What is ‘EDITH’ and Why is it Important for Fire Safety?
The National Fire Protection Association sponsors a national program called EDITH, Exit Drills in the Home, to educate parents and children about how to safely escape a house fire.
As mentioned before, EDITH stands for Exit Drills in the Home. This program stresses the importance of preplanning and practicing home exit drills with your family. One of the biggest ways to prepare your family for a house fire is by practicing EDITH and having a plan laid out. It is important to practice your fire escape plan regularly so that your family is prepared in case a home fire ever breaks out.
Below are some tips from the EDITH program about how to prepare your family on what to do if a fire ever breaks out in your home.
1. Draw a Floor Plan of Your Home
Sit down with your family and draw out a floor plan of your home. Make note of all the doors and windows and find at least 2 ways to get out of every room.
2. Make an Escape Plan
Use your floor plan to create an escape plan for if a fire ever broke out in your home. Talk about your exit route and run through different scenarios and change the location of the fire or other potential hazards.
3. Practice Your Exit Plan
Practice your escape plan regularly. The EDITH program encourages having “fire drills’ with your family at least twice a year.
4. Teach Your Kids What to Do if a Fire Does Break Out in Your Home
Teach your family other tips for staying safe during a house fire such as how to check a door for heat and that it is important for them to stay low to the floor where the air is cleaner and cooler. It is also important that your family knows to get out as soon as they can without stopping to try to rescue pets or possessions.
5. Have a Backup Plan if Escape Isn’t Possible
Sometimes when a fire breaks out in your home it is impossible to escape. That is why it is imperative to teach your family other tips to keep them safe during a fire such as the importance of closing any doors between them and the fires and stuffing the cracks with towels or linens to keep the smoke out. It is also important to teach them to signal to the outside to let people know where they are located in the house. This can be done by flying a sheet out the window or using a flashlight.
6. Have a Meeting Place
When you sit down to go over your floor plan and discuss your exit strategy be sure to pick an outdoor designated meeting place. This can be anything for a neighbor’s driveway to a tree or mailbox and will allow you and your family to easily inform the fire department if anyone is still inside.
Teach EDITH with an Inflatable Fire Education House
Boulder Blimp’s Inflatable Fire Education House is the perfect tool to teach EDITH in a fun and interactive way.
Our Inflatable Fire Education Houses provide people of all ages a fun place to walk through and learn about fire safety while also practicing EDITH and learning to use these skills at home to safely prevent and escape a fire. They also have banners throughout with different tips on how to prevent fires and what to do in case a fire breaks out, including an EDITH banner.
Boulder Blimp knows that it is important to remain current with the ever-changing terms and protocols of the fire industry. That is why we have a partnership with Life Safety Specialists and regularly update our banners and Inflatable Fire Education Houses to reflect the newest and most accurate information.
All of our Inflatable Fire Education Houses are customizable. We have a huge array of colors they can be made in and each inflatable has plenty of room for signage to display your company, organization, or fire department’s branding.
Contact our team today by emailing our team at fireeducaion@boulderblimp.com to learn more and get started on your Inflatable Fire Education House.
