How To Survive a Fire
Millions of fires are reported across the world every year. If you don’t have a plan, then get out a pen.
Always be aware
Here’s how to survive a fire. The leading causes of house fires are all preventable. For the most part, we’re not paying attention, distracted, or we’re just not being careful. Stuff like an unattended stove, a lit cigarette, a faulty appliance. We have all had a few close calls; burned into our memory, never to be repeated.
But have you really learned your lesson? Fires are unpredictable, but your survival does not have to be. There’s stress, there’s confusion, there’s a lot of heat, but no matter what, you’ve got to stay calm. And the best way to do that is to know what to do. Plan a few escape routes and get familiar with them.
The more the merrier
It’s always nice to have a few options that can get you out calmly, quickly, and safely. Your room, or your home, will start filling up with smoke very fast, and chances are, you’re going to have to pass through it to get out. Breathing in too much smoke can cause you to pass out. But you can fight back by wetting a cloth and holding it over your nose and mouth.
Covering your nose and mouth might only buy you a few extra minutes, but in life and death, every second count. And while smoke may be a more significant threat than the fire itself, it also rises. So on top of protecting your nose and mouth, you can improve your chances by getting on your hands and knees and crawling your way towards an exit.
In a house fire, a closed-door can either save you or stop you in your tracks. As you pass from one room to another, remember to close doors behind you to help prevent the fire from spreading any faster.
Fires need oxygen to survive, so by closing doors, you’re cutting off the free flow of oxygen between rooms. By the same token, be careful when you open doors ahead of you. Look for any smoke that might be coming through the cracks and feel the door itself for heat.
You don’t want to open it if there’s a fire raging on the other side. If the door handles okay, then open it just a crack at making sure. If the room’s clear, move ahead, but stay alert. It is the moment you’ve been waiting for. Yes, firefighters still stand by this mantra. If your clothes ever catch fire, rolling back and forth will smother the flames so that you can get back on track.
Don’t risk it
You escape your burning home and reach a safe distance away when, oh no! Your passport! Your cat! Your family photos! Your priceless stamp collection! Whatever it is, don’t go back inside for anything.
You were lucky to get out safely; you might not be so fortunate a second time. Put your safety first and leave the rest to the professionals. Of course, all fires are unique, and there’s no guarantee that they’ll play out in the way we just outlined.
So if you’re still in doubt, Test your smoke alarms regularly, invest in a few fire extinguishers, and get some rope ladders for the upper levels of your home. And if you’re ever in a situation where you’re really trapped, a good tip is to block as much smoke from getting into your room and then hanging some visible fabric like a towel or a bedsheet from your window.
This will signal your location to the firefighters, and they’ll be able to save you much faster. So how do you feel now? A little safer? If you know an aspiring chef or an absent-minded professor, show them this article; they’ll thank you later. And for answers to all your other burning questions, stay tuned for more.
