Haha, Cocoon, you sound a wee bit FRAZZLED!!! Poor baby!

If I lived on a high floor in an apartment building and had several children with me I would definitely stay inside the apartment with small children. I did live on the 13th floor of an apartment building, weird right, they usually skip that floor, but I was working midnights and sleeping during the day and did not have the energy to run out when the fire alarm rang. And it rang often. So I would stay near my door and listen and wait. Every single time the alarm rang the fire trucks arrived and the firefighters went through each floor feeling every door to see if any of them were hot.

So to answer your question, I would stay inside with the children in the event of a fire bell and wait for the firefighter to arrive at your door and ask him questions or ask for help. I would have an answer such as this ready during interviews so you could answer a parent with confidence that you have a plan in place.

I was wondering if you could call the local fire department and let them know your situation, to ask if they could make a notation anywhere that you run a daycare with several small children in case of emergency. Find out if they can offer that kind of service where it is on record in case you ever fainted and one of the children dialed 911. Oh now you have me thinking of all kinds of scenarios!

Once you take care of this you would be able to make your decision about which children and how many you want to have in your daycare.