This year it seems that everyone is shoveling snow.  No matter where you live in the country.  There seems to be snow EVERYWHERE!  My question; is that snow making it impossible to use your Egress Window?  Please be sure to clear off your egress well cover so that lifting it in case of an emergency is easy.  Too much weight from accumulated snow on top of your cover can make it difficult or impossible to open.  More house fires occur during the winter than any other time of the year.  So now is the time to be sure to keep yourself safe.

Look at all of the potential emergency exists in the house as well.  Is there a backdoor you can not open due to the snow piled up against it?  Doors that swing outwards can easily be blocked by snow.  Don’t find yourself trapped in an emergency.  Shovel out around every exit of your house with each snowfall.

While you are at it, if you have a fire hydrant on or near your property, clear a path to that too.  This will save precious time by an emergency crew should they dispatched to your area.  A rapid response by firefighters can mean life or death in some instances.  Having a fire hydrant hidden or buried by snow can really impede this response.  Clearing the snow away from hydrants is the neighborly thing to do.  And it may just save your own life as well.

Get out there and clear a path to safety.  The life you save may be your own.