What to Do If There Is a Fire in Your House: A Step-by-Step Guide

What to do first if your house is on fire

Use the following sequence whether the warning begins with a smoke alarm, the smell of smoke, visible flames, or another person shouting that there is a fire.

The U.S. Fire Administration warns that after a smoke alarm sounds, you may have less than two minutes to get outside. A written plan and practiced route are what make those minutes useful. Review the federal guidance on practicing a home fire escape plan.

How to help children, family members and pets

Children and people who need assistance

Planning responsibilities before a fire is much safer than assigning them during one. Each child, older adult, or household member who may need assistance should have a designated adult and a backup. Children should know the sound of the alarm, two ways out, the outdoor meeting place, and that they must never hide from fire or firefighters.

• Wake or physically assist anyone who may not hear or understand the alarm.
• Do not give young children a job such as collecting pets, belongings or emergency supplies.
• Teach children to go outside and stay at the meeting place, even if another family member is missing.
• Use alarms with strobes, bed shakers or other appropriate alerting equipment for people who are deaf or hard of hearing.
• Plan around mobility, vision, cognitive and medical needs before an emergency occurs.

Pets during a house fire

Bring a pet only when it is immediately accessible and you can secure it without slowing your escape or moving toward smoke, heat or flame. Frightened animals often hide. If a pet is not within immediate reach, leave, close the door behind you, and tell firefighters the animal’s species, name, likely hiding places and last known location.

The American Red Cross recommends including animals in the household plan and keeping leashes accessible. See its pet fire safety guidance.

How to move through smoke and check a closed door

• Get low and crawl. Cleaner air may be closer to the floor, but smoke remains dangerous at every height.
• Before opening a closed door, feel the door and doorknob. If either feels warm or hot, do not open it. Use your second escape route.
• Open a cool door cautiously. Brace yourself, open it slowly, and be ready to close it if heat or smoke rushes in.
• Close doors behind you. Do not lock them.
• Use stairs, not an elevator. This is especially important in apartment and condominium buildings.
• Do not break a window merely to let smoke out. Additional air can intensify a fire. Use a window as an escape or signaling point when your plan requires it.

Ready.gov provides additional federal guidance for escaping a home fire safely.

Should you call 911 if your fire alarm is monitored?

Yes, when you have a suspected or confirmed fire, call 911 after you are outside. A monitored detector may transmit a signal to the monitoring center, but the monitoring process must never delay evacuation. Signal verification, call order and dispatch instructions can vary by account, signal and local requirements.

Professional monitoring provides an important additional path for getting an alarm signal to trained operators, especially when no one is home or an occupant cannot call. Cunningham offers 24/7 professional alarm monitoring, and the operator follows the response instructions associated with the signal and account.

Do not go to the alarm panel to silence, reset or cancel a real fire alarm. A panel reset or call to the monitoring center does not necessarily cancel an emergency response. If an activation is later confirmed to be false, follow instructions from the 911 dispatcher, monitoring center and local authority; let emergency services decide whether the response should continue.

Should you try to put out a house fire?

Most people should prioritize evacuation. A portable fire extinguisher is intended for a very small, contained fire - not for a room filling with smoke, flames spreading beyond one object, or any fire between you and the exit. Children should never be assigned to fight a fire.

If any answer is “no,” or if you are uncertain, leave immediately. If the fire does not go out with the initial extinguisher attempt, drop the extinguisher and get out. Never let continued spraying move you farther into the room or away from your exit.

How to use a fire extinguisher: PASS

The U.S. Fire Administration provides a useful fire extinguisher decision checklist and PASS instructions. Local fire departments may also offer hands-on training.

What to do for a kitchen, grease, oven or microwave fire

Cooking is the leading cause of home fires. Keep a lid or baking sheet nearby when cooking, remain in the kitchen when frying or broiling, and turn off the burner when you leave. Review the U.S. Fire Administration’s cooking fire safety guidance.

What to do if smoke or fire blocks every exit

1. Go to a room with a door and an exterior window if possible.
2. Close the door between you and the fire.
3. Use cloth, towels or bedding already at hand to limit smoke entering around the door and vents. Do not leave the room or delay calling 911 to search for them.
4. Call 911 and give your exact address, room and floor. Do not hang up unless instructed.
5. Signal at the window with a flashlight or light-colored cloth.
6. Stay low and near the window. Do not hide in a closet or under furniture.
7. Do not jump unless emergency personnel direct you. Use a planned escape ladder only if it is appropriate for the window, you know how to deploy it, and the path below is safe.

If your clothing catches fire, do not run. Stop, drop and roll until the flames are out, then cool the burn and obtain medical help.

Burns and smoke exposure: what to do after escaping

Call 911 for serious burns, breathing difficulty, confusion, fainting, significant smoke exposure, or any concern about a child, older adult, or medically vulnerable person. Smoke inhalation can be dangerous even when external burns appear minor.

• For a minor thermal burn, move away from the heat source and cool the area under clean, cool running water for about 20 minutes if possible. Do not use ice.
• Remove jewelry or clothing near the burn if it is not stuck to the skin.
• Cover loosely with a clean, dry dressing after cooling.
• Do not apply butter, grease or household remedies.
• Do not break blisters or pull away material stuck to a burn.
• Follow the 911 dispatcher’s instructions for major burns or smoke inhalation.

See the American Red Cross guidance on burn first aid and when to call for help.

Should you grab identification, passports or valuables?

No. Do not delay evacuation for documents, phones, wallets, medication, computers, photographs or other property. A passport can be replaced; lost escape time cannot.

Prepare instead: keep critical documents in a listed fire-resistant container, maintain encrypted digital copies in a secure location, record insurance and emergency contacts, and keep an inventory of valuable property. A small emergency bag can be useful for many disasters, but during a fire do not stop to retrieve it. Keep it only if you are already holding it and it does not slow or interfere with your escape.

How to prepare your home before a fire happens

Install, test and replace smoke alarms

• Install smoke alarms inside every bedroom, outside each separate sleeping area and on every level, including the basement.
• Use interconnected alarms so that when one sounds, they all sound.
• Test every alarm monthly using its test button.
• Replace batteries and maintain alarms according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
• Replace smoke alarms when they reach 10 years from the manufacture date, or sooner if they fail testing or the manufacturer requires it.
• Use appropriate strobe, vibration or low-frequency alerting equipment when a household member may not hear a standard alarm.

Learn more about when to replace smoke detectors and the difference between a maintenance chirp and a real smoke alarm.

Make and practice a two-minute escape plan

• Draw two ways out of every sleeping room, including a usable window where appropriate.
• Keep stairs, hallways, windows and doors free of clutter and easy to open.
• Assign adults to children, pets and anyone needing assistance, with backup assignments.
• Choose one outdoor meeting place and make sure everyone knows it.
• Practice at least twice each year, including a nighttime drill.
• Teach everyone the home address and how to call 911 after getting outside.
• Make sure bedroom security bars or guards have code-compliant quick-release devices where the window is part of the escape plan.

Consider home fire sprinklers

Smoke alarms warn people to escape; residential sprinklers can control a fire while it is still small. The U.S. Fire Administration reports that the combination of working smoke alarms and home fire sprinklers reduces the risk of dying in a home fire by 82%. If you are building or renovating, ask a qualified fire sprinkler contractor and your local code official about residential sprinkler protection. Learn more from the U.S. Fire Administration’s home sprinkler guidance.

Where should you keep fire extinguishers?

Keep a listed extinguisher visible, accessible and close to an exit - not next to the stove or another likely fire source where flames could block access. Many homes use a multipurpose ABC extinguisher selected for the hazards present and sized so household adults can operate it safely.

• Kitchen: Near the kitchen exit, not mounted over or beside the stove.
• Each occupied level: Along the normal exit path where it is easy to reach.
• Garage, workshop or mechanical area: Near the exit and matched to the specific hazards. Do not cross the room toward a fire to retrieve it.

Check pressure gauges, pins, seals, hoses and expiration or service instructions regularly. Replace or professionally service an extinguisher after it has been discharged, even briefly.

Reduce common fire risks

• Stay with cooking and keep combustible material away from burners.
• Keep anything that can burn at least three feet from heating equipment.
• Clean the dryer lint filter after every load and have vent ductwork checked and cleaned as needed.
• Do not overload outlets or use damaged cords.
• Charge lithium-ion products with the correct listed equipment, away from exits and combustible material, and stop using batteries that swell, overheat, smell unusual or show damage.
• Extinguish candles and smoking materials completely; never smoke in bed or while impaired.
• Keep matches and lighters secured from children.

What to do after the fire department arrives

1. Report missing people, pets and hazards immediately. Tell firefighters where each was last seen and identify propane, oxygen, ammunition, solar batteries or other special hazards.
2. Follow medical guidance. Accept evaluation for burns or smoke exposure when recommended.
3. Do not re-enter until the fire department authorizes it. Structural, electrical, smoke, water and rekindling hazards may remain after visible fire is out.
4. Contact your insurer. Ask what documentation, temporary repairs and lodging arrangements are authorized before discarding damaged property.
5. Protect the property only when authorities say it is safe. Do not restore utilities, operate damaged equipment or disturb the fire scene without permission.
6. Have alarm and life-safety equipment inspected. Smoke detectors, wiring, panels and other devices exposed to heat, smoke, water or extinguishing agents may require replacement or professional service.

For non-emergency alarm repairs after the property has been released by the fire department, Cunningham customers can request alarm service or call (207) 846-3350. Never use a service form instead of calling 911 during an emergency.