Save our pets instructions

Emergency process in case of fire to save pets

at the end of the post, you can find the detailed list of everything you might need and everything what I have and use and how I use it

After auditing many different companies in different locations, I have seen many different emergency preparedness procedures, disaster recovery plans (for different purposes), and business continuity plans (with a totally different purpose). And because I can rely only on practical knowledge, I have refined and updated my home emergency procedures many times and today I will share with you the final result

But after conversations with different people, I realized something shocking: people don’t have emergency procedures at home.
I mean... seriously? What? Why? How?

So I decided to share an emergency procedure template for pets — for our precious pets who are locked at home when we are at work or travel. You have many ways to communicate it to the fire brigade at your door, you can leave the printed information or put QR code that leading to your google drive with detailed instructions at the door.

By the way, I also have emergency processes defined for flooding, bushfires, and other natural disasters, including which farm animals to save first, which ones to release so they can save themselves, and how.
What I’m sharing now is only one-sixth of what I’ve developed and it's also the 7th updated version of the first procedure I developed in 2011 in Australia

This information should be left outside of the house for the fire brigade or first responders in case they arrive for a fire call and you are not at home.

When the fire brigade arrives, the first thing they must determine is whether there are any people or children inside. You can make their job much easier and live that information for them too saying who lives there and where they could be right now.

I have a sticker on my door that says:
“Please save our pets”
and it lists how many pets are inside (2 cats) and their names and where they can find more detailed information outside.

A small biology side note: when the brain is affected by CO₂, cognitive function is significantly impaired — even in humans with much higher cognitive capacity than pets. So don’t expect pets, especially house pets with low survival instincts, to go outside when called if they have been exposed to smoke or CO₂.

I have CO₂ detectors at home, in the garage, and in the coop — CO₂ detectors that are connected to an app on my phone. The old-style detectors that only make loud noises and scare you to death are not effective, especially if you live off-grid. They will only frighten locked-in pets, causing them to hide in the least accessible places for firefighters.

So buy CO₂ detectors that do one essential thing:
they send alerts directly to your phone. And they not only smoke detectors, but CO2 too.

You must allow them to send notifications that are visible and override focus or driving modes. But this is the most useful thing you can buy on the market right now.

In the instructions I’m sharing, you’ll see my full fire-safety profile: what to have at home, information for the fire brigade about what pets are inside, where they may hide, and how to extract them easily — plus many other useful details.

This will be my Christmas present to all of you.
Merry Christmas! 🎄

Preparedness and awareness (what to have, how to prepare):

You have to have:

Fire blankets at least near the kitchen stove, barbecue location, fireplace, or gas stove.
In the same places, there should be fire extinguishers — dry, ABC-grade, multi-purpose.
There is a passive fire extinguisher that I really like. It looks like a ball with powder inside that will activate with a puff if the temperature becomes very high.
CO₂ sensors with app connection that are able to push alerts to your phone.
Temperature and humidity sensors that are able to push alerts to your watch and your phone when the temperature goes above the preset level. It’s essential everywhere you have heaters.
Carriers for all pets that are locked at home, with instructions on how to assemble and use them.
Leashes, muzzles, animal-handling gloves.
I also have a baby CPR first-aid mask that can be used for small animals (cats, dogs).

Installation places:

All things that prevent or alert from fire need to be installed inside, near high-risk places.

CO₂ sensors should be placed further away, or they will be alerting you all the time.

The main thing is that you have to choose a visible place outside the home, where the fire brigade is most likely to stand or look first. I installed a solar light there, which I only turn on when we are not at home. I also have cameras everywhere, and I can yell through the camera giving instructions on where to look for the information, haha.

Anyway… on the wall or on a pole there is an outside plastic brochure box, and inside it they will see these big words first:

Inside will be big pictures of the two indoor cats and their names. This is needed for humans to process visual information and know what to look for. If they see that one cat has escaped, they will know which one is still inside.

We also have outside barn cats (who don’t need saving — they can save you if needed), but they might look similar to people who don’t know how many cats we have or how they look. This is especially useful if you have neighbors with cats and dogs and the fire brigade may confuse your pets with their pets, thinking they are safe and already outside. So include as much information as you can, with good, recognizable pictures.

I also included the house layout and marked windows and doors that can be easily opened (our pets are the most precious thing we have in the house, so no, I don’t care if a robbery could use that information). I also have 38 CCTV cameras constantly recording motion detection to the cloud, haha, so I know and see everything happening outside the house.

I also marked the places inside the house where cats are most likely to hide. Of course, I don’t want the fire brigade to risk their lives for my cats, but the more information — the better.

I marked on the layout the places with fire extinguishers, just in case. We have well water and no fire water outside, so this might help too.

In addition to cat photos and the list of pets inside, and the house layout, I put information that there is a box inside the shed (on the same wall) where you can find:

Cat carriers
Animal-handling gloves
Pet CPR kit
Fire extinguisher
Fire blanket

I also put an oxygen can, burn and lidocaine treatment, a CO₂ protection mask (not effective, and I mentioned that too), and water bottles — mostly for humans, in case the first person who arrives is a delivery driver who needs extra information.

Everything in all details and links in that printable list: