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Apartment fire safety

Apartment fire safety is very important. You can check with the local fire department to find out if the building has been found to have code violations, particularly repeated or uncorrected ones.

Look for fire extinguishers and functioning smoke detectors in the hallways and common areas. Do the fire escapes retract properly, or do they offer a burglar access to the units?

Make sure that you have functioning smoke detectors in your apartment. Change their batteries twice yearly. The easiest way to remember this is to do it when the clocks change.

Install fire extinguishers in your apartment and learn how to use them. You don't want to be reading the instructions for the first time as an apartment fire gets going in your kitchen.

You should also have working carbon monoxide or natural gas detectors. If you need advice with respect to any of these devices, ask the local fire department.

Learn the fire escape routes in your building in case of an apartment fire-- and teach them to your children and any caregivers you may employ. Buy a collapsible ladder that you can deploy from a window should the main fire exits be blocked during a fire; make sure it's long enough to take you and your family to within a safe distance from the ground. Practice.