Why a plan, in addition to the detector
The smoke detector wakes you up. The plan tells you what to do next. Between the two, there's very little time: according to Civil Protection, smoke can kill in 30 seconds, and the Haute-Garonne fire department reminds us that 70% of fatal fires happen at night, when people are still asleep and disoriented.
When everyone already knows which way to exit, where to go and who helps whom, there's nothing left to decide in the dark. That's the whole point of the plan: a decision made calmly, on an ordinary evening, rather than improvised at three in the morning.
House or apartment: the rule that changes everything
Most evacuation plans found online say "always leave". That's true in a house. In an apartment building, firefighters give a different instruction depending on where the fire is, and that's the first thing your plan needs to state.
| Situation | What to do |
|---|---|
| The fire is in your home | Everyone leaves. Close the door of the burning room, then the front door, without locking it. Go down by the stairs, never the lift. Call the fire brigade or 112 once outside. |
| The fire is elsewhere in the building, and there's smoke in the hallway or stairwell | Stay home. Close the doors, put wet cloths at the bottom of the front door and dampen it. Gather in a street-facing room and signal yourself at the window. Call the fire brigade or 112. |
| The fire is elsewhere in the building, with no smoke in the common areas | You can evacuate via the stairs, closing the door behind you. If in any doubt, stay home and call for help. |
| The room you're in fills with smoke | Get low: breathable air is near the floor. A wet cloth over your nose and mouth. |
Making your plan in 6 steps
Prepare one sheet per floor, a pencil, and gather all household members around the table. Children remember a plan better when they've helped draw it.
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Draw each level of the home
A simple top-down sketch: rooms, doors, windows, stairs. Mark the location of smoke detectors and, if you have one, the fire extinguisher. It doesn't need to be to scale, it just needs to be clear enough for an 8-year-old to follow.
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Identify two exits per room
The first is the door. The second is often a window or a French door. On the ground floor, it can serve as an exit. Upstairs, it's used to signal to rescuers, never to jump: firefighters repeat it, you don't jump. Check that each useful window opens easily and that its key, if there is one, is within reach.
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Choose a meeting point outside
A fixed spot that can be named in three words: "the Smiths' gate", "the corner lamppost", "the bus stop". It must be reachable without passing back in front of the fire, and far enough not to block trucks arriving. Its role is simple: knowing within seconds if everyone made it out.
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Assign roles
Who takes the baby? Who helps grandma? Who calls the fire brigade? One name per task, decided in advance. And a rule for everyone: once outside, no one goes back in, not for a pet, not for an object.
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Post and share the plan
On the fridge, inside a hallway closet, in the children's room. Give a copy to anyone who watches your children: babysitter, grandparents, a trusted neighbour.
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Practise once
Ten minutes is enough. Press the detector's test button so everyone recognises the sound, then everyone goes to the meeting point. Do it again imagining the main exit is blocked. No frequency is required for a home: once a year, for example the day you test the detector, is a good pace.
The printable checklist
Your plan is ready when you can tick every line.
Children, elders, pets: special cases
Young children
Let them hear the detector's sound using the test button, so they know what it means. Explain that you don't hide, not under the bed nor in a closet: you go out, or you show yourself at the window. Have them repeat the home address and the name of the meeting point.
A baby
One specific adult is responsible, always the same one, and the plan states it in writing. The other adult handles the other children and the call for help.
An elderly or reduced-mobility person
If possible, their bedroom is closest to an exit. Assign who helps them. If they can't be evacuated in time, close their room's door, seal it, and tell firefighters as soon as they arrive where they are.
Pets
If they're near you, take them. If not, don't go back for them: tell firefighters and let them know where the animal usually hides.
Mistakes to avoid
- Going back inside for a pet, papers or a phone. "Never go back inside a burning building", reminds the Haute-Garonne fire department.
- Taking the lift. It can get stuck between floors.
- Crossing a smoke-filled stairwell when the fire is elsewhere in the building.
- Locking the door on your way out: close it, without locking it.
- Jumping out a window, even from the first floor.
- A vague meeting point ("outside"): no one knows where to count everyone.
- A plan never tried. You discover on the day that the emergency window is blocked by furniture.
The smoke detector: what the law says
Since March 8, 2015, every home in France must be equipped with at least one standalone smoke alarm. What to remember, per Service-Public.fr:
- The detector carries the CE marking and references the NF EN 14604 standard. Ionisation detectors are banned.
- It's fixed firmly to the ceiling, preferably in the hallway serving the bedrooms. It's recommended to install one per floor, and several in a large home.
- Civil Protection advises placing it primarily in hallways and children's bedrooms, as high as possible and away from steam sources (kitchen, bathroom).
- You must report the installation to your home insurer. The insurer cannot refuse to compensate you for a fire on the grounds that the detector was missing.
| Type of housing | Who installs · who maintains |
|---|---|
| Owner-occupier | You install and maintain. |
| Unfurnished rental | Landlord installs. Tenant maintains and replaces. |
| Furnished or seasonal rental | Landlord installs, maintains and replaces. |
Calling for help
- 18: the fire brigade (France).
- 112: the European emergency number, reachable from a mobile.
- 114: by text, app or video call, reserved for deaf, hard-of-hearing, deafblind or aphasic people. Free, 24/7.
Give the full address, the floor, the access code if there is one, and the number of people still inside. Civil Protection asks you to wait until firefighters allow you to hang up. In an apartment building, your phone also helps locate you if you stayed home.
The rest of the family plan, in one place
A sheet of paper does the job perfectly for your home's plan. For everything around it, the LASTLINE app can help you:
- save your meeting points and the walking routes to get there;
- assign a role to each household member;
- print an evacuation plan and a family pocket card (who does what, with whom) as PDF.
LASTLINE doesn't draw your home's floor plan and doesn't replace a smoke detector.
Prepare my household with LASTLINEFrequently asked questions
In an apartment, should you leave or stay home during a fire?
It depends on where the fire is. If it's in your home, leave, closing the door of the burning room then the front door, without locking it. If it's elsewhere in the building and the stairwell is filled with smoke, stay home, seal the door with wet cloths and signal yourself at the window. Call the fire brigade or 112.
Is an evacuation plan mandatory in a house?
No. No French text requires an evacuation plan in a private home. What's mandatory since March 8, 2015 is at least one smoke detector per home. In apartment buildings, fire instructions must be posted in the entrance hall.
Where should you place the family meeting point?
Outside, at a fixed and easy-to-name spot, that everyone can reach without passing back in front of the fire and that doesn't block emergency vehicles arriving: a neighbour's gate, a specific lamppost, a bus stop. Everyone must be able to name it from memory.
How many smoke detectors should be installed?
French law requires at least one detector per home, meeting the NF EN 14604 standard with CE marking. Service-Public.fr recommends installing one per floor, and several in a large home, preferably in the hallway serving the bedrooms.
My pet stayed inside: what should I do?
Don't go back into the home. Tell firefighters as soon as they arrive and let them know where the animal usually hides.
How often should the evacuation drill be redone?
No frequency is set for homes. Once a year is a good pace, for example the day you test the smoke detector, and after every change: a move, a birth, a grandparent moving in.
Sources
- Civil Protection (Ministry of the Interior), House fire: before, during. Accessed 11/09/2026.
- Service-Public.fr, Smoke detector: what are the obligations?, updated 13/05/2026.
- Paris Fire Brigade, "Close the door" (leaflet, PDF).
- Haute-Garonne fire department, House fires.
- Loire-Atlantique fire department, Home risk prevention.
- Ministry for Disabled People, 114, the emergency number for deaf or hard-of-hearing people.
- To go further on major risks (flooding, earthquake…): Géorisques, My individual safety plan.
This guide gathers public instructions. It doesn't replace firefighters' instructions on site: in a fire, always follow what they tell you.