CAL FIRE asks, is E.D.I.T.H. in Your Home?

Could you find your way out of a smoke filled room at 3:00 a.m. in the morning? CAL FIRE asks, have you invited E.D.I.T.H. into your home? Having E.D.I.T.H. in your home will help you to survive that smoke filled room. Exit Drills In The Home or E.D.I.T.H. is a safety program that can help you and your family to survive a house fire. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) reports that in 2011, fire departments nationwide responded to more than 371,000 home structure fires that caused more than 7-billion dollars in damage and resulted in nearly 13,000 injuries and 2,590 civilian deaths.


CAL FIRE has a way we can all help to reduce these numbers? We can invite E.D.I.T.H. into each and every home. Exit Drills In The Home is a simple way for families to plan and be prepared for a fire that might start in the home. Most home fires occur at night when people are least prepared. Having an E.D.I.T.H. plan helps you and your family to be prepared.

E.D.I.T.H. is easy to do. You start by getting the family together and making a plan of your house. Indicate on the drawing all of the doors, windows, and other areas from which you could escape. Next, draw arrows to show the normal exit that would be your primary escape route. Then in other colors, draw arrows to indicate a secondary escape route from your home. Remind every family member that when they escape to the outside, they need to meet at a predetermined meeting place. It is also important to remind everyone to stay outside of the home once they have escaped. Make sure that everyone in the family knows where the phones are located so they can dial 9-1-1 for help.

Once you have your family E.D.I.T.H. plan, make it operational by practicing it on a regular basis. Make it a family fun time, maybe on a set day every month. Fire does not make an appointment and that it is why it is so important to practice and be proficient with your E.D.I.T.H. plan. To find out more information on home fire safety in general and creating an E.D.I.T.H. plan specifically, you can go to the CAL FIRE web site at http://www.fire.ca.gov/