What you should know about creating a fire emergency plan
PHOENIX (AZFamily) — As firefighters continue to battle the devastating California wildfires, many homeowners may wonder what to do if a fire breaks out.
Arizona’s Family spoke to a Valley firefighter about what you should know and how to come up with a fire safety plan.
Shawn Gilleland with Rural Metro Fire joined Good Morning Arizona to teach homeowners about creating a fire emergency plan. He recommends that people should make a “GO” bag with any essentials they may need, including medications and medical equipment.
“Some of the most important things you want to think about is any kind of prescription medications. So anything you’re going to need when you have to be out of your house for that 72-hour period that may be extended,” he explained.
Another thing he recommends is bathroom essentials and tools.
“Maybe personal hygiene stuff, just stuff to take care of yourself to make sure you can get through that period of time. And then cell phone chargers, a pad of paper, something like that, a lighter, maybe some matches, something that you may need if you had to start a small fire to cook food or something like that. Money, a flashlight, important documents. So birth certificates, passports,” he explained.
Gilleland says to take any insurance documents or have important documents stored on a thumb drive to quickly grab in a pinch. And, of course, water and clothes. You should also make sure you have items for your pets and children, such as snacks and medications.
Homeowners can check firewise.org to see how they can prepare their houses and create a defensible space in case of a fire.
“It’s not an overwhelming task. You can start with just the first 5 to 10 feet from your house and just removing dead brush, removing dead grass. If you have a pile of wood that you may use for a a fireplace or something, moving that away from the home,” he explained. “So creating a space around the immediate part of your house to make sure that if it’s like we’re seeing in California, blowing embers blow towards your house and they find a place to seat in some kind of fuel, dead leaves, dead mesquite prints, needles, those sort of things, they don’t then light up your house. So start there and then move out.”
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