A pan of oil catches while your back is turned. The power cuts out on a winter night and the hallway goes black. The smoke alarm goes off at 2 a.m. and you have to get everyone out. In those moments, nobody has time to shop. You reach for whatever is already in the house.

That’s what a home safety kit is for. Here are the 12 things we’d keep in yours, what each one does and where it should live. Eight are ours. The other four you can pick up anywhere.

1. Emergency Fire Blanket

A pan fire can spread in seconds, and water is the wrong thing to throw on burning grease. With the Emergency Fire Blanket, you pull both tabs, lay it over the flames and the fire is covered. It’s made for grease, electrical and small home fires, with no training needed and no residue to clean up. Hang it on the wall or a cabinet beside the stove, where anyone at home can grab it.

2. Hero Fire Spray

Some small fires are easier to spray than cover: a smoking toaster oven, a flare-up on the grill. Hero Fire Spray is made for small grease, wood and fabric fires. Pull the ring, aim at the base of the flames and sweep side to side, with no powder to clean up after. It’s light enough to keep in the kitchen, the garage and the car, so one is close when something catches.

3. A fire extinguisher

A blanket and a spray are made for small fires. A full-size fire extinguisher still has its place, in a spot every adult in the house knows. Check the date on it every time you test your smoke alarms. If a fire is spreading, get everyone out and call 911.

4. Smoke alarms on every level

When a fire starts at night, the smoke alarm is what wakes you up. Put one on every level of your home and press the test button on each, so you know they all sound. A smoke alarm is made for smoke, though. Carbon monoxide and gas need an alarm of their own.

5. Hero Dual Threat Detector

You can’t see carbon monoxide, and a small gas leak can start in a room where no one is standing. Plug the Hero Dual Threat Detector into any outlet and it checks the air for both, day and night, with a live readout of the levels. Put one in each room with a stove, a furnace or an engine, and one where you sleep. If it alarms, get out and call 911.

6. A flashlight and spare batteries

When the power goes out, you need light to reach the breaker box and check on the kids. Keep a flashlight in the same drawer every time, with spare batteries beside it. Skip the candles. They bring a fire risk of their own.

7. Backup Light

Keep a flashlight too. The Backup Light is the one that’s already on: it plugs into any outlet, stays charged and turns on by itself the moment the power goes out. On normal nights it’s a night light, and it pops out as a handheld flashlight when you need to move. Plug one into every room someone sleeps in, and one in the hallway.

8. Bottled water

A storm can knock out the power and close the stores early, and the water you have goes faster than you planned. Store bottled water for everyone in the house, pets included, where you can reach it in the dark. Our power outage checklist shows how much to keep.

9. SafeSip Filtered Water Bottle

Stored water runs out, and SafeSip is the bottle you can keep refilling. Fill it at the tap, press the lid open and drink: the water passes through the built-in filter as you sip, with no power and no pumping. One filter lasts about 40 gallons of fresh water. Keep one in the kitchen, the car and the go-bag.

10. Burn Care Kit

A hot pan handle, a tipped kettle, oil that pops onto your wrist. The Burn Care Kit keeps burn gel, sterile dressings, gauze and gloves in one waterproof pouch, with a guide inside that walks you through each step. Keep it in a drawer by the stove, and read how to treat a minor burn before you need it. For a serious burn, call 911.

11. Individual First Aid Kit

A small cut still needs to be cleaned and covered. The Individual First Aid Kit comes 6 to a pack, each kit sealed on its own with wipes, triple antibiotic ointment and bandages for one cut or scrape. Keep one in the kitchen drawer and split the rest between the car, the kids’ backpacks and your purse. For a deep or serious wound, call 911.

12. Hero Fireproof Bag

If the smoke alarm went off tonight, you wouldn’t have time to collect the passports, the birth certificates and the cash. The Hero Fireproof Bag keeps them together in one bright bag with a fire-resistant lining and a water-resistant shell, so you grab one thing on the way out. Add copies of your other important papers, like insurance policies. Keep it where the whole family knows to look, or inside your safe for a second layer.

Check your kit tonight

Walk through your home with this list and note what’s missing. Start at the stove. If there’s no fire blanket hanging beside it, that’s the first thing to fix. To cover several rooms in one box, see our home safety kits.

Get the Emergency Fire Blanket