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In the Home Most fatal fires occur in the home late at night or early in the morning while people are sleeping. One of the most important keys to survival in a home fire is an early warning system (see the article on Smoke Detectors). Another very important factor is to have a well thought out and practiced home fire escape plan. Every school-age child is well trained in fire drills. They practice this life saving task many times every year in their school. They are so good at in in school that the injury/death statistics of school fires are negligible. We need to be sure that this translates to their home life as well. To practice good home fire safety, all persons living in the household should plan and practice what is known as Operation E.D.I.T.H., or Exit Drills In The Home. - SMOKE DETECTORS: The plan starts with a test and cleaning of every smoke alarm in your house. The cleaning should be done once or twice a year, testing should be performed monthly. Make sure all detectors function and, if they don't, replace them.
- SLEEP WITH YOUR BEDROOM DOOR CLOSED: A closed door will temporarily block the passage of smoke, fire gasses and heat, allowing you a few extra precious moments to escape. Fire spreads very rapidly!
- CRAWL LOW UNDER SMOKE: Heat and smoke rise and will collect at the ceiling level. It can bank down low to the floor. The highly toxic fire gasses and smoke can reach temperatures at the ceiling of around 1000 degrees. By crawling on the floor if heat and smoke are present, you will find cooler air with better visibility.
- TWO WAYS OUT FROM EVERY ROOM Each room should have a minimum of two ways to escape in case of fire. The primary exit can be a door. If the primary path is blocked by fire or smoke, you should have an alternate route. This could be either another door or a suitable window. Windows should be easy to open without breaking the glass. Jagged glass can cut like a razor! Be certain everyone knows how to open each window safely. Fire escape chain ladders are commercially available for around $30.00 for second story windows or windows with a long drop to the ground. These ladders easily store under a bed or in a closet. Basement bedrooms are not recommended unless there is a suitable alternate route of escape.
- FEEL THE DOOR BEFORE OPENING Roll out of your bed and crawl to the closed door. Feel it with the back of your hand, starting at the bottom and moving up. If the door is hot, leave it closed and use your alternate exit. You should use the back side of your hand to feel for heat. That way, if you get a burn, only the back side of your hand is injured and you can still crawl and use your hand and fingers to grip.
While Traveling Many people travel for business and leisure. While on a trip, the thought of having to escape from a fire is one of the last things you will be thinking of. However, the news is full of stories of just such tragedies. When staying in an unfamiliar hotel or motel, the potential for confusion increases in the event of a fire. Following are some tips for travelers to make your stay safer. - If you have a choice, always choose a hotel or motel with a sprinkler system. In buildings with properly operating sprinkler systems, 96% of fires are controlled or extinguished.
- When you check into your room, count the number of doorways and the direction to the stairwell. In case of a smoky hallway you may need to count doors to find your way out.
- Take wet towels to put over your nose and mouth to breath through to somewhat filter and cool the air.
- Always take your room key if you go out into the hall as most doors automatically slam and lock from the inside.
- ALWAYS take the stairs, NEVER take the elevator to escape a fire. In case of power failure you could be trapped. Some elevators, due to malfunction from the fire, have been known to go to the fire floor and open their doors, roasting the people inside.
- If the hall is too smokey to enter, close the door and block the passage of smoke from under and around doors with wet towels or sheets. You may need to also block around any heating vents.
- Let someone know you are in the room and need rescuing. Call the lobby or wave from the window. Never break the window glass to call for help. The glass is very hard to break and falling glass may injure, kill, or inhibit rescuers. The open window may also reverse the flow of air and smoke; heat or flames may then enter your room. Only as a last resort should you ever break a window. The fire department's first priority is life safety and they will be attempting your rescue immediately.
- You may want to take several items with you when you travel.
- A good flashlight will help if the lights are out or smoke has obscured them near the ceiling.
- A roll of duct tape (silver tape) can be used to help seal cracks to keep out smoke.
- Some motels may not have any smoke detectors, so bring one along - they are very inexpensive.
- Try to remain calm; panic can be just as dangerous as the fire.
In Public Places Anywhere people gather there is a potential for panic, should an emergency arise. History is full of examples of panic-stricken people attempting to escape fires; the Coconut Grove, the Beverly Hills Supper Club, and the Iroquois Theater are just a few examples of large losses of life in fire. People are normally awake when they are in places of assembly. People who die in fires that occur in the home are usually sleeping. We must look at some of the factors that can affect your safe escape from fire in places other than your home. Since you may spend a lot of your waking time at your place of employment, you are probably very familiar with its layout and paths of exit. The exitways must be accessible, easily opened and lead away from the building to a safe location. Fire codes do not permit marked exits to be secured from the inside. If doors need to be secured from the outside, they are allowed to have "panic bars" or hardware which allows the locked door to be easily opened from the inside. Most children practice their school fire exit drills monthly. What about the PTA or Scout meetings you may attend in the school? Open house or parent-teacher conferences may bring you into the building also. Do you know what the recommended exit procedure is at your child's school? It is usually posted in all the classrooms. Many other places of assembly - where large crowds gather for temporary purposes - have their own unique exit considerations. The next time you are at work, school, church, restaurant or other place of assembly with which you may not be entirely familiar, look around you. Is there another exit you could use if the first one were blocked by fire? Remember, panic can be just as deadly as the fire.
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