If your house is deficient with regard to fire safety, you should remedy the situation immediately. Fortunately, it's relatively easy and inexpensive to do so. The most obvious tool for fighting fires is the fire extinguisher. You should have one on each floor of your home. You especially need one in the kitchen. A good place to store one is inside a cabinet door (figure A). You should also keep a box of baking soda handy in the kitchen: it does a good job of controlling small fires. Fire extinguishers should be ABC-certified, which means they can put out class-A fires (solids such as wood, paper, fabric, rubber and plastics), class-B fires (inflammable liquids such as grease, oil and gasoline) and class-C, or electrical, fires. Some fire extinguishers come with a test button on top to test the pressure: if the button pops back, the extinguisher has enough pressure. Other extinguishers have gauges to indicate pressure. Although some fire extinguishers can be refilled, most are disposable and should be replaced after use. If a fire should occur, the most important thing to do is get out quickly. To give yourself plenty of warning, install a smoke detector in a central location on each floor. Don't install a smoke detector in or near your kitchen: if you accidentally burn food, the smoke might set it off and tempt you to remove the batteries. Change the batteries when you change your clocks in the spring and fall. Check the detectors every month or two to make sure they're working properly. You also need a family escape plan that includes at least two routes to get out of the home. Conduct fire drills occasionally to be sure everyone knows what to do in the event of an emergency. Children's rooms should be clearly marked and recognizable from the outside (figure B) so firefighters will know where to look if children are trapped inside. The best way to identify children's rooms is to attach decals from the fire department. If your house has a whole-house alarm system, all family members should know how to press the panic button (figure C) as well as how to call the fire department. Make sure they know not to take risks trying to save possessions. It's much more important that they save themselves.
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