Would your kids know how to act in this situation?

My favourite days are always the ones where the kids and I have nowhere to go. We hang out at home. I bake and they play.

It’s on days like these that many families drop their guards. I know I had.

The kids were running around the house playing a game. I’m not sure exactly what the game was but apparently my boys Philip and Giovanni were rescuing my daughter Caterina from something – perhaps a flesh-eating monster, or an escaped zoo lion. I got the definite impression that it was an animal of some kind.

As they played, I started stirring up a batch of cupcakes which I make each week. We eat some straight away and the rest go in the freezer for snacks and school lunches.

Just as an FYI, you should know that this post is sponsored by Quell Worry-Free smoke alarms. But all opinions expressed by the author are 100 per cent authentic and written in their own words.

It was as I was melting butter on the stove that I didn’t notice the tea towel had fallen a little too close to the gas stove flame.

It caught on fire.

I yelped, almost forgetting what I had to do. I had a small fire extinguisher in the kitchen cabinet and a fire blanket. But it was just a small fire, just the tea towel at that stage, so I grabbed the tea towel, threw it in the sink and doused it in water. Then, I turned the burner off to get my bearings.

It was then that I noticed the house was deathly quiet. For some reason the smoke alarm didn’t go off, it must’ve been that the fire wasn’t big enough to set it off. Where were the kids?

I checked the backyard and there was no sign.

I checked the bedrooms, no sign.

Had their rescue mission segued into hide-and-seek?

Where were they?

I saw the front door was open. They know not to open the front door. I walked outside to the front garden and there they were, sitting in a little circle.

“What are you doing,” I yelled out, panicking.

“Evac-u-a-u-ating mum,” my then eight-year-old son Philip said.

“What? Why?”

“The fire,” he said, solemnly.

My children and I had practiced a fire drill. Just two years before, I’d taught my sons how to evacuate the house in case of a fire. I decided to come up with a fire plan because they’d practiced it at school and pre-school.

We bought the fire extinguisher, fire blanket, installed a smoke alarm that doesn’t rely on regular battery changes and discussed evacuation options.

My amazing children had executed our evacuation plan perfectly. They didn’t stop to watch or assess the fire, or wait for me to tell them to go. Philip just calmly led his little brother and sister out the front, sat down and waited to be given the all clear.

It is so important to discuss a fire safety plan with your family. Don’t assume they are too young to understand and don’t assume they’ll forget the plan, moments after you’ve explained it.

Sit down and figure it out, then sit down with them and explain it. Practice it, with rewards for doing it well and then practice it at least twice a year ongoing.

It could just save your life, if not your favourite tea towel.

Here are the steps we followed in creating our fire safety plan:

• Create a fire safety chart and stick it on the wall, preferably in the kitchen.
• Purchase two fire extinguishers and two fire blankets. Place one set in the kitchen cabinet and one set under the bed of the master bedroom.
• Replace your smoke alarm with one that does not rely on annual battery changes
• Decide on a meeting place and discuss it with your children. Most homes have two exits. Explain to children that in the event of a fire they are to meet at the exit furthest away from the fire, walk to the front or back yard, sit down and wait for a parent.
• Practice evacuating at least twice a year.

Does your family have a fire safety plan?

More fire safety tips from Fire & Rescue NSW

The Quell Worry-Free alarm range (Kitchen, Living Area, Bedroom and Hallway) features a non-removable 10-year lithium battery, photoelectric sensors, easy installation and no late night battery chirps.

Worry-Free alarms feature location-specific technology detecting smoke and poisonous carbon monoxide gases in the kitchen, a bright LED for easy escape in the hallway and a voice alert for the bedroom.

Quell Worry-Free alarms are now available at Bunnings stores nationally.

Quell is one of the most respected names in fire and safety in the Australian consumer market. A division of Chubb, the world-renowned fire safety and security company with over 100 years’ experience, Quell’s commitment to quality and product innovation is unparalleled.

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