Key Tips for Creating a Pet Fire Safety Plan

6/26/2022 (Permalink)

Creating a Pet Fire Safety Plan: Key Points

When there's a fire emergency, it can be stressful to get everyone to safety, including your pets. Therefore, it's essential to have a plan in place for not just your family's well-being but any four-legged friends as well. Here are some important tips for pet safety if a fire breaks out at your Webster Groves, MO, home.

Have Necessary Supplies Ready
Just as you would have emergency supplies like water, blankets and first-aid kits for humans, your pets need their own supplies as well. This includes:

• A stash of pet food
  
• Additional water
  
• Extra leashes, collars or other basic pet equipment
  
  

Keep these emergency items together in a safe space such as a car trunk in the event of a home fire.

Always Include Pets in Your Fire Emergency Escape Plan
Your pets are part of your family, so they should always be included in any emergency evacuation plans. Create an escape plan and practice evacuating with your family. During these practice drills, assign someone to take pets out of the home with them. Train pets to come when called to make evacuation easier.

Store Pet Documents Safely
When homes require extensive fire damage restoration services, oftentimes important documents are destroyed. Keep a fireproof box in your home with all your family's personal information documents, as well as pet documentation. Protect your pet's vaccination records and ownership papers as you would a passport or other personal documentation.

Prepare Alternative Shelter
If a fire displaces a family, their pets may not always be able to stay with them. An overlooked component of pet preparation is having an alternative shelter established in the event of a fire emergency. Ask a relative, friend or neighbor if a pet may stay with them under emergency circumstances.
Prepare to keep your pets safe in a home fire by having emergency supplies, practicing evacuation, storing veterinary documents safely and having an emergency shelter set up.