Planning two ways out of every room
An escape plan is not a document — it is a shared understanding among everyone in your household of how to get out safely. It takes twenty minutes to create and a few minutes twice a year to practice. Based on NFPA escape planning guidance and American Red Cross fire safety resources.
Short answer
Draw a floor plan, mark two exits from every sleeping area, agree a specific meeting point outside, and practice at least twice a year — including from a sleeping position in the dark.
Six-step plan
What your escape plan needs to include
Draw a rough floor plan
Every room, door, window, and smoke alarm. A pencil sketch is enough — it does not need to be to scale.
Mark two exits per sleeping area
Primary exit (door) and secondary exit (window or second door). Secondary must be openable without a key and physically usable.
Agree an outside meeting point
A specific named spot at least 15 m from the building. Post the address or description on the plan so emergency services can find it.
Assign roles for anyone needing assistance
Nominate who helps each child, elderly person, or anyone who cannot self-evacuate. Write this on the plan.
Post the plan somewhere visible
Inside a kitchen cupboard, on a fridge, or behind a bedroom door. Every household member should know where it is.
Practice from a sleeping position
Run a drill starting from lying in bed with lights out. This is the most realistic scenario for a nighttime fire.
The two-exit rule
Every sleeping area needs two independent ways out because the most common scenario is a fire blocking the main door. In a bedroom, the primary exit is the door to the hallway and the secondary is typically a window. NFPA escape planning data shows that in fires where the hallway is blocked, occupants who had identified and practiced a window exit had significantly higher survival rates than those who had not.
For upper floors, check whether your secondary exit is actually usable. A window must open wide enough for a person to climb through without a key. If the drop is too far, a residential escape ladder (available at most hardware stores) is an inexpensive solution. The ladder should be stored in the room, tested before purchase, and practiced before you need it.
Why nighttime drills matter most
Most fatal house fires occur at night when occupants are asleep. When the smoke alarm sounds at 3 a.m., there is no time to think — the plan must be automatic. Practicing from a lying position with the lights off takes less than five minutes and has a dramatic effect on how quickly and calmly everyone in the household can evacuate. The USFA home fire statistics show that night-time fires account for a disproportionate share of fatalities relative to total fire incidents.
After the plan — check your alarms
An escape plan only works if you are woken up in time. Make sure every bedroom and hallway has a working smoke alarm — see the smoke alarm placement guide for exact positioning rules, and use the escape technique guide to practice what to do once the alarm sounds.
Primary sources: NFPA escape planning · USFA home fires · American Red Cross · UK GOV
Escape plan FAQ
Questions about home fire escape planning
NFPA recommends practising your escape plan at least twice a year — many families use clock-change dates (spring and autumn) as a prompt since those are also good times to test smoke alarm batteries. Practice should include everyone in the household, including children and any person with mobility needs who has a Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan (PEEP). Run drills from different starting rooms, not just the bedroom.
A second escape route must be physically usable under emergency conditions. An opening window at ground-floor level is ideal. On upper floors, a window opening onto a flat roof, a fire escape ladder, or an adjacent balcony all count — but only if every occupant can actually use them without assistance. A window that is painted shut, blocked by furniture, or requires a key to open does not count. The UK GOV fire safety in the home guidance specifies that escape windows must open wide enough for a person to climb through.
The meeting point should be: far enough from the building that occupants are clear of fire, smoke and any potential collapse (at least 15 m / 50 ft); easy to remember for all household members including children; and visible to arriving emergency services. A neighbour's driveway, a prominent tree, or a specific street corner all work. It should not be directly in front of the main entrance, where fire service vehicles may need to park. The American Red Cross home fire planning guidance recommends a single, named meeting point that every family member can state from memory.
Anyone who cannot self-evacuate due to age, mobility, visual, or hearing impairment needs a written Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan (PEEP) agreed in advance. For homes, this means deciding who will assist, what equipment is needed (e.g. evacuation chair), and what the fire service should be told on arrival. In rented accommodation in England, landlords have obligations under the Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm Regulations 2015. The NFPA guidance on people with disabilities covers adapted alarm systems and evacuation strategies in detail.
A rough sketch is enough — it does not need to be to scale. The key information to capture is: the location of every door and window; the primary and secondary exit routes from each sleeping area; the location of every smoke alarm; and the outside meeting point. The Tools page has a printable escape plan template you can fill in. Once drawn, post it somewhere visible — on the back of a wardrobe door, inside a kitchen cupboard, or on the fridge — so everyone in the household knows where to find it.