According to Fire Prevention Canada, fire kills eight people each week in Canada, with residential fires accounting for 73% of these fatalities.
As with all things that pose a risk to the safety of you and your loved ones, having a plan when a tragedy occurs could reduce overall harm and even prevent fatalities.
It’s important to take every precaution to prevent a fire from happening in your home. But just as important is having a plan in the event that you fall prey to a house fire. The following will help you construct your plan. It is advisable that once your plan is in place, that you and your family run through it so that everyone is informed about what to do while in a test-run state, and not in the throes of panic and terror when stress levels are high and cognition capability is reduced.
Prevention: What you do before is just as important as what you do during
1. Make sure you have a plan: This plan should be your evacuation plan, and you and all members of your household should have it nailed down with practice. It’s important to have multiple ways out of each room, even if that means having collapsible fire ladders in each room. If you’re in an apartment building, then know by memory the way to the stairwell or fire exit, in the event that smoke is impairing your vision.
2. Make sure you can open all windows, screens, security bars, and doors: You and everyone in your home should be able to open all windows, screens, bars, and doors in the event that members get separated.
3. Have smoke alarms installed and batteries changed regularly: Keep your fire alarms up to code, and make sure you change the batteries—every time daylight savings begins is a good time to do it. If you can’t afford fire alarms, most fire departments will give them out for free.
4. Keep household fire extinguishers handy: A fire extinguisher can help keep a small fire under control, or help you clear a path to a safe area. It’s good to keep a number of them around, especially in the kitchen, around the furnace area, and upstairs in the bedrooms.
During the Fire: knowledge and preparation could save your life
1. React as soon as you hear the smoke alarm go off: If you hear the fire alarm go off, and see the fire, try to get out of your house as immediately and safely as possible. Do not try to rush around looking for valuables or things to take with you. Focus on getting yourself and your family members out immediately.
2. Exit safely through doors: If you see smoke under a door, you cannot go out of it, because smoke and other toxins are sure to be there. If you don’t see smoke, do the back of the hand test to make sure the door is not hot. If the door is cool, then open it and slowly pass through it. If a door is open, and there is fire outside of it, close the door to protect yourself from the fire. If the door is hot, and there is smoke under it and no other doors to pass through, you’ll have to find a window to climb out of.
3. Prevent smoke inhalation: Get low to the ground if you have no other way to escape but through. Also, smoke can cause you to become disorientated and even unconscious. Cover your nose and your mouth while crawling or walking through a heavily-smoked room.
4. Stop, drop, and roll: If your clothes catch on fire, immediately stop what you’re doing, drop flat to the ground, and roll around until you put the fire out. Cover your face with your hands as you roll.
5. Keep smoke at bay if you can’t get out: If you’re trapped in a room, try to stay calm, and cover up all the vents and cracks around it with a cloth or tape to keep the smoke out for as long as you can.
6. Call for help from second story window: If you are trapped in a second story room, do what you can to get into an area where people can hear you. Hang a sheet out the window so that people know you’re there. But make sure to keep the window closed, for the extra oxygen will draw the fire to the room.
7. Escape from second story window: Here’s where the collapsible fire ladder comes in handy. If you can escape out the window—do it!
8. Once out, contact emergency: Don’t wait to contact them inside the house. Get out as fast as you can, and then worry about calling them. If you can’t get family members and/or pets out with you, when you call emergency tell them exactly who is left inside, and their whereabouts.
Having a plan will save your life. House fires happen all the time—it’s important that you are knowledgeable and prepared in the case of such a life-threatening event.
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