At what age did you get fire ladders for your kids rooms?

[Anonymous]

We own one, but I do not anticipate my DD practicing with it. It's a last resort.

When she was about 7 I told her about getting out the window in case of fire, showed how to open the windows, etc. She's not really strong enough yet but we'll go over it again as she ages. Maybe at some point (age 10?) we'll practice setting the ladder up. But I think the danger of falling from the ladder during a practice run is much greater than the chance she'll ever need the ladder.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:plant a shrub under their window and tell them they can jump. Always taught my kids the manythings in their rooms they could use to break the window if I couldn't get to them.

This.

[Anonymous]

I had one in my room growing up but we didn’t practice with it! I don’t think you do that.

[Anonymous]

We’ve had one since we moved into a three story townhouse. We lived around the corner from the family in Stamford, CT that had the grandparents and three children die in the early hours of Christmas morning in 2011. I don’t mess around with safety and kids.

[Anonymous]

*fire safety*

[Anonymous]

We have sprinklers and live literally two blocks from the fire department.

[Anonymous]

Never.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have sprinklers and live literally two blocks from the fire department.

FYI sprinklers are "building-saving" not "life-saving". They are activated by heat. You need something which alerts you to smoke (i.e. smoke detector) as most people die from smoke inhalation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We’ve had one since we moved into a three story townhouse. We lived around the corner from the family in Stamford, CT that had the grandparents and three children die in the early hours of Christmas morning in 2011. I don’t mess around with safety and kids.

We had time in our 3 story townhouse, but the intent was adults would help them with it. It is very unlikely even a tween could secure it with alarms blaring and smoke everywhere.

We live in a 2 story house and I don’t have a clear idea except we have smoke detectors and CO monitors everywhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I had one in my room growing up but we didn’t practice with it! I don’t think you do that.

Yeah have them now for our top floor (and no, dcum armchair psychologists, I don't have "anxiety". Get a new routine.) but I don't believe it's reallly possible to practice with them.

[Anonymous]

Can they jump? That is the best way, so much quicker than trying to secure a ladder in a panicked state. All our rooms have something below to break fall or climb onto

[Anonymous]

There is 0% chance my 2nd wouldn’t use it to sneak out in the middle of the night, so never getting those.

[Anonymous]

When they were born and we decided we loved them enough to save them?
.... such a stupid question. When did we have a discussion about how to use them and where they located, 8 years old. If you get trapped in your kids room when there is a fire, you need an out. These ladders are very heavy, I'm not sure my 8 year old could manipulate it to position it correctly, but they were having the lessons at school, so we reenforced it at home.

[Anonymous]

we have one in each bedroom as well as a canister fire extinguisher. we have not practised. it is kept in a dresser drawer. kids know about it. we got ot when dc1 was born.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is 0% chance my 2nd wouldn’t use it to sneak out in the middle of the night, so never getting those.

This. Plus we had the fire department come out and talk about fire safety to our family. They said that the ladders aren’t worth it. In an emergency people forget where it is or how to use them when an actual emergency arises.