Fire Pet Safety

7/23/2020 (Permalink)

A dog in a fire fighters uniform

When a fire happens at your home, it can be devastating. Your first thought is to get your family (including your pets) and get out.  But what if you’re not home and there’s a fire?  There are 40,000 pets that die every year from a house fire, and about 1,000 home fires are accidentally started by house pets.

Prevent Your Pets from Starting Fires:

• Extinguish Open Flames – Pets are curious critters, and they want to snoop and investigate everything. They want to check out the cooking appliances, candles, and even your fire place. It’s recommended that you don’t leave your pet unattended in any areas that have an open flame. Make sure everything is snuffed out and turned off before leaving your home.
• Remove Stove Knobs - Before you leave your home, consider removing the knobs from your stove or putting a cover over them. The stove or cooktop is the most common piece of equipment involved in fires started by pets.
• Invest in Flameless Candles – Flameless candles have use an electronic light bulb instead of an open flame. If it gets knocked over, there is no risk of it starting a fire. Cats are notorious for starting fires with their tails from knocking over candles.
• Secure Young Pets – Young pets, like babies, are still learning what is right and what is wrong. Until they have learned what to stay away from, it is best to keep them away from potential hazards by containing them with kennels or baby gates.

Help Firefighters Help Your Pets:

• Keep collars on your pets, and keep their leashes close to the front door so it’s ready in case the firefighters need to save your pets. Keep them contained in a room or area that’s near the front door so it’s easy to find them.
• Put a Pet Emergency Alert sticker in the front window by the door. On the sticker, you list how many pets and what kind of pets you have, and names. This will help the firefighters know what kind of animal and how many to look out for.

The best way to protect your pets from a fire is to include them in your family plan. This includes making them their own disaster supply kit, and pre-arranging a safe place for them to stay if you should have to leave your home. When you practice your escape plan include your pets, so they will come to you when they are called. If something should happen and you must evacuate it’s important to protect them, but remember if you are struggling to get them out, don’t delay too long in getting yourself and your family out.