• Smoke alarms save lives. Install a smoke alarm outside each sleeping area and on each additional level of your home.
• If people sleep with doors closed, install smoke alarms inside sleeping areas, too.
• Use the test button to check each smoke alarm once a month. When necessary, replace batteries immediately.
• Replace all batteries at least once a year.
• Vacuum away cobwebs and dust from your smoke alarms monthly.
• Smoke alarms become less sensitive over time. Replace your smoke alarms every ten years.
• Consider having one or more working fire extinguishers in your home. Get training from the fire department in how to use them.
• Consider installing an automatic fire sprinkler system in your home.

• Determine at least two ways to escape from every room of your home.
• Consider escape ladders for sleeping areas on the second or third floor. Learn how to use them and store them near the window.
• Select a location outside your home where everyone would meet after escaping.
• Practice your escape plan at least twice a year.

• Once you are out, stay out! Call the fire department from a neighbor's home.
• If you see smoke or fire in your first escape route, use your second way out. If you must exit through smoke, crawl low under the smoke to your exit.
• If you are escaping through a closed door, feel the door before opening it. If it is warm, use your second way out.
• If smoke, heat, or flames block your exit routes, stay in the room with the door closed. Signal for help using a bright-colored cloth at the window. If there is a telephone in the room, call the fire department and tell them where you are.

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• Headache
• Fatigue
• Shortness of breath
• Nausea
• Dizziness

• Before buying a CO Alarm, check to make sure it is listed with Underwriter's Laboratories (UL), standard 2034, or there is information on the package or owner's manual that says that the detector/alarm meets the requirements of the IAS 6-96 standard.
• Install a CO detector/alarm in the hallway near every separate sleeping area of the home. Make sure the detector/alarm cannot be covered up by furniture or draperies. Follow manufacturer's instructions regarding the specific location where to install it. Avoid corners (where air does not circulate).
• CO detectors/alarms are available for boats and recreational vehicles and should be used. The Recreation Vehicle Industry Association requires CO detectors/alarms to be installed in motor homes and in towable recreational vehicles that have a generator or are prepped for a generator.

• Make sure appliances are installed according to manufacturer's instructions and local building codes. Most appliances should be installed by professionals. A carbon monoxide detector/alarm can provide added protection, but is no substitute for proper use and upkeep of appliances that can produce CO.
• Have the heating system (including chimneys and vents) inspected and serviced annually. The inspector should also check chimneys and flues for blockages, corrosion, partial and complete disconnections, and loose connections.
• Only burn charcoal outdoors, never inside a home, garage, vehicle, or tent.
• Do not use portable fuel-burning camping equipment inside a home, garage, vehicle, or tent.
• Always make sure to turn off any gas-powered engine (car, truck, motorcycle, ATV, lawn mower, chain saw, or generator) inside an attached garage or basement. Even if the garage door is open, you can still be affected or killed by CO. If you must test the engine, take it outdoors before starting it.
• Always refer to the owner's manual when performing minor adjustments or servicing fuel-burning appliances, and get help from a professional if you are unsure how to service such equipment.
• Do not use gas appliances such as ranges, ovens, or clothes dryers for heating your home.
• If you use a fuel-burning appliance for approved indoor uses (such as a heater), make sure it is vented to the outdoors following manufacturer's instructions. Do not use an unvented fuel-burning appliance in any room with closed doors or windows or in any room where people are sleeping.
• Install and use an exhaust fan vented to outdoors over gas stoves.
• Open flues when fireplaces are in use.
• Choose properly sized wood-burning stoves that are certified to meet EPA emission standards. Make certain that doors on all wood-burning stoves fit tightly.
• Have a trained professional inspect, clean, and tune-up central heating system (furnaces, flues, and chimneys) annually. Repair any leaks promptly.

• "Carbon Monoxide Questions and Answers" developed by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Bethesda, Maryland. CPSC Document #466.
• "Sources of Indoor Air Pollution - Carbon Monoxide (CO)" developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC.

• Contact your local Red Cross chapter or emergency management office before a disaster occurs--be prepared to take notes.
• Ask what types of disasters are most likely to happen. Request information on how to prepare for each.
  Learn about your community's warning signals: what they sound like and what you should do when you hear them.
  
• Ask about animal care after a disaster. Animals are not allowed inside emergency shelters because of health regulations.
• Find out how to help elderly or disabled persons, if needed.
  Find out about the disaster plans at your workplace, your children's school or day care center, and other places where your family spends time.

• Meet with your family and discuss why you need to prepare for disaster. Explain the dangers of fire, severe weather, and earthquakes to children. Plan to share responsibilities and work together as a team.
• Discuss the types of disasters that are most likely to happen. Explain what to do in each case.
  Pick two places to meet:
  Right outside your home in case of a sudden emergency, like a fire.
  Outside your neighborhood in case you can't return home. Everyone must know the address and phone number.
• Ask an out-of-state friend to be your "family contact." After a disaster, it's often easier to call long distance. Other family members should call this person and tell them where they are. Everyone must know your contact's phone number
• Discuss what to do in an evacuation. Plan how to take care of your pets.

• Post emergency telephone numbers by phones (fire, police, ambulance, etc.).
• Teach children how and when to call 9-1-1 or your local Emergency Medical Services number for emergency help.
• Show each family member how and when to turn off the utilities (water, gas, and electricity) at the main switches.
• Check if you have adequate insurance coverage.
• Get training from the fire department for each family member on how to use the fire extinguisher (ABC type), and show them where it's kept.
• Install smoke detectors on each level of your home, especially near bedrooms.
• Conduct a home hazard hunt (see below).
• Stock emergency supplies and assemble a Disaster Supplies Kit.
• Take a Red Cross first aid and CPR class.
• Determine the best escape routes from your home. Find two ways out of each room.
• Find the safe places in your home for each type of disaster.

• In a disaster, ordinary items in the home can cause injury and damage. Anything that can move, fall, break, or cause a fire is a potential hazard.
• Repair defective electrical wiring and leaky gas connections.
• Fasten shelves securely.
• Place large, heavy objects on lower shelves.
• Hang pictures and mirrors away from beds.
• Brace overhead light fixtures.
• Secure water heater. Strap to wall studs.
• Repair cracks in ceilings or foundations.
• Store weed killers, pesticides, and flammable products away from heat sources.
• Place oily polishing rags or waste in covered metal cans.
• Clean and repair chimneys, flue pipes, vent connectors, and gas vents.

• Quiz your kids every six months or so.
• Conduct fire and emergency evacuations.
• Replace stored water and stored food every six months.
• Test and recharge your fire extinguisher(s) according to manufacturer's instructions.

• Test your smoke detectors monthly and change the batteries at least once a year.

• Use flashlights. Do not light matches or turn on electrical switches, if you suspect damage.
• Sniff for gas leaks, starting at the water heater. If you smell gas or suspect a leak, turn off the main gas valve, open windows, and get everyone outside quickly.
• Shut off any other damaged utilities. (You will need a professional to turn gas back on.)
• Clean up spilled medicines, bleaches, gasoline, and other flammable liquids immediately.
  
  

• Confine or secure your pets.
• Call your family contact--do not use the telephone again unless it is a life-threatening emergency.
• Check on your neighbors, especially elderly or disabled persons.
• Make sure you have an adequate water supply in case service is cut off.
• Stay away from downed power lines.