How to Build a Home Fire Escape Plan in 20 Minutes

You may have less than two minutes to get out of a burning home. A simple plan — and one practice run — can make the difference.

A modern home can be fully engulfed in flames in under three minutes. If a fire starts while you're asleep, you may have less time than that to escape. A home fire escape plan doesn't take fancy tools — just 20 minutes and everyone in the household.

Step 1: Draw your floor plan

Grab a piece of paper and sketch every level of your home. Include:

Every door and window in every room
The location of every smoke alarm
Two exits from every bedroom (a door and a window if possible)

Step 2: Mark two ways out of every room

The main exit is usually the door. The second is often a window. Make sure:

Every window opens easily. Check for painted-shut sashes or stuck locks.
Security bars have a working release from the inside.
Upstairs bedrooms have a fire escape ladder within reach.

Step 3: Pick a meeting place outside

Choose a spot a safe distance from the house — a mailbox, a neighbor's front porch, a specific tree. Everyone goes straight there. That way you know who's out and who isn't.

Never re-enter a burning building. If someone is missing, tell arriving firefighters.

Step 4: Practice — twice a year, day and night

Drills sound overkill until you're jolted awake at 2am by an alarm. Practice at least twice a year, and once with the lights off so everyone knows what it feels like to navigate in darkness or smoke.

Teach kids to:

Get low and go — cleaner air is near the floor.
Feel doors with the back of a hand before opening. If it's hot, use the second exit.
Close doors behind them to slow the fire's spread.

Step 5: Know your address

Make sure everyone in the household — even young kids — can say the home's full street address in an emergency call.

For a printable escape-plan worksheet, use our free escape plan builder. Twenty minutes today could save your family's life.