Hot and Bothered

Somebody help! I remember crawling down the hallway practicing a fire escape plan with my son when he was little. Nowadays, the escape plan for my husband and I consists of a rope tied to the foot of our iron bed. Apparently we think we can rappel down the side of our two-story to the ground in the event of a fire-(read fear and chaos).

Once when our son was young and we tried to "escape" to the basement during bad weather we had to pry him out of his bed because he was so terrified. What would he have done in a fire?

What have others been told, practiced, prepared for or actually experienced when it comes to a house fire? I know many families with young children visit the fire station during fire safety week but how many can look those firemen in the eyes and tell them they have an escape plan that they have practiced? Let me know, what makes families actually make a fire escape plan and then practice it together? Does it take a personal "near miss"?

Linda Thomas/PAIIR