If a fire occurred in your home, would you know what to do? The best course of action, says the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), is to get out as quickly as possible. Escape planning is the theme of NFPA’s Fire Prevention Week Oct. 7 – 13, 2007, and it can help you and your family flee a home fire quickly and safely. The NFPA (www.nfpa.org) offers these tips for creating a home escape plan. 

• Walk through your home with family members and inspect all possible exits and escape routes. Make sure each route is free of clutter, and that windows and doors can be opened easily. 
• Draw up a floor plan, marking at least two ways out of each room, (including windows and doors) and the location of each smoke detector. 
• Install smoke alarms in every sleeping room on every floor. Some experts suggest using interconnected alarms so when one alarm sounds, they all do. 
• Select an outside meeting place a safe distance from your home, such as a neighbor’s house, mailbox or light post. 
• If there are older adults with limited mobility or infants, assign someone to help them during an escape drill. 
• Practice your fire escape plan at least twice a year.