Editor’s Note: The Republican-Times is partnering with the Trenton Fire Department and area businesses to bring our readers a series of stories that will focus on fire safety. Over the course of seven weeks, story topics will include education, prevention, detection, suppression, evacuation, communication and dedication. Today marks the fifth story in the series and focuses on getting out of the house safely and quickly.
by Ronda Lickteig
R-T News Writer
If you remember nothing else about this series, remember what you read today.
If you can’t get out of your house when it catches fire, nothing else you have learned will matter. The rules of evacuation are simple: get low; get out; stay out. But when panic sets in, how can you be sure you and your family will be able to get out in time?
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Trenton Firefighter Mike Moore said being as totally prepared as possible is the key. This means making Exit Drills in the Home (EDITH) a priority. That takes planning and practice and needs to be something that is put into place the second the fire is discovered.
“Fires today burn hotter and they burn faster than they used to,” Moore said, explaining that the use of plastics rather than slower-burning natural materials such as wood make it even more important that those in the house get out fast.
“Fifty years ago, the typical residential fire would double in size every 30 to 45 seconds. Today, that fire will double about every seven seconds. Back then we didn’t have all that ‘stuff’ in our houses and what we did have was made of wood. This means that your evacuation plan needs to be executed all the more quickly.”
Moore said to the make the plan as user-friendly as possible.
“Make the evacuation as easy as possible because not only is the house fire a stressor, but if I go to a window and can’t open it, I’m going to get even more panicked,” he said. “Panic is bad.”
Those in the house should get on the floor so they are less affected by smoke and move toward an exit. Moore said the best-case scenario is having two ways to escape from a room – two ways that you have practiced and that you know will work in an emergency. If you plan to use a window as a secondary exit, be sure you can get the window open and that anyone else who might be using it can open it.
“If you’re expecting your six-year-old to use that window as an exit, you need to know if they can even open it,” he explained, noting that it is likely a parent won’t be in the room to help the child.
The same goes for having an exit that leads you to the roof of a house.
“Know what you’re going to do when you get out onto that roof. How are you going to get down?”
Moore said drills should be conducted at night when the majority of the family is asleep. There should be no other noise besides a smoke detector going off. By doing the drill at night you can find out if your family wakes to the sound of a smoke detector and if the evacuation plan can be utilized in the dark.
“Everyone likes their sleep, I understand that,” Moore said. “But this is important. The law of averages state that a fire is most likely to happen at night, when you are at home, in bed and either asleep or going to sleep. So it makes sense to practice getting out at night.”
Moore said the family should have a pre-determined meeting place and once everyone gets there, they should stay. Firefighters can then be told who hasn’t made it out and where that person would have been when the fire was detected.
Moore has several other suggestions:
• Make getting out of the house the priority. Call 911 from another location or from a cell phone outside the house. If you don’t have a phone handy, make enough noise that the neighbors will look out to see what is happening.
• Keep an uncluttered house. Having a lot of “stuff” in the house not only can impede your evacuation, it can add fuel to the fire.
• If you do not have a walk-out basement, make sure the windows open. Basement windows that pop out and have a tilt screen are available.
• Purchase solid wood or masonite doors that provide a seal from smoke. They will hold up better than a hollow door. If you are trapped in a room, the environment becomes even more important and a solid door gives you a better chance of survival.
• If you have a two-story home, try to build some type of escape route into the structure. Since that can be a “visual nightmare,” Moore said many people choose to use a ladder, including chain ladders. He emphasized again that anyone who would be expected to use that chain ladder needs to be instructed in its use and to practice it.
“A chain ladder is better than no ladder,” he said. “But it is difficult to shimmy down a chain ladder.”
• Keep vehicles keys close to your evacuation route. Not only will it save you a lot of time if you can grab them on your way out, but being able to get into your vehicle (assuming it is not in the fire location) will provide shelter from the elements after you escape.
• Do not assume that the sound of a fire or the smell of smoke or even a fire detector will wake you and your family from sleep.
“Carbon monoxide develops quickly in a fire and it will knock you out before you even know what happened,” he said.
Often, heavy sleepers do not hear the detectors and it might be necessary to purchase a detector that allows your voice to be recorded telling everyone to wake up.
Moore said one of the most important things to remember in the case of a fire is that when you are out, stay out.
“I would have to say that is the most important thing,” he said. “It is important not to think ‘maybe I can go back in and get something’ or ‘it wasn’t that bad when I got out so maybe I can go back in.’ Just stay out until you are told you can go back in.”
Next Week: When a firefighter is needed, time is of the essence. What steps can you take to be sure firefighters can easily find you?