and ed since we are talking about fires, do they still make those reflecting tags to put in windows to alert the fireman where a childs room is in a house? and if so where do i get them?
moped replied: Good question...Also I have taken some heat over this but when we put Jack to bed, we lock his door, I could not stand thinking he could be out wandering the house when nobody is awake and what if there was a fire? SO Ed, am I mental?
boyohboyohboy replied: caleb actually just came home and had a fireman come to the school to talk to the kids, and he was told to keep his door shut at night. that was new for caleb.
MommyToAshley replied:
Hmmm, this brings up another interesting point and one I hadn't thought of before. I don't keep Ashley's door shut or locked, but I do keep a gate at the top of the stairs, down the hall. I keep it there in case she wakes up in the middle of the night, I don't want her falling down the stairs. She cannot open the gate herself, most adults can't open it until I show them how. And, the other exit through the kitchen (which is also on the top floor) is a sliding glass door and I keep a security bar in that which she can't remove on her own. So, in reality, she wouldn't be able to get out on her own. Scary, but I am not sure how to give her a safe path out of the house in case of a fire without compromising every day safety.
Kaitlin'smom replied: Kaitlin sleeps with her door shut but not locked. right now our plan is if she hears the alarm to get low and by her window (unless the fire is in her room then she is to get out and come to our room). DH and I have wistles, one blow we are aware and I am getting Kaitlin, (DH is to get out and call for help, if he can grab a cat or 2 on the way but not to hunt for them) 2 blows I have Kaitlin and getting out, 2 blows him he is getting out. She cant get out her window by herself or the front door, she coudl get out the back or get the garage door open if needed. We met near the mailbox.
I personally would not lock my child in a room, how would they get out if the fire would to start in there room?
moped replied:
What are the chances of a fire in their room?
This is what I have been taught and I sleep much better for many reasons knowing he can't wander the house............
Kaitlin'smom replied:
probably not big but if its something like lighting strike or electral they can happen in a moment and fires can spread sooo fast. do you have a smoke dector IN his room?
also what about going potty in the middle of the night? I am not sure if he is there yet.....
Kaitlin'smom replied: also a question for those with 2 or more stories do you all have rope latters in each upper room?
moped replied:
We have dectctors in all rooms and the alarm immediatley goes off int he house - it is a brand new house, so has all the "safety" things for fire, flood and burglar.....he doesn't pee in the night, wakes up dry........
Kaitlin'smom replied: Kaitlin did to but on occasion I hear her use the bathroom in the middle of the night.
glad you have lots of safty features in the house.
For me to lock a child in there room is odd and not something I would do but it works for you, and just wondering who told you to do that?
boyohboyohboy replied: we are working on a ladder for the kids now, but havent had one so far. we should.
i know what jen means about sleeping better with the door locked, although we dont lock the kids doors, we do have a gate at the top of the stairs, caleb can open it but then that would lead to a safetly hazzard for the other kids....
i cant wait to hear eds answers
moped replied:
I was taught that at my parenting classes I take and have taken - not just for fire safety, but for safety in general he can't roam the house when we are all dead asleep - I would die
Kaitlin'smom replied:
so I am guessing the lock the is on the outside of the door?
I will need that when she is a teenager. LOL
but honestly I have never heard of that, I used to worry about that but its never been an issue.
holley79 replied: We have a two story house. We have a fire escape route and we also are able to get out the front window by a rope ladder. Shawn and I have talked about the lock on Annika's door. We are debating on locking it as a half door or locking it as a whole door. I don't want her wondering around while we are asleep because of the stairs. I would die if my daughter fell down the stairs while I was sleeping.
moped replied:
Well if there is something to wrry about I will figure it out and that is a big one, my neice walked out of the hosue one night at 3am - everyone stayed sleeping.....YIKES.
My2Beauties replied:
I guess I am lucky in that Hanna never ever wakes up and roams the house and the only time she does wake up is to pee or if she has had a nightmare, when she does have a nightmare she comes straight to our room. I'm such a light sleeper I can hear her get up and go in the bathroom or walk in the livingroom. Now, I will say this, it would scare me personally but I have a story that might make people re-think this for kids who do roam. My dad's fiance's grandson, might as well say my dad's grandson too, he's with him 24-7, roams his parent's house all the time in the middle of the night. He has recently thrown a lamp (plugged in and turned on)in their fishtank and killed all of their fish in the middle of the night, caused a power surge. Now what if he had stuck his hand down in that water?  He also got up, called 911 (we aren't sure whether he knew 911 or whether he just somehow randomly dialed it, but he probably knew it from daycare, he just turned 3 so I guess he could recognize the #'s) and told the police that his daddy wouldn't wake up. Well his dad was asleep in the middle of the night. The cops come banging on the door which does wake the dad up, the police were not happy campers that he was asleep while the child was up..but he didn't know. So, now they have to lock him in his room. I asked dad about the fire issue too and he was like I know, I thought about the same thing, it's one of those things you're dam*ed if you do and dam*ed if you don't! Whaddya do? Ed???? 
moped replied: Jack doesn't wake up either - that I know of...........but what if.....
moped replied: WOW Leanne, now you have made me feel even better about what COULD happen. I have never had a problem with Jack - he doesn't even get out of his bed until we go get him, but I am a what if kind of girl
moped replied: Yo Ed, where are you buddy?
lovemy2 replied: I was always told - by my Ped to close their door because of fire - we also have a gate up on Olivia's door so she can't leave her room in the nite at least without making alot of noise - my gut tells me you tell your child to stay put in their room and if you can teach them to put a towel/clothes something at the bottom of their door to keep the smoke out they are safer in their room than wandering around - that is of course as long as the fire isn't IN their room - Olivia knows to stay there until someone gets her either from her door or window - she also has a sticker on her window and one on Dylan's alerting firemen that there is a child in the room....she also knows to lay on the floor where the air quality will stay better longer......
MommyToAshley replied:
So, what if there is a fire, she wakes up and detects the fire but you don't. She has been taught to stay by the window.... I guess that is what I am confused about. I don't want Ashley roaming the house where I won't know where she is, but I also don't want her to stay put in case we don't know about the fire and don't wake up. I'm a really light sleeper, but with smoke inhalation, you never know if you will wake up in time or not. I've been told that most people die by the smoke and not the fire, that's why most are found dead in their beds.
luvmykids replied:
I had to lock Macie's door for awhile, I caught her up in the middle of the night on the kitchen counter spraying water everywhere. I got there just as she slipped on the wet counter top....it would have been a NASTY fall. She did a lot of other things too, it was a last resort but I felt better knowing she couldn't hurt herself. We tried monitors, etc but the problem was she was very quiet about it and there wasn't noise until she'd already done whatever she was getting into.
holley79 replied: WOW Leanne that is so scary. I could not even imagine.
Kaitlin'smom replied:
sorry forgot to add if she does not hear the blow of at least one wistle she is to yell FIRE 2 times, if still no wistle, get out and go to the neighbors house.
I agree Dee Dee its a tough call either way. We are just doing what we feel will be best.
However you just made me think of something, will she be able to hear the wistles over the smoke dectors......guess I know what I need to try tonight.
Hillbilly Housewife replied: Eep.
i have a smoke detector on the ceiling of all three levels of the house.
I know my kids wake up at night sometimes... there's many of times I woke up with a start only to realize my middle child was standing next to my bed just staring at me. Creepy.
moped replied:
Ok, quick question Christine.........you have a sticker on the window of th kids rooms - tha tis great and I understan dit for fire safety, but then soemthing else comes to mind...........that is telling burglars where the kdis are sleeping etc.....am I an over paranoid freak?
boyohboyohboy replied: we have one sticker i need to get another for the babies room now, but we are on the second floor so burglers would have to come in thru the front door and go upstairs to get the kids.
i didnt have them when we lived on a single floor house for that reason though.
lovemy2 replied:
You are right Jen - it is something to consider BUT the sticker doesn't say CHILD in this room - it just directs them that it is a bedroom with an occupant that would need assistance in getting out - for all the burglar knows its my old grandma with no teeth in there.....we also have a sticker telling fire/police that we have a dog and what kind of dog it is - and like Stacey - we are on the second floor of the house - there will be alot of noise getting in there if someone tried either through the house or from the roof....
Olivia still has a monitor in her room - will till she moves out of my house  I have never slept through a single noise in her room - hopefully it will continue - we also have a German Shepherd....she makes alot of noise - but you are right - something to consider 
Also - when Olivia was first put in a big girl bed - we always taught her never to get out of the bed until we come get her - now are 5 she will occasionally get out of bed on her own but can't get out of her room cause of the gate but at first we put one of the child safety things on the INSIDE of her door - I could get in but she couldn't get out - again advice of the Ped - it worked great until she learned how to do them herself - that was when the gate went up - but she was always told the door thing and the gate are for HER safety - her room is at the top of the stairs....
Hillbilly Housewife replied: Maybe I have weird kids. My two oldest, anyways... They just climb over the gates.  
moped replied:
That is what I am thinking - gates would not stop them IMO......
boyohboyohboy replied: christine, where did u get your reflecting stickers? mine was given to me when i had caleb 6 yrs ago, and i need to get one more for the babies room.
i looked on line but i dont know the real name for those stickers
lovemy2 replied:
Your right - it may not stop them but I know MY child sure wouldn't be quiet about climbing over the gate  and remember Olivia is only 5 and barely 35 lbs - so she would have a hard time climbing over - some kids I agree it may not work for - like Dylan for example - it definately won't stop him when the time comes
amynicole21 replied: Couldn't you put one of those alarms on their doors that just chime when you open them? They're like $10. Then you would hear them open the door, but they wouldn't be locked in?
lovemy2 replied:
I got the ones that are on the window outside from our friend who is a fireman - check with your local fire department - they also make ones called Tot Finder which you can put INSIDE the house on the outside of their door (part that faces the hallway - they are glow in the dark) so the firemen can find them INSIDE the house as well - I don't have those but probably should - you can use those on the outside too but it depends if you are like Jen and Me and paranoid you are advertising where your kids are in the house It makes the job of the firemen much easier and much more successful if they know where they are going in the house and for who
Google Tot Finder stickers - there is a website....
moped replied:
No, I like my system, I know where he is at all times
lovemy2 replied:
Yes - but to be honest - I LIKE that she is locked in in some senses - obviously if the fire started in her room it would not be a good thing but - she has a smoke alarm IN her room as well as in the hallway outside her room.....so does Dylan (has a detector IN his room) he isn't gated or locked in his room yet - since he is safe in his crib - for now anyway
It has always worked for us - to each his own in these situations IMO - and Olivia can open her door - the gate is there when it opens but she can open it....its a two fold reason - a) fire - I want her to stay in her room and  her room is at the top of the stairs.....
grapfruit replied: When my mom was 2 (she'll be 50 Christmas day) their house caught fire. It was a huge old house w/2 staircases and everything. They think it was electrical. My mom was still in the crib but often climbed out and roamed the house (which like I said was huge). In an effort to keep her in the crib (remember this was 48 years ago!) they "tied" her in w/cloth diapers.
Good thing they did. When the house caught fire it went up quick. My aunt who was (I think) 11 or 12 was able to quickly find her and get her out. My other aunt (who was 4) was hiding in my mom's closet. She grabbed both of them and had to use the back stairs to get out. As she was trying to get two frightened kids out, my aunt pulled away. She had to leave her but luckily my uncle (maybe 13 or 14) scooped her up and they all got out safetly. All that was left of the house was the front and back concrete stoop.
So, knowing that I thinking trying to keep them in their room is a good idea. If they wouldn't of kept my mom in her room (whatever way necessary) then I know I wouldn't be here. No question. They would of never found her in time....
ETA: I don't necessarily think LOCKING the door is a good choice, but maybe a gate or a bell or something.
lovemy2 replied:
By the time the alarm goes off she is out of the room and already falling down the stairs - its literally three steps to the stairs from her bedroom door - even if I FLY out of my bed she will have taken those three steps
grapfruit replied:
Does she sleep walk or just get up? I mean are you normally afraid she'll fall down the stairs?? How about putting a gate at the top of the stairs?
MommyToAshley replied:
That makes sense... I wonder how long kids will wait to exit the house.
At least you have a plan and have practiced it, for you!
I am curious to hear what Ed says that the fire department recommends.
Kaitlin'smom replied: Kaitlin had firesafty last week at school and I know thay asked us to make sure they knew certain things and had and where the escape routs are but not sure how much they talked about the actual plans and whats recomened.
I coudl ask my sister, dad or a friend who is a volly
lovemy2 replied:
No - she doesn't sleep walk but I don't want to take the chance that she may start - or even get up and be a little disoriented or something -
And I agree with everyone- her being gated in her room may not be the best alternative if the fire starts in her room - she does have a smoke detector IN her room but I guess its all those "what ifs" very scary and I guess we all just try to do out best to cover as many bases as we can with our little ones
bawoodsmall replied: We luckily dont have to lock doors or do gates with Emily because if she does wake up she comes straight to our room. Never fails, prob never will. However, Aiden will be a diff story. He is my little adventure man. He will be downstairs getting into something I am sure. I turn my back for 3 minutes and he is on the kitchen table standing. I cant wait for him to be in a big boy bed. It will be so fun. (Ha Ha) Cant wait for Ed to tell us how he would do it.
Kaitlin'smom replied: okay from my sister who is an EMT gave me some info and a # to call if we want more info.
kids around Kaitlin's age should be taught to get low and feel the CLOSED door if its hot they need to make the way over to a window and stay on there belly, once they hear people to call out IM HERE IM HERE (if they can) and to NEVER hide. They do not recomend young childeren to try and get out on there own.
Whats recomened from the fire dept around here is keep the door closed at night and not locked,(at least not from the inside) and do have some type of stickers that tells them how many people are usually in the house. Latter in in every upstairs bedroom or any room above ground leval I am going to call the education specilest to see if I can get some stickers for the inside of our house. Like many of you I dont want to advertise how many people live there.
Oh and practice, one night see if your household will wake up to the fire alarm, if not time how long it takes for you to wake them up. and maybe have a bull horn or wistle you can blast near them (but not to close to there ear).
lovemy2 replied:
Google Tot Finder Stickers - they have the stickers that go on the door inside and they glow in the dark.......
mysweetpeasWil&Wes replied: We used to lock Wil in his room when he was first transitioning to a big boy bed. I see nothing wrong with it. No one is saying they lock their kid in screaming to get out. That would be wrong IMO. Now we leave his door unlocked because he stays put, but we keep a locked gate at the top of the stairs too, for that "what if" situation. It helps me sleep better at night knowing he can't fall if he escaped his room. We have fire alarms in each bedroom and in the hall. But I have yet to purchase rope ladders...It's on my "to do" list! Thanks for the reminder. I will also look into the stickers. Didn't know about them.
MyBrownEyedBoy replied: I've never locked Logan in his room. He never gets up in the middle of the night. And if he happens to wake before I do, he comes right in my room.
My parents never locked me in my room either. I am not saying anything against any parents who do choose to do so, but I won't.
Maddie&EthansMom replied: If you close your doors at night just make sure you have something handy to open them with in case of a fire. The knobs can get very hot. It's been said that most kids will grab the knob not knowing and get severe burns. Well, even a lot of adults do this too.
We live in a small one story so I don't have a lot of the same issues. The kids rooms are directly across from ours. The smoke alarms go off, we meet in the center of the hall and run out of one of 3 exits (whichever is safest at the time.)
moped replied: I think it is impossible to lock the door from the inside - I lock from the outside.......the side i can unlock.
Cece00 replied: If you lock your child in his/her room- how do they get out to use the bathroom in the middle of the night? What if they need you, like if they get sick or something, if they are locked in their room & you are really asleep?
I close the door to my babies room (although they are in cribs) & they cant turn knobs but I could never do that in the boys room...they are 4 & 6 & they get up @ night to use the bathroom & sometimes if they need something, even a drink of water. They have never wandered around the house, not that it would bother me anyway, since I know they wouldnt play with anything other than toys. And if my kids tried to get up @ night & found the door locked, they would freak. I really think the oldest might have a panic attack.
Cece00 replied:
all the locks in our house are on the inside of the door. you'd have to put a lock on the outside here.
moped replied: Jack doesn't pee in the night and if he needs me he calls, but has never woke up in the night.......I turned the doorknob around so it locks on the outside. Jack likes it locked and tells me to make sure it is locked.......
holley79 replied:
My mom also did this on all our doors when we were children so we wouldn't lock ourselves in our room. I locked my brother in his room so this is when ALL locks were changed around. 
lisar replied: Here is my take on this, if you live in a new house built in the past 7 years or so I would say and live in the USA I am not sure about canada sorry. The electrical code reguires all of the smoke detectors to be hard wired in that way if one goes off they ALL go off together to wake anyone up or whatever it may be. The ones in my house are wired that way, I have tested them just to make sure. Replace the batteries in them once a month. I do, just for safety reasons weather they need them or not, I replace them.
Lexi is told that if there is smoke or fire then go out of her bedroom window and get into one of the cars. The cars are away from the house and never locked (I live in the woods) Raygen is still to young me or dh would get her.
Lexi just went on a field trip called Fire safety day that is put on by all the fire fighters here in Jax, and she learned alot of things, the whole stop, drop, & roll. She has to demonstrate it for everyone she tells about it.
My2Beauties replied:
If you have a key lock you can do this with your child, I wouldn't go that route, but most bedrooms lock from the inside, so you can lock yourself in your own room from what I understand, like bathroom doors. You'd have to have a key to ge tinto them if a child locked themself in. That's why Hanna has no doors on her room, she's good at that stuff.
moped replied:
I switched the doorknobs around - it locks from the ouside.....
Kaitlin'smom replied:
you could just put regular door knobs on both sides so there is still a door.
moped replied:
I unscrewed the knobs and turned them around - the lock is ont he ouside, where i lock it........no lock on the inside of his door - only the outside.
I know you guys think this is mental, but I sleep ine knowing just where he is and that he is safe, and he likes it too.........
I worry and there is no way I would want him out cruising the house if there were an emergency.
Maddie&EthansMom replied: Jen I think it makes a lot of sense. Our kids rooms don't have locks on them at all, but there doors are always closed and so are our doors. My door when I was little was closed as well and I always feel more safe with doors closed at night. I just think that is the way it should be.
redchief replied: OK, first let me apologize for not getting on until now. I've been very busy. I'll try to answer everyone's questions. If I've missed any, please repost. Thanks.
Teach your children to stay low, shout, check the door for heat before opening it and shout again as they leave. At no time should there be any other destination except outside! If your child doesn't see mommy or daddy when they get out, tell them to stay in the meeting place and wait for the police or firefighters to arrive. Tell them it's OK to tell them where mommy and daddy sleep, and it's OK to tell them where he/she sleeps (often parents don't get out because they went looking for their kids, who may have already gotten out - this information will be helpful to the responders giving them a place to look). The answer doesn't change based upon age. Home fires spread quickly and are deadly for any age of human being.
While I don't recommend locking the bedroom door, the door should be closed at night. This gives the child a place of refuge should a fire begin outside the room. If the child finds the door too hot (and you should drill this, too) to open, then the second means of escape should be utilized. In the case of very small children, that may mean stuffing blankets against the bottom of the door, opening the window and shouting for aid. More than anything else, teach your child to stay low and leave the house the moment they hear the smoke detector sound. This is their greatest chance for surviving. Frankly, I think that locking the room from the outside may subject the parent to legal difficulties if a fire should occur and the child couldn't get out - just my opinion.
For those who have their living and sleeping quarters above the ground floor, two means of escape from those areas are necessary, and might require some thinking outside the box. I understand the need for safety at stairs and everything. If you have a gate that your child can't open easily, you may have to consider other possible escapes, including windows and in-place sheltering as I eluded to earlier. As far as escape ladders go, they are available in most larger home centers and department stores, but your child must be able to climb it. I recommend that people with ladders show their kids how to use it and practice using it at least once a year. They should be stored in a closed box, away from light or the environment. It may be prudent to have an escape ladder in each bedroom, but practicality suggests that contiguous rooms may be able to share an escape ladder if the rooms are fairly isolated from high-risk areas (see below). This would also allow the children and/or parents to assist each other. These ladders are SCARY the first couple times.
I like Di's approach, but it's imperative that it be practiced since it's a little complicated.
It is normal for children to want to save their favorite toys or pets. Explain to them that the firefighters are much better able to do that than they are, and often pets are able to live in atmospheres that would be deadly to people.
They still make child finder stickers, but they're designed to go low on the child's bedroom door (outside facing) - not on the outside of the house. There are several different stickers on the market. We look for anything low on the door, really. I'll post a picture of one. It may be available through your local fire department as well. I'm certain I've seen them in the fire prevention area of most larger home centers. Jen is correct, the fire service doesn't recommend window stickers anymore. They're hard to see, and interior firefighters conducting a search can't see them anyway. Having a close neighbor know your house is another method that would help firefighters locate the bedrooms, though building construction does a good job of that for us. This is another reason to keep the bedroom doors closed at night. Even in a house that has a fairly large sized fire, closed doors will increase the odds of survival greatly.
The chances of fire in a bedroom are directly relational to several factors:
1. The age of the house - Older homes have a greater chance of fire in the bedroom than new homes due to construction design, age of electrical wiring and heating systems. Homes with electric resistance baseboard or in-floor heaters are at great risk for bedroom fires because the heaters get very hot and can ignite class A materials (normal combustibles) over time simply by "cooking" the moisture out of them.
2. The use of candles or other open flame sources. Strictly forbidding candles, incense, fireworks, matches and lighters are good ideas.
3. Overhead proximity of bedrooms to high risk rooms in the house (kitchen and utility rooms).
Any home in a state or jurisdiction with a recognized fire code has had smoke detectors in each bedroom required since 1998 or thereabouts, depending upon when the code was adopted in the jurisdiction. Most states also require carbon monoxide detectors since around 2001. All modern smoke detectors must be hardwired and cause the entire system to sound when one head goes into alarm state (and in some cases, the CO detectors do as well).
Rocky, all of our kids creeped us out by appearing at bedside in the middle of the night... It's not just you.
Tot Finder Fire Safety Program Home Page
lovemy2 replied: So you actually recommend telling a say 5 year old - I say 5 cause that is how old Olivia is to actually TRY to get out of the house when they hear the smoke detector go off? I would be deathly afraid they would get lost or turned around or something in the house on their way out due to panic or smoke, unable to see, etc. ? Not that I doubt that is the safest thing - you certainly would know better than me - I would also panic if I got out to the meeting place and she wasn't there - would it not be better for me to try to get to her and then if not get out but know where she was to direct the firemen?
And so the stickers on the outside of the windows is a bad thing too or just not as useful as the ones inside???
Thanks Ed for all that great information - with Olivia being 5 now and having fire safety in school, etc. it is high time we spend more time with her on this subject and I want to make sure I am telling her the safest, smartest, least likely way for her to get hurt...
Kaitlin'smom replied: thanks ed, great info. Kaitlin and I talked yesterday as she got to see a real fire first hand at the sitters, thankfully Chris is a volly and got it out fast but it really showed me yes she does know what to do but was in a little awe of it. She cant open her window by herself, so if her door is to hot she is to stay close to the window on her belly and holler IM HERE. I did change things with her a little in the fact if she can get out go, and if we are not at the meating place then go to the neighbors and ring the bell like crayz until someone answers. I am going to talk to them and let them know our plan.
redchief replied:
First, five year-olds are extremely good at following instructions when they are simple and don't require a lot of choices. Get out, go here, stay here. Five year-olds, indeed three year olds, are good at this. As far as the second means of egress goes, five year-olds can understand "don't open a hot door" very well. They are also very good at following the second set of instructions - put blankets at the door and open the window and shout. Three year-olds may not be ready for that part.
So, yes, I'm actually telling you to teach Olivia how to get out of the house without you.
I don't have a specific recommendation regarding the use of stickers outside the house, but the law enforcement community frowns upon it, and fire safety has embraced the idea that it isn't always a good idea to broadcast the locations of children from the outside.
As far as you go, I wholly understand that any parent will want to try to get to their children's rooms. I'd certainly try to make sure my own were getting out as well, but our kids need to learn how to get out alone and stay in our meeting place until help arrives. The two greatest risks of home fires are #1 Cooking, and #2 careless smoking. In neither of these cases are children normally involved in the cause, but more than 600 kids die each year in residential house fires. Most often they die because the smoke detectors were missing or inoperative. Some die simply because they weren't instructed on how to escape by their parents. There's no excuse for either of these things.
lovemy2 replied:
Thanks Ed - I am glad Dee Dee posted this - I learned alot - we will work on our escape plan and teaching her to feel the door to be sure it isn't hot (which I believe she did learn in her recent fire safety at school) get out and wait at our meeting place -
The stickers we have on the outside don't broadcast that a "child" per say is in the room where the sticker is - they dont' say anything - just have a picture of a fireman on them - we got them from a friend who is a fireman.....but I am going to get the inside ones now as well.
Very informative
redchief replied:
coasterqueen replied: What are your suggestions for kids living in a ranch style house and the windows are hard to get open (heavy)? Right now the girls are 70 feet across on the other side of the house. Our plan is to jump out our window and run over to their side of the house, break their window if necessary and get them out ourselves. This is DH's plan. I'm a little leary about it myself. 
MommyToAshley replied: Ok, Ed, lots of good information.... but I have another question:
Our house is a bi-level, in which the bedrooms and the main living quarters is on the top floor including the kitchen and living room. I was thinking about purchasing safety bars for Ashely's bedroom so I can open her windows while she is home. (Right now they are never open during the time she is home, only when she is at school). Now, I am wondering if this would be a bad idea... if there is a fire, the firemen would not be able to come in the upstairs windows. What's been your experience with child safety bars on the top floor windows?
My2Beauties replied: I always just figured since Hanna sleeps in the livingroom right next to us and Aubrey is still in our room and even when she transitions to her room it's on the other side of us that we'd just wake up and get the kids. The smoke detector is in a hallway that adjoins all these rooms... I guess I need a better plan. I always just assume the fire will start at night when in reality it could be during the middle of the day when Hanna is upstairs playing in her room. She has no windows in her playroom, it's a smaller room off of her room. Ed what would you suggest she do if the fire for example started in her room and she has no way out of that playroom except through her room?
boyohboyohboy replied:
these bars that we use, you can still open the window or break it if need be and then there are little silver buttons to push from either side of the bars to remove them from the window..i would think that the fire man could do it from the out side, what do you think ed?
I for one have learned alot here, and do intend to exchange my window stickers for the ones on the inside at the bottom of the door.
also just FYI but I thought it was interesting, I was talking to another mom today about this post, and she told me that she used to use those safety door knob covers that kids cant open, on the inside of their kids bedroom doors, so that the doors could be shut at night, but not locked, and the kids cant get out that way and wonder around the house..
i just thought i would pass that on.
bawoodsmall replied:
I have learned a ton here also. You have a good idea about the knobs. Isnt it still the same idea though? They still cant get out if they need to. What if I die in my sleep(Could happen) and Em cant get out of her room?
moped replied:
Hopefully you and your dh don't die the same night....... 
bawoodsmall replied: God lets hope not but he wouldnt be home. He works for a dairy and most nights may leave at like 1:00 or so. Oh I was gonna tell you Aiden is doing much better.I moved up the bedtime to 7:00 and he has been sleeping till 6:30-7. Thank you!!!
moped replied:
Oh I love a good sleeping story!!!!
redchief replied:
Breaking a stubborn window is a great option, but it's not enough just to say, "break the window." The kids need the means and the proper tools at hand to do this. Perhaps a pair of gloves and a window punch in a box that says, "In case of fire only," or something like that.
Here's an example of an easy to use window punch that requires little in the way of knowledge to use.
Otherwise, DH's plan sounds solid. Have you practiced it yet?
redchief replied:
Dee Dee, I have very little experience with window bars, although I have had classes on how to open those designed to be opened by rescuers. Instead of me going into great detail here, I think I'll leave this question to the experts.
The US Fire Administration has a very informative page on just this subject, including downloadable PDF file.
I hope this helps with your decision. 
luvmykids replied: Wow, I need to totally rethink our fire escape plan The kids rooms are upstairs, ours is down, and our smoke detectors don't all go off at the same time. They have a set of French doors upstairs with stairs to get down, which I've always assumed would be their best exit but what if that was on fire?
Thanks for all the info, we will definitely have to get a new plan in place and PRACTICE it.
coasterqueen replied:
Thanks Ed for the info. We have not practiced this plan, yet. We need to. I know.
kimberley replied: great thread! thanks for all the info
Kaitlin'smom replied: Thanks ED, I did revise our plan and Kaitlin knows what to do we just need to practice more.
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