Fire, storms and scams
Each of these is a plan you make once and practise a couple of times a year.
Plan your fire escape
Walk through the house together and find two ways out of every room.
- Choose a meeting place a safe distance from the home
- Practise getting everyone out in under 2 minutes, twice a year
- Practise staying low and moving to the exits, as if there were smoke
- Once outside, call 911 and keep everyone together
Keep smoke alarms working
Put one on every level of the home and in each bedroom.
- Replace batteries twice a year, unless they're 10-year lithium
- Replace the whole alarm every 10 years, or when the maker says
- Keep a fire extinguisher where everyone can find it
Put out a small grease fire
Slide a lid over the pan and turn off the burner.
- Leave the lid on until the pan has cooled completely
- For an oven fire, turn off the heat and keep the door shut
- Stay in the kitchen while you fry, boil, grill or broil
- If you have any doubt, get out, close the door behind you and call 911 from outside
Shelter from a tornado
Choose the spot ahead of time, and go there as soon as a warning is issued.
- Best: a safe room or a storm shelter built to ICC 500
- Next best: a small, windowless interior room or basement on the lowest floor
- Protect your head and neck with your arms, plus blankets or furniture if you have them
- Afterwards, stay clear of fallen power lines and send texts instead of calling
Drop, cover and hold on
When the shaking starts, drop onto your hands and knees right where you are.
- Cover your head and neck with one arm, and crawl under a sturdy table if one is close
- In bed, turn face down and cover your head and neck with a pillow
- Stay inside and away from doorways. In a car, pull over and set the parking brake
- Beforehand, secure bookcases, the fridge and the water heater
Hang up on a scam
The FTC lists four signs: someone posing as an agency or company, a problem or a prize, pressure to act now, and an odd way to pay.
- Never pay by gift card, wire transfer, crypto or payment app because a caller asked you to
- Don't click links in texts or emails you weren't expecting
- Call the company back on a number you look up yourself
- Report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov
