Do you believe that you are prepared for a house fire? When you’re not home, what happens if your pets are inside? Here are four tips for Keep Pets Safe from harming your pets.
A strange, loud beeping noise that woke me up from a sound slumber a few years ago comes to me. One of our smoke detectors was sounding the alarm in a room at the other end of the house. I was the sole adult in a house with two indoor cats.
Even though it turned out to be a false alarm brought on by too much dust on the sensor, it was still somewhat frightening. In the event of a true house fire, I was vividly reminded of how unprepared I was to escape my family and dogs.
The catastrophe for which the American Red Cross reacts most frequently is house fires. It seems to reason that many of these fires would have an impact on any inside pets, whether dogs, cats, or other lovable creatures.
One of the subjects that is simple to ignore is home fire safety. After all, home fires don’t exactly occur frequently these days. However, having a plan in place in case anything unforeseen occurs can be the difference between your pet companions’ lives and death. Here are 4 suggestions to protect your cat from fires:
1/Make a formal fire escape strategy.
Consider including your pets in your family’s fire escape route planning. After that, practice your evacuation plan while bringing your dogs.
Let your pet sleep in a familiar place if at all possible. This makes it easier to easily find your dogs.
Create a disaster kit specifically for your dogs and include items that pertain to them. If your pet needs to spend a lot of time away from home, this would include food and water bowls, water bottles, treats, a collar and leash, any essential prescriptions, and anything else they might need.
Having a safe place where your pet may stay in case you need to leave the house, such as with a friend or neighbor, is another recommendation. Some homeless shelters do not allow pets.
Related Article: Fire Safety Tips for Pet-Friendly Homes: How to Prevent Fires and Be Prepared
2) Add a warning window for pets. Pose in front of a window.
Contact your local fire department to request an emergency window cling that can be placed on one of your front windows where it will be seen by firemen. Make a note of how many pets you have on the side of the window cling that faces outside. This information will be used to alert firefighters to the presence of pets within the building.
3) Keep pets near to doors when you’re not home.
Keep your pet close to the front entrance if they are staying at your house while you are away, whether it is for a short while or a long time. This makes it easier for a firefighter to locate them if there is a fire because they would enter the house through the front door first. A dog, for instance, might be housed in a kennel. A cat might do well in the living room.
Keep collars on your animals when you’re not home, and keep leashes next to the front door so they’re easy to discover. Any animals who have trouble walking on a leash should be kept nearby in a suitable container.
Some pet owners choose to invest in a home security system made specifically for animals. The monitoring center can then let firefighters know if you have any pets.
Safety Around A Campfire And A Hot Dog
4) Pet-proof your home, particularly for fire safety.
Given how curious they are, it is not surprising that some house fires are accidently sparked by pets. Cats that jump onto the kitchen counter may accidently turn on the gas stove. Dogs may become bored and chew on electricity wires while they wait for you to get home from work. The lit candle on your mantel could accidentally be knocked over by your interested pet while you take a quick pause to check the mail. They won’t, of course, but the consequences could be devastating.
Here are a few quick tips for pet-proofing your house, with a focus on fire safety:
• Extinguish any fires in the house before leaving. Never, ever, ever leave your pet unattended near an open flame, such as a gas flame or candle, not even for a little period of time.
• Cover knobs on stoves. You can either completely cover the knobs to prevent spinning while you’re gone from home or you can purchase coverings to do so.
• Take into account employing flameless candles or a different air freshener method. In addition to offering the ambience and unrivaled perfume of candles, there are choices that prevent dogs fires.
• Guard electrical wires. Many animals like to chew on wires for fun. Keep this out of their teeth’s reach.
