Fire Safety for Pets

Preparation

Let's get prepared. Here are a few items to start your preparation:

• Make an escape plan. Every family should have one. This handy checklist makes it easy.
• Assign Family Members to Account For Each Pet: Know your pet’s favorite hiding spots, so that when the alarms sound, you can grab them and go.
• Keep An Emergency Kit or Crate Near the Door: Packed with their food, medication and a leash – it can be a literal lifesaver.

Train Your Dogs to Correctly Respond to Alarms

As many pet parents know first-hand, pets may become unsettled or anxious once a smoke alarm sounds, hiding rather than exiting.

Dogs can be trained to respond appropriately to smoke or carbon monoxide alarms going off, and either come to find you when it happens or escape outside themselves.

Tips for Pet-Proofing Against Fire

Here are a few items to consider:

• If you like candles, get the flameless kind. Cat’s tails are notorious for knocking over the real ones.
• Keep pets away from space heaters or lamps.
• Get guards for your stove knobs, the child-proof kind, so paws can’t turn them on. Or even take them off entirely if you’re leaving the house.
• Keep leftovers & flammable items off the stovetop, so pets aren’t tempted to jump up.
• Use a metal or heat-tempered glass screen on a fireplace and keep it in place.
• Some pets are chewers. Watch and deter them from chewing through electrical cords.