This is a sponsored post written by me about How to Conduct a Home Fire Drill on behalf of Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company. All opinions are 100% mine. #MakeSafeHappen #IC #ad

Conduct a home fire drill with help from Nationwide

Ever drive by a school and see kids standing out in the parking lot in lines, staring back a the school? Most likely, they are conducting a fire drill. The kids are learning what to do if part of the school has a fire. Most offices conduct them as well. But when was the last time you conducted one at home? I have told my kids how to get out on case my old house goes up in flames but we have never done a dry run. But it is time! On Saturday, October 15, 2016, Nationwide Make Safe Happen, with members of the Make Safe Happen Advisory Council will launch a new national observance day: Home Fire Drill Day. Families across the country are encouraged to practice their home fire drills, ensuring that American families – especially children – know the escape plan and are prepared in the event of a home fire.

I think that I feel a sense of safety because I live in a one story house. I don’t have to worry about getting my kids out of a second story window. I also tend to think my house is a little safer from fire because I don’t have gas coming into it at all. But the house is 40 years old, does have some faulty wiring and I do have an old electrical box. You never know when something will spark and cause a fire.

As I update the house, I try to update things in it. Like my new AC that the technician said was a major fire hazard at least a year before I replaces it. That unit sits right outside the kid’s rooms, the heater over their heads in the attic!

So even though I think my kids can break a window and get out of their room quickly, we still need to practice it. If my path is cut off to them, they have to be able to get out by themselves. I also need to share with them how the fire alarms work and how to stay calm and get out of the house instead of hiding!

The Nationwide app can help your conduct a home fire drill

To set up your Home Fire Drill, check out the Nationwide Make Safe Happen website. It has helpful tips, tools and fire safety resources for parents and caregivers! It even has a safety escape sheet that you can help your kids draw their escape route on.

It does not take much to teach our kids how to get out of our house should the unthinkable happen. Taking a few minutes a few times a year to work with them could save their lives!

How are you conducting your own Home Fire Drill? Share your tips!