Getting out of a burning building

golok · Sep 5, 2003

According to experts, it really doesn't take a room in a building to burn. In one documentary I saw, a room which had the usual fittings like furniture and other fixtures caught fire within five minutes.

This was due to the combustible materials found in the room fixtures.
Sometimes, it takes mere minutes to kill the occupants of a room because during a fire, combustible items produce poisonous gases which have cyanide and that can kill in seconds.

Without going into the nitty-gritty details, how does one increase one's chances of survival in a burning building? Smoke apparently kills more people than the actual fire itself.

I suppose crawling on one's knees helps but it's murder on the knees.

Any good and sensible suggestions?

Sundsvall · Sep 5, 2003

Face mask, fire extingusher, wrecking bar, large ax would be the tools.

Having two exits would be optimal.

This is where the BOB and some life, health, disability, and fire insurance would come in handy.

It's one thing to survive the actual calamity, its another thing to survive it financially.

akraven · Sep 5, 2003

I work as a firefighter and the best thing is to just get down as low as you can and get out. This means on your knees or on your face just get down below the heat and the toxic smoke. Don't stop to grab things
but just get out. When enetring a building that is new to you look around and make yourself aware of exits and how to get to them. Know where fire extinguishers are. Good luck. akraven

akabu · Sep 5, 2003

Golok ,raven got it right, been in many building fire's [I am not a fire fighter]as soon as you smell/see, smoke/fire GET OUT! Make It second nature when you walk into a building to find another way out other than the one you came in.

Ming65 · Sep 5, 2003

Training. Every workplace and home should run a training drill at least once per year, either in the dark or in grease smeared swimming goggles (to simulate poor visibility) so that you have practiced making at least 2 different exits, feeling your way and keeping low. Having a casual walk around and familiarising yourself with exits is better than nothing, but only marginally. Actually having practiced the movements required locks them in your mind and you will be able to fall back on this under stress.

Also smoke detectors for night time. We can't smell smoke when we are asleep.

These two simple measures are proven to save lives.

Overgaar · Sep 27, 2003

I have to agree with akraven. Get down to the floor. Get out. If you have the time grab a towel, soak it in the toilet bowl, and wrap it around your head before crawling out. I learned this from my father who was a fireman. Actually some of his collegues were once caught in a hotel fire while off duty. They did this and survived.

Most people dying in fire are actually killed in their beds by the smoke, not the flames. So get a smoke detector.

beezaur · Sep 27, 2003

Don't stop to grab things
but just get out.

Amen to that.

I went to a fire once where the occupant called in the alarm. She told the dispatcher that there were flames down the hall, and that she was hanging up to exit through a window onto the lawn.

When we got there (first engine), the woman who called the alarm was in the yard, burned on her back. The flames had spread to her bedroom ceiling in just the time it took her to hang up and throw open the window.

Usually, it isn't THAT fast, but you never know. Just get out.

Scott

Geraldo · Sep 28, 2003

Have a plan. If I'm in a hotel, the first thing I do once in my room is figure out where I am in relation to exits/stairwells.

If you are trying to escape fire, close doors between you and the fire. You cannot believe how much time this will buy you or how different condition will be on either side of the door. At home, close the door to your bedroom when you go to sleep. Put smoke detectors everywhere. In almost all of our fatal fires, there were no working smoke detectors.

As for the towel trick, I suppose it might help, but remember it's the smoke/gases that kill you. The same goes for the plastic bag "escape masks" that are sold. Niether will protect you from CO/CO2 or provide fresh air/O2. When I went to the academy, they used to teach that if you ran out of air you should stick the hose from your airmask facepiece inside your coat. I will never forget the instructor saying, "I guess it might work, but I always figured it was to give you something to do while you die."

Early detection (smoke detector), a plan of escape, stay low, move fast, THINK, and you'll be OK.