Fire safety for kids
and families
You're never too young or too old to learn about fire safety!
MySafe:LA is making a difference when it comes to fire safety in the home. For many years, on average, 21 people have died as a result of accidental home fires in Los Angeles. MySafe:LA started a focused home fire safety program in 2009 called “FireSmart:LA” and the results have been rewarding – average fatalities have fallen in L.A. year over year, reaching a low of 9 fatalities (in a city of 4 million people) in 2019.
Our FireSmart:LA initiative has been recognized both locally by the Mayor’s office, the L.A. City Council, the American Red Cross, as well as regionally and across the United States. MySafe:LA has on two occasions been recognized as a “model performance” example of Community Risk Reduction by the prestigious Vision 20/20 project.
How does it work?
We’ve learned that the best fire safety ambassadors are kids. That’s why FireSmart:LA starts in the classroom, and continues into people’s homes. Our basic program is a one hour fire safety course in elementary schools. The core objectives include understanding the risks related to fire, how to plan to escape in advance, and the steps to take to ensure everyone survives a house fire.
We utilize research and analysis to determine neighborhoods and risk, and we visit, often door-to-door, inspecting homes and installing FREE 10-year sealed smoke alarms and CO detectors. We teach families how to be safe, and show them how to practice their plan.
Home Inspections in at-risk neighborhoods
MySafe:LA conducts community canvassing operations on a nearly weekly basis. Our public safety teams go door-to-door, talking with residents, and when permitted inside, inspecting homes for fire hazards. We also install FREE smoke alarms and CO detectors wherever needed.
Smoke alarms are essential for home fire safety. It’s also the law that all homes in California have 10-year, sealed smoke alarms.
Smoke alarms give an early warning in the event of a fire, and give you and your family a chance to get out of the house safely. Once outside, your family should gather at a pre-designated “safe meeting spot.”
- Test your alarm every month by pressing the test button and listening for the beep
- Keep your alarm dust free – clean it at least once a year
- Never paint over a smoke alarm or cover it with anything
- Replace smoke alarms every 10 years
IMPORTANT: Every family should create a family escape plan and should practice evacuating in the event of a fire. Do this at least twice a year – once during the day, and once at night. REMEMBER: Young children may sleep through a smoke alarm’s tones, so at night, if an alarm goes off, check on your kids before exiting the house.
Download your own escape plan now:
IMPORTANT: Make pets a part of your evacuation plan. However, if you get out of the house and you cannot find your pet(s), NEVER go back into the house. Tell arriving firefighters that your pet is missing and they will work to effect a rescue.
Install smoke alarms just outside the sleeping areas of your home so that the alarm sounds before smoke reaches anyone who is asleep. For extra protection, you can also install a smoke alarm in your child’s bedroom and in the bedrooms of people who sleep with their doors closed.
REMEMBER: Practice makes perfect. Practice can make permanent. Practice your plan with your family, and when you do, you’ll be part of the FireSmart:LA team!
