In 1995, 3,640 Americans died in home fires — roughly 10 people a day — and tens of thousands more were injured. People can survive even major fires in their homes if they are alerted to the fire and get out quickly and stay out.
How To Survive
Install smoke detectors and keep them in working order. Make an escape plan and “practice” it. Consider installing an automatic fire-sprinkler system.
Plan Your Escape
Once a fire has started, there is no time to plan how to get out. Sit down with your family today, and make a step-by-step plan for escaping a fire.
Draw a floor plan of your home, marking two ways out of every room — especially sleeping areas. Discuss the escape routes with every member of your household.
Agree on a Meeting Place where every member of the household will gather outside your home after escaping a fire to wait for the fire department. This allows you to count heads and inform firefighters if anyone is missing or trapped inside.
Practice your escape plan at least twice a year. Have a home fire drill. Appoint someone to be the monitor, and have everyone participate. A fire drill is not a race — get out quickly but carefully.
Make Your Exit Drill Realistic
Pretend that some exits are blocked by fire and practice alternative escape routes. Pretend that the lights are out and that some escape routes are filling with smoke.
Be Prepared
Make sure everyone in the household can unlock all doors and windows quickly, even in the dark. Windows or doors with security bars need quick-release devices, and everyone should know how to use them.
If you live in an apartment building, use stairways to escape. Never use an elevator during a fire — it may stop between floors or take you to a floor where the fire is burning. Some high-rises may have evacuation plans that require you to stay where you are and wait for the fire department.
If you live in a multi-story house and must escape from an upper window, be sure there is a safe way to reach the ground, such as a fire-resistant escape ladder. Make special arrangements for children, older adults, and people with disabilities. Those who have difficulty moving should have a phone in their sleeping area and, if possible, sleep on the ground floor.
Test Doors Before Opening Them
While kneeling or crouching at the door, reach up as high as you can and, with the back of your hand, touch the door, knob, and crack between door and frame. If you feel warmth, use another route. If it’s cool, open it slowly, shoulder against the door, ready to close it if there’s smoke or flame.
If trapped, close doors between you and the fire. Stuff cracks around doors to keep out smoke. Wait at a window and signal for help with a flashlight or by waving a light-colored cloth. If you have a phone, call the fire department and report exactly where you are.
Get Out Fast
In Case of Fire, Don’t Stop for Anything
Do not try to rescue possessions or pets. Go directly to your meeting place, and then call the fire department from a neighbor’s phone, cell phone, or alarm box. Every member of your household should know how to call 911.
Crawl Low Under Smoke
Smoke contains deadly gases, and heat rises. Cleaner air will be near the floor. If you encounter smoke, use an alternative route. If you must exit through smoke, crawl on hands and knees, keeping your head 12–24 inches (30–60 cm) above the floor.
Stay Out
Once you are out, don’t go back for any reason. If people are trapped, firefighters have the best chance of rescuing them — they have the training, experience, and protective equipment to enter burning buildings safely.
Play It Safe
Smoke Detectors
More than half of fatal home fires happen at night while people sleep. Smoke detectors sound an alarm when a fire starts, waking people before they are trapped or overcome. With detectors, your risk of dying in a home fire is cut nearly in half.
Install smoke detectors outside every sleeping area and on every level of your home, including the basement. Follow installation instructions carefully, and test detectors monthly. Change batteries at least once a year. If your detector is more than 10 years old, replace it.
Automatic Fire-Sprinkler Systems
These systems attack fires early by spraying water only where needed. Consider including sprinklers in new construction or installing them in existing homes.
Now, use what you’ve learned: set up your plan, including two ways out, a meeting place, and conduct a practice drill to see if anything’s been overlooked. Everyone in the household needs to participate for it to succeed. It may save your life.