Home fires can start and spread rapidly, and just a little bit of planning can help keep you and your family safe should a fire ever occur.

When it comes to creating a home fire plan, be sure to include your children in the making and planning of it. Have the kids help you to go through your entire home and inspect it for possible fire hazards, while teaching them about fire safety and what they should do if they should ever find themselves in a home fire.

Did you know that in 2013, 334 children died in home fires? Eighty-seven percent of all fire-related deaths are due to home fires, which spread quickly, leaving families as little as two minutes to escape once an alarm sounds.

Here are some fire safety tips you can watch out for and educate your kids on while creating a home fire plan together:

First and most importantly, teach kids never to play with matches and lighters, that they are not toys. Make a habit of placing these items up and away from young children.
Create and practice a home fire escape plan with the entire family involved (all family members who live in your home), with two ways out of every room in case of a fire. Get a stopwatch and time how fast your family can escape. The kids will love it. There are numerous helpful home fire safety plan worksheets online to help get you started.
Working smoke alarms are a critical first step for staying safe, but in order to be effective, they have to be working properly. They actually reduce the chances of dying in a fire by almost 50 percent. They For the best protection, install smoke alarms on every level of your home and in every sleeping area and check batteries regularly.
Teach your kids not to touch radiators or heaters. Teach them to always ask a grown-up to turn a heater on or off for you.
Tell your children not to play with electrical cords. And to not stick anything into an electrical socket.
Blow out candles and incense before you leave the room, leave the house and before you go to sleep.
Teach kids about using common sense in the kitchen. Teach them to limit distractions when you are cooking and the importance of not leaving a hot oven or stove top unattended.
Children should know how to react to the loud sound of a smoke alarm. Children who are taught properly ahead of time before any fire occurs will have a better chance to be safe. Teach your kids how to get low, crawl, and get out when they hear the smoke alarm in their home or any other home or building.

For more information and tips for your family, go here: https://www.safekids.org/tip/fire-safety-tips .