Plan Ahead
The first
step in escaping a fire in the home is to know what to do before you find out
about a fire. Basically, this
entails having a predetermined escape plan with two ways out of each room.
Family members should practice opening their windows to become familiar
with their operation and to loosen jammed or painted windows if needed.
If, during a fire, a window is jammed, it may be broken out with an
object such as a desk drawer, and a blanket or towel placed over the frame to
cover shards of glass. However, it
is much safer to open a window than it is to break the glass out.
Special
Situations
Not
all homes are alike and some may require special plans, such as bedrooms in
basements or if you live in an apartment. If
you are in a building with an elevator, NEVER use it when there is a fire.
The elevator could stall or worse yet, take you to where the fire is.
Special
provisions may be required for infants, young children, disabled, or the elderly
who may need additional help when escaping.
These provisions should be included in the home fire escape plan and
discussed with family members.
When
afraid, children commonly seek sheltered places such as a closet or under the
bed. Encourage them to exit outside.
Do not allow them to hide. Make
sure children can operate the windows, descend a ladder, or lower themselves to
the ground through a window. (Slide
out on the stomach, feet first. Hang
on with both hands. Bend the knees
when landing.) Lower children to the
ground before you exit from the window. They
may panic and not follow if an adult goes first.
Alert
Now that you have a plan, you need
to be alerted to the fact of a fire. Installing
smoke detectors in the home and being sure they are in good working order is the
best way to do that. Smoke detectors
cut in half the chances of being killed in a fire.
If a family member finds a fire prior to a smoke alarm activating,
yelling FIRE is a way to do that. We
also suggest keeping whistles near the bed to attract attention at night, if
needed.
Get Out
Now that you know of the fire, it is
time to get out. The easiest way to
do that is through the doors and routes used multiple times each day.
If at any point you encounter smoke or fire, use the second,
predetermined exit. As most fatal
fires occur at night, bedroom doors should be kept closed.
Those closed doors can keep fire out for 10 15 minutes, allowing more
time for the fire department to come and rescue you.
When you come to the closed bedroom door, dont just open it.
Feel it first for any heat. If
the door is warm DO NOT USE IT. Doors should not be warm to the touch!
If the door is cool, SLOWLY open the door checking for smoke or fire.
If none is seen proceed down your escape route.
If the door is hot, or you open it
and see smoke or heat, close the door and go to your second way out, typically a
window. Open the window and yell for
help if you are not on the first floor. If
you have an escape ladder which should be part of your plan use it now.
DO NOT jump from the window. Most
people injure or kill themselves when doing that.
Unless there is fire or smoke inside your room, you have time to be
rescued. Use the whistle we talked
about earlier to attract attention to you. The
more closed doors between you and the fire, the better.
If smoke starts to come through the
cracks of the door, stuff the cracks with sheets, towels, etc. to keep the smoke
out. If there's a phone in your
room, call 9-1-1 and give your exact location to the fire department, even if
they are on the scene.
Crawl
Smoke is bad for you!
If you encounter smoke along you way out, crawl.
Smoke and heat rise so the best place to find fresher, cooler, clean air
is near the floor.
Meeting Place
Once outside, everyone needs to meet
at a predetermined place in the front of the home.
If everyone goes someplace different, the fire department will take
chances looking for people that are already safe.
A meeting place is the only way to tell the fire department if everyone
is out. After people have been
accounted for, it is NOW time to call the fire department.
The meeting place could be a
mailbox, the neighbor's driveway or a large tree in the yard.
It should be near the front of the house so you can meet the fire
department when they arrive. A
meeting place also prevents family members from wandering around the
neighborhood looking for one another, or worse, being tempted to re-enter the
burning house for one thought to be trapped inside.
Under no circumstances should
anyone re-enter the burning building! Tell
the fire department your needs and they will take care of them.
Practice Your Fire Escape Plan
All of this work does no good if it is not practiced. Make sure everyone practices the plan, which should be held at different hours. A good way to practice the effectiveness of a home fire escape plan is to position each family member in his or her bed, turn all the lights off, and activate the smoke detector by depressing the test switch. Each family member should help "awaken" the others by yelling the alert. Family members should exit their rooms according to the plan, crawl low under smoke, practice feeling doors for heat, and meet in the designated location outside the home.