Pet Evacuation Plan

I got a big wake up early this am regarding pets and home fires. At about 12:30 am, luckily we were awake, we heard our next door neighbors screaming for help. Joe and I ran outside and left the dogs with our 13 year old son who was awake because we just brought him home from his friend's Bar Mitzvah party. Our neighbors were just outside their front door in their pjs. The house was on fire in the back and fully engulfed in black smoke. Both of them were beside themselves and had inhaled smoke. Knowing that they had two cats, we opened their front door but black smoke poured out at us. We knew that we could not go in but tried calling the cats to us. Sadly, they were too scared or it was too late. The first responder made us back away from the house. Eventually, our neighbors were taken to a local hospital and should be okay but it drove the point home how quickly fires spread and how we need a better plan. Our dogs are currently crated in our path out the front door and can easily be accessed via the main entrance and nearby windows but leashes are by the back door, we have one that refuses to be crated and sleeps by our bed, etc. We always felt properly prepared regarding smoke detectors, signs on windows that tell first responders that we have dogs, our plan, etc. but We will be reevaluating our evacuation plans. I just though that I would share this since we were shocked how very quickly the fire next door progressed. 

Thank you, Cindy Kaiser, for reminding us all to think about our pets' safety