The 3 Minute Home Fire Check Firefighters Run for Seniors Living Alone — Most Homes Fail One

A modern house fire can leave you less than three minutes to get out. This 3-minute home fire safety check, the one firefighters run in a senior's home, takes about three minutes, and most homes fail at least one part of it. I'm Frank Malone. I worked 30 years as a firefighter in central Illinois, and everything I teach comes down to two words: heat and time. Minute one is about time. Minutes two and three are about heat. Here is the walk I actually run, one minute at a time. In this video: • ✓ Minute one, look up: how to count your smoke alarms, the 10-foot kitchen rule, and why you never pull the battery • ✓ Carbon monoxide alarms, the wattage sticker on your light fixtures, and the monthly test button • ✓ Minute two, look low: warm outlets, the 10-second ground-fault outlet test, and the three-foot heat circle • ✓ Smoking and chair safety, extension cords, and your path from bed to the nearest way out • ✓ Minute three, look behind: the furnace closet, your fire extinguisher, bedroom windows and security bars • ✓ The phone by your bed, your address, and the dryer lint screen and vent • ✓ The one check I find failing in more houses than any other: the date on the back of your smoke alarm Your homework (three minutes tonight, then fix the cheapest item): set a timer, look up, look low, look behind, write down every check your house fails, and fix the cheapest one first. If someone you love lives alone, do the walk with them. Tell me in the comments which of these checks your house failed, and which one you fixed tonight. If you find something I didn't mention, put it below too. The best answers end up in a future video. And if someone you know lives alone, send them this video. Next time: the equipment that plugs in and charges up beside the bed. Oxygen, mobility scooters and power banks, what to ask your supplier, and what to never do around any of it. Subscribe so you don't miss it. SOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS VIDEO UL fire safety research, how little time you have to get out of a modern home fire National Fire Protection Association, smoke alarm placement, testing and replacement guidance National Fire Protection Association, home fire risk for adults 65 and older National Fire Protection Association, portable fire extinguisher and home heating equipment guidance Electrical Safety Foundation International, ground-fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) testing and outlet and cord safety U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, electrical, cord and smoke alarm safety guidance U.S. Fire Administration, smoking, clothes dryer and home heating safety guidance SAFETY NOTE: This is general information, not a substitute for advice from your local fire department, a licensed electrician, or your heating service company. If you smell gas, leave the house and call from outside. In an emergency, get out and call 911. Heat and time. Take one of them away, and everybody goes home. Hashtags #HomeFireSafety #SmokeAlarm #FireSafetyForSeniors #FireSafety #FirefighterTips #LivingAlone #SmokeAlarmSafety #HomeSafety #SeniorSafety #FirePrevention #CarbonMonoxide #HouseFire #FrankMalone Tags (Studio field) home fire safety check, home fire safety for seniors, smoke alarm safety, smoke alarm replacement date, how old is my smoke alarm, firefighter home safety tips, living alone fire safety, senior home safety checklist, fire extinguisher for seniors, space heater safety, GFCI outlet test, dryer vent fire safety, carbon monoxide alarm, retired firefighter