AirstreamRV Fire Safety Tips
When you travel or live in an RV, the safety of yourself and your fellow passengers should be paramount. While you’ve probably got many aspects of RV safety covered already, have you thought about fire safety? Whether it’s a fire that breaks out in your kitchen or bedroom or a campfire that grows out of control, you need to have some strategies to help deal with a fire and reduce your risk of one starting.
Get Safety Equipment
Your RV needs to have a few pieces of equipment on it to help you follow fire safety protocols: smoke alarms and fire extinguishers.
You’ll want to put a smoke alarm in your RV’s kitchen and one towards the rear of the vehicle, in a bedroom. These alarms can alert you and your family to a fire, even if you’re asleep. Check the batteries on them and test them once a month to make sure they work. You can change the batteries every six months.
You should buy a few fire extinguishers to store on your RV as well. Keep one near the kitchen (where most fires tend to break out, due to all the heat sources present), one at the back, and one in an outside storage compartment if possible. That way, you’re covered whether the fire breaks out inside or outside your RV.
Cook With Care
Kitchens are one of the biggest sources of a fire, whether in an RV or in your apartment. It’s important to keep your kitchen clean and free of clutter. Crumbs and spilled oils can also catch fire, which is why cleanliness is so important. Keep flammable items, like paper towels, curtains, and cleaning solutions, far from sources of heat.
When you cook, you should always monitor what you’re cooking. Never walk out of the RV with a burner on; check burners before you leave the kitchen. Turn off your RV’s overhead exhaust fan when leaving the kitchen, too.
If you’re cooking outside on a grill or campfire, the same rules apply. Always be attentive towards what you’re cooking; if you have to go inside the RV, have another adult watch the grill or fire for you. Try to keep your fires several feet away from your RV so that they don’t catch the vehicle on fire.
Have a Fire Plan in Place
In the event of a fire, you should have a plan established so that your family can respond to it quickly. Ensure that you have two escape routes in the RV and determine a meeting spot that’s at a safe distance from the RV. Show younger children how to dial 911 and what they should say. Explain to kids the importance of not going back into the RV when it’s on fire once they’ve left it.
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