What would you do if the smoke alarm in your home sounded? Most of us have a quick answer: “I’d get out.”

But if you haven’t thought any further than that, you might not be able to “get out” in a real fire.

Imagine waking to the sound of an alarm in the middle of the night. It’s dark. It’s confusing. There may be smoke outside your bedroom door. How, exactly, are you going to get out? And what about other people in your home?

While regular fire drills are required at schools and many workplaces, less than 20% of U.S. households have created and practiced a home fire escape plan.

That may be one reason why residential fires are so deadly. More than 80% of fire fatalities happen at home.

That’s why Prevention 1 st Foundation, a 501©(3) non-profit injury prevention organization based in Pittsford, is sponsoring Practice Your Home Fire Drill (www.homefiredrill.org) to encourage all households to practice their escape plan as part of the biannual Change your clock/Check your batteries public safety initiative. A home fire drill twice a year is recommended by both The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA).

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