House Fire Preparedness
Every single family in every single house in the world should have a house fire escape plan. There are somewhere in the range of 400,000 house fires a year in the United States alone. 3,500 people are killed and another 18,000 are injured as a result of these fires.
In the event of a major emergency, the likelihood of your home catching on fire and burning down are even more likely than they are now.
If you're one of the unlucky victims, will you be prepared?
House fires are more common than you might think and there are special considerations one must make when planning for a fire:
There should be smoke and carbon monoxide detectors in every room in the house.
You should have a plan with alternate escape routes in place.
If you live in an apartment building, never take the elevator. Always take the stairs when fleeing from a fire.
If you're trapped, place a wet towel at the bottom of the door. If you don't have access to water, place a towel or an article of clothing at the bottom of the door.
If you're trapped in an upper story, open a window and attach a white sheet or towel to the outside of the window. This will notify firemen you're trapped in the apartment.
If you're in a situation where you're in danger of being overwhelmed by smoke, wet a towel or cloth and place it over your face. Stay as close to the ground as possible because smoke rises and the area closest to the floor will have the cleanest air.
Before opening any doors, look for smoke coming in from around the door. Feel the door to see how hot it is. A door that's hot to the touch may have fire touching it from the other side. Opening a burning hot door may allow fire into the room you're in.