This Place Could Save Your Life

I can't believe something as simple as this could save your life or your family's life. Does your family have an emergency action plan? If there were to be a fire in your house...right now, or in the middle of the night, do your young children...or even teenagers know exactly what to do? Have you discussed it? I am reminded of this because I just read about a father who ran back into his burning house to look for his young son, but the son had already crawled out the back and was in the backyard. The father perished looking for his son. Had he known he was out of the house, he never would've run back inside.

Every few months, I go over these things with my kids. You should too.

• Know what to do when there is a fire or an emergency in the house.

• Know how to call an emergency number and know that their first order of business is to get themselves out of the house...and then call from a neighbor's house. Since German windows open differently than in the States, I made sure our sons knew how to open them and not just tilt them....and they practice it til they were comfortable with that.

• Establish a meeting place that is at least 50 feet from the house and somewhere out front. We all know to meet by a certain tree...and immediately. That way, everyone is quickly accounted for. Make sure your neighbors know where that is as well.

Those are the highlights. I'm sure every family is different in how they want to plan for an emergency. Just remember to be consistent and persistent in that the house must be vacated. Don't look for pets, as much as you love them, they are in God's hands and will hopefully follow you out. Don't waste valuable time trying to save "things" that can eventually be replaced for the most part. Your life cannot be replaced.

If you have any tips to share on what you do in your family, we'd love to hear them.