Pet Fire Safety: How to Keep Your Pets Safe from Danger

We never know when emergencies occur since they are mostly unpredictable and can occur at any time. Although the tendency of accidents that can cause such emergencies is never entirely preventable, we can significantly reduce the impact of urgent situations by preparing our household and pets when the events do take place.

Preparing the family with pet fire safety precautions in case of emergencies like house fires will seem not too difficult, but how about your beloved pets? How can you implement pet fire safety in your household? Continue reading if you want to learn about simple yet effective pet fire safety tips.

Pet Fire Safety Tips

1. Eliminate Open Fires

Preventive measures like ensuring that your pet is never left unattended around open fireplaces or candles. Leaving your pet with open fire breeds the possibility of them accidentally catching their tail on fire or tipping over a candle. Through this pet fire safety tip, you can implement preventive measures by eliminating any sources of open flames and opt to even replace them with electric-powered candles that are flameless and still offer that same atmosphere emitted by traditional candles.

2. Cultivate a Pet-safe Environment

In your house, try to make the environment as pet-proof as possible so that you greatly minimize the chances of your animals starting a house fire accidentally. Pet fire safety can be implemented in your home through a few steps like the following:

• Secure and fix any loose wires.
• Avoid placing glass bowls on flammable surfaces like wooden decks.
• Stove knobs should be covered with stove guards or child-proof safety knobs. You can even altogether remove the knobs if you want.

3. Put Together Fire Emergency Plans

Formulate an evacuation plan that outlines the best emergency exits and routes to take. Everyone in the family must be aware of the most efficient ways to exit the building from every room in case of any home fires by pets. Your pets should be included in the escape plan, and it is a good idea to have carriers or leashes readily available at each exit. A practice run of the evacuation plan and pet fire safety day should be conducted a couple of times per year so that everyone is familiar with including the pets in taking the proper escape routes and testing whether your plan needs some adjustments or not.

4. Install Some Smoke Detectors

Especially if the neighborhood or area you live in is prone to accidental fires with high chances of occurrence, it is a great idea to invest in some smoke detectors that record the home’s atmosphere levels. Smoke detectors can be linked to a surveillance hub that can immediately notify firefighters in case of any fire emergencies, even when your pet is home alone.

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5. Notify Emergency Responders that You Own a Pet

You can put a pet sign alert by the windows at the front of your house so that firefighters can identify that you have any house pets that might require help during an emergency. Suppose you usually put your pets in their cages when you are not home. In that case, you should position the pet enclosure near an exit by the door to enable any emergency responders to easily find and rescue your pets in the case of any emergencies.

6. Observe the Locations Where Your Pet Tends to Hang Out or Hide

Especially during emergencies, it is essential to know where your pet could be hiding around the house since they can sometimes sense danger and run off to hide in fear. Noting ahead of time where they tend to hide will save you a lot of precious time looking for them in the case of an emergency. Also, you should practice and train your pets to be comfortable around cages and crating them so that it is easier to do during an evacuation where time is on the line. Pet fire safety days should be allotted for every year so that your pets become familiar with the drills during a house fire.

7. Keep the Contact Information of Nearby Animal Hospitals

Take note of the contact number and address of any local veterinary clinics so that you can immediately connect with them and access their services if your pet suffers an injury.

8. Bring Your Pets Along with You If Your Family Evacuates

It is never a good idea to leave behind a family member like your pets since leaving them would only increase their chances of getting lost, trapped, or exposed to hazardous situations. Due to how shelters can be strict about pets and sometimes prohibit them, you should plan ahead and decide what to do and where to take your pets. In searching for shelters that do accept pets, you can try the following:

• Determine any B&Bs or motels that allow pets.
• Get in touch with your relatives, friends, or even trustworthy neighbors and ask if they would not mind looking after your pets.
• Inquire animal shelters or other animal control that offer foster care or emergency shelters for animals and pets and have them take in your pet for the time being.

9. Assemble an Emergency Kit and Travel Supplies

Prepare for the worst by arranging a set of supplies and emergency equipment in case you will need to evacuate your home. Even if it might only seem like you will need to leave for a day, gather supplies as if you will be gone for weeks up to a month. To speed up the process of evacuation, consider following these easy steps:

• Ensure that your pets are always wearing tags and collars indicating their updated identification info. The ID information of your pets must be complete with details including pet name, your contact number, and other important medical information.
• It is recommended to have your pet microchipped as this is a reliable form of pet identification since numerous animal shelters can scan and identify the microchip implanted in the animal quickly.
• In storing your emergency kit and supplies, place it somewhere near an exit along with leashes and crates so that it is easier to access during an emergency. Ensure that your entire household is aware of where the emergency supplies are located.

FAQs on Pet Fire Safety

What Do You Do with Pets During a Fire?

During a home fire from pets, immediately locate your pets and put them on leashes or crate them so that they cannot run off. Quickly secure them and head towards the nearest emergency exit. If you are unable to find your pets, leave the building immediately but keep the doors open and call out their names while leaving so your pets can follow the sound of your voice towards the exit. If emergency responders arrive and your pets are still nowhere in sight, immediately notify the firefighters about your pets so that they can conduct a rescue operation to locate and save them.

Will Firefighters Save Pets?

Yes, regardless of whether your pet is stuck in a tree or trapped inside a burning building, firefighters are trained to rescue pets and will give it their all, especially during fire emergencies. Also, firefighters keep a lookout for pet stickers on houses and would risk a lot to find and save your pet from a fire.

Are Fire Extinguishers Bad for Dogs?

Fire extinguishers are generally harmless for dogs since it mostly ejects CO2 released in the form of dry powder-like ice that quickly melts especially during a fire. Although the discharged substance is mostly cold CO2, the stuff inside the fire extinguishers is mostly chemical powder that becomes CO2 only when released and is harmless to dogs in small amounts.

Can Dogs Sense a Fire?

Yes, dogs and canines, in general, can detect fires through their superior sense of smell and exceptional hearing abilities. Dogs can not only smell the smoke of a fire, but they can also hear the flames growing and spreading.

Where Do Animals Go During a Fire?

Most animals tend to be terrified of the presence of fire, and pets are no different. In the event of a fire, most pets will flee in terror and hide somewhere in the house or sometimes even escape the building. Pets will go out of their way to get to a hiding spot that can make it challenging to find them. A few places where pets retreat to hide are in cubbyholes, under couches, or closets.

How Many House Fires Are Caused by Pets?

According to the National Fire Protection Association, about 1000 house fires are accidentally caused by pets every year.

Conclusion

Although the possibility of a home fire by pets is inevitable, you can still greatly reduce the effect of such a crisis by being well prepared and implementing a set of pet fire safety measures and precautions. Following these pet fire safety tips and planning ahead of time in case of emergencies will allow you to observe pet fire safety to keep your pets unharmed during fires and significantly minimize the risk of fires occurring.