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Each year thousands of Americans die in home fires ... tens of thousands
more are injured. You can survive even a major fire in your home if you
are alerted early enough about the fire and can get out of your home
quickly ... AND STAY OUT!
When a fire happens, there is no time for planning. Sit down with your
family now and make a step-by-step plan for escaping from a fire in your
home. Some people might think ... "Gee, that's silly. I've lived
in this house for 10 years ... I know my way around. If there's a fire
I can get out." Well, it doesn't work that way. When a fire happens,
especially at night, you will be groggy ... you will be afraid ... you
will be confused, even in your own home. You might not get out. If you
don't have working Smoke Detectors, your chances of surviving a fire
in your home, especially at night dramatically decrease. That's how many
people are killed and injured.
Draw a floor plan of your
home and mark 2 ways out of every room, especially the bedrooms. Go over
these escape routes with every member of your household.
Agree on a meeting place outside
your house where every member of the household will meet after escaping
a fire and wait there for the fire department to arrive. This lets you
count heads to make sure everyone is there, and to tell the fire department
if anyone is missing.
Practice your escape plan at
least a couple times a year. Hold a fire drill in your home. Appoint
someone to be a monitor and have everyone take part in the drill. A fire
drill is not a race, but practice to get out quickly ... remember to
be careful.
Make your fire drill realistic ...
pretend that some exits are blocked by fire and practice getting out
different escape routes. Pretend that the lights are out and that some
escape routes are getting smoke in them.
Be Prepared ... make sure
everyone in the house can unlock all the doors and windows quickly, even
in the dark. Windows or doors with security bars on them need to be equipped
with quick-release devices and everyone in the house 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 can stop between floors or take
you directly to a floor where a fire is burning (you know those little
buttons ... the ones that light up when you touch them to call an elevator
to where you are waiting ... they are activated by the heat coming
from your finger ... the same kind of heat that a fire gives off
and touches those little buttons on the floor where a fire is burning).
If you live in a two story house and you must escape from a second floor
window, be sure there is a safe way to reach the ground. Make special
arrangements for kids, older adults, and people with disabilities. People
who might have trouble moving should have a telephone they can easily
get to in their bedroom, and if possible, should sleep on the ground
level 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 (it's more sensitive than the front
of your hand to feel things such as heat), touch the door, the doorknob,
and the space between the door and its frame. If the door is hot,
use another way out. If the door is cool, open it slowly.
If you are trapped, close
all doors between you and the fire. Stuff the cracks around the doors
with clothes or anything to help keep the smoke out of the room you are
in. Wait at a window and signal for help with a light colored cloth (use
a pillow case, sheet, anything light colored) or a flashlight if you
have one. If there is a phone in the room, call the fire department and
tell them exactly where you are.
In case of fire, do not stop for anything. Do not try to rescue
anything, including pets. After you get out, go directly to your meeting
place and then call for the fire department from a neighbor's home. Every
member of your household should know how to call the fire department. For
the Hauppauge Fire department dial 265-1500 or dial
911.
Crawl low under smoke. Smoke contains deadly gases and heat rises.
During a fire the cleaner air will be down near the floor. If you find
smoke when using your primary exit (your 1st way out), then use your
alternate escape plan (2nd way out). If you must get out of the house
through smoke, get down and crawl on your hands and knees ... even down
on your belly if you have to ... and keep your head close to the floor
where the "good" air is so you can breathe easier (and its
not as hot down there).
... AND STAY OUT ... once
you are out of the house, DO NOT go back in for any reason. If
people are trapped, the firefighters have the best chance of rescuing
them. Firefighters have the training, experience, and the protective
clothing and equipment needed to enter a burning building. Most of the
time, those people that go back into a house that is burning do not come
back out alive. Remember, we can replace toys and TV's and clothes
... but we can NEVER replace YOU!
DON'T BE STUPID ... More
than half of all fatal home fires happen at night while people are sleeping.
One of the first body senses to go to sleep is that of smell. If
a fire starts, the Smoke Detectors will sound an alarm alerting you before
you can become trapped or overcome by smoke. With working Smoke Detectors,
your risk of dying in a home fire is cut almost in half. Install Smoke
Detectors outside of every bedroom and on every level of your home including
the basement. Follow the installation instructions carefully and test all
of the Smoke Detectors at least once every week. Change Smoke Detector
batteries at least once every year.
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