We love our pets and would like to give them a good home, a good life and keep them safe from harm. We buy them the best food, take care of them and try to give them the best pet care we can provide. However, sometimes there are natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes or house fires that can put our beloved pets in mortal danger. When these things happen, we often panic and wonder what we can possibly do to protect our furry friends.
Secure Your Home For Fire Safety
Knowing that pets can accidentally cause house fires is the first thing that you need to do in order to prevent house fires. You should also make sure that you take the following fire safety measures.
Install Fire Alarms – Fire alarms should be installed on every level of your house, in bedrooms, kitchens and outside sleeping areas. Also, make sure to do a monthly test, making sure the alarms work to make sure they will alert you if needed. Change the batteries as required as well. In addition, it’s important to regularly replace your fire alarm. They have expiration dates printed on them because the elements used to detect fire can deteriorate over time.
Prepare an Emergency Kit for Your Pet – Make sure to pack up an emergency bag for your pet in case you need to make a quick evacuation. Inside the beg, you should pack a leash, any medication (if needed), medical documents to make sure that your pet receives them and some food. Place the bag in an easy to reach location so you can quickly grab it in case of an emergency. But make sure it’s not within easy reach of your pet — the last thing you want is to be reaching for your emergency go back and find that Fluffy found a tasty treat to chew on when you weren’t looking. Look for a place that has products to include in your pet’s emergency kit.
Use a Pet Alert Window Sticker – Available in any pet store or animal organization are pet alert stickers. These are special stickers that alerts firefighters that you have pets in the house, how many pets are located in your household and what kind (cats, dogs, others). Make sure to keep them up to date in case of any changes and in case of an emergency, know where your pets are likely located inside of your home so that you can tell firefighters where to look.
Pets Should Always Wear Their ID’s – In case of a fire, or any other emergency, your pet might panic and try to run away. Therefore, you should always make sure they are wearing proper identification tags, which include their name, current address and phone number so you can be contacted when they are found. It is also vital to make sure your pet is microchipped as one of the first things pet sanctuaries will do with stray animals is to scan for these devices.
Secure an Evacuation Plan
Just like the fire drills you are required to go through at school or at work, it is advised that you plan a secure route for an escape in case of a fire in order to provide the best pet care possible. It has to be the quickest, most efficient way to provide fast escape for your pets and yourself. Practice fire drills at home so your pets are familiar with fire escape routes in case of an emergency. Keep in mind that it’s advisable to have multiple routes available as any given route could end up being blocked by fire.
National Pet Fire Safety Day
Every July 15th has been declared National Pet Fire Safety Day in the US, this is a day where the ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) provide information on how to act in case of a fire house and how to prevent it. The information they provide can be invaluable when you are planning for emergency evacuation for your furry friends.
When a House Fire Breaks
Sometimes, despite all of our best efforts, a fire breaks out. In that case, we need to know how to act quickly to ensure the safety of our pets and our own. Here are some useful tips in case of a fire:
Keeping leashes and carriers next to the entrance – In case of a fire, you need to be able to grab your pet as quickly as possible and exit the house. Therefore, you should keep all leashes, crates and carriers as close to the front door as possible in order to ensure a quick exit if needed. This can also be incredibly helpful to firefighters in locating the pets if a rescue is needed. Remember that your first priority should be getting yourself and your animals to safety. Everything else is expendable. Life is not.
Consider Home Monitoring Equipment
Wired.com has a list of some excellent and potentially life saving pet cameras with features specifically designed with pet owners in mind. These devices are designed to help you keep you up to date in case of any emergency that may occur while you are away from home and your pet ends up getting into mischief.
Bottom Line
Your pets are a part of the family and you wouldn’t want to abandon your family members in the case of a fire. So make sure that you safeguard their lives with some sensible tips on fire safety and escape plans. Keeps safe and enjoy your animals always being prepared for the different and unexpected harms that could come on the daily.
