Home Departments Fire Department Prevention & Education

Prevention & Education

Escape Planning

How long do you have to escape from a fire in your home?
When people were asked this question in a recent survey, they answered in ways that surprised us. 58% said two minutes or more. 24% estimated they had more than 10 minutes to escape a home fire. The truth is, you may have much less time to escape. A typical living room fire can threaten the entire house in just a few minutes, producing life-threatening conditions in the upstairs less than two minutes after the smoke alarm sounds. Your family needs to know how to get out at the first sign of a fire.

Don’t wait, plan your escape today!

Print out your own escape grid plan. Then come back here for help in making your plan. Or draw your own floor plan on a piece of paper.

Mark two ways out of every room and include windows on your plan. Every member of your household should be part of the planning. Pick a meeting place outside. Tell everyone to meet there after they have escaped. That way you can count heads and tell the fire department if anyone is trapped inside.

Practice it!

Plans are great, but the only way to know if they work is to practice them. Hold a home fire drill. Getting out of your own home sounds easy, but your home can look very different if it is full of smoke. Children in particular need to practice what to do. Have someone press the button on the smoke alarm as the signal for the drill to start.

Remember that a fire drill is not a race. Get out quickly, but carefully. Everyone should go to the meeting place. Make time to plan and practice your family’s great escape today!

Survive Alive House

This mobile trailer is designed to represent a common house. Firefighters take it to schools and general events to education the young and their families of proper procedures to escape from their homes once a fire starts. Firefighters emphasize the importance of smoke detectors and escape routes and practice them with the children. The trailer has the capability to practice 911 calls and will produce a harmless smoke to make a realistic scenario.

City Fire Department Statistics
Summary of fire and ambulance runs

Yearly Run Total for KFD Fire and EMS

Year	Rescue	Fire
1995	948	268
1996	963	250
1997	1044	249
1998	1096	272
1999	1184	381
2000	1063	304
2001	1201	271
2002	1305	286
2003	1275	248
2004	1422	274
2005	1470	281
2006	1469	262
2007	1394	293
2008	1598	301
2009	1666	231
2010	1754	248
2011	1782	208
2012	1702	237
2013	1670	235
2014	1845	297
2015	2148	239
2016	2107	243
2017	1893	218
2018	2058	236
2019	1957	243
2020	2101	300

Juvenile Fire Starters Program

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The Kewanee Fire department started a juvenile fire setter program in 1999.The seriousness of the problem cannot be denied. Of all the FBI index crimes (the most serious felonies), arson has one of the highest rates of juvenile involvement. Of those arrested, more than 50 percent are age 17 and under. In fact, arson is the only crime where more minors are arrested than adults.

The A.L.E.R.T. program was designed to combat these statistics. A.L.E.R.T. stands for Arson Lowered by Education, Recognition and Treatment. In most cases a parent will contact the Fire station about a fire setting incident at home but sometimes a child will be recommended by a teacher or as a result of a fire.

The child is put through a program that involves an evaluation to determine the severity of the problem, Educational discussion and videos and follow-up visits. In some extreme cases a child can be recommended to more advanced help. In nine years , 100% of the kids that have gone through our program have gone on to normal lives with no fire setting activity.

For more information on a kid's guide to Firefighting and Emergency Safety, click here