You may not want to picture this, but imagine you are soundly sleeping on your bed and you instantaneously wake up by flames, smoke, and blaring fire detectors. The scariest vision, right? You and your loved ones are left out with a few options to get out of the house. If you are looking for a strategic plan to protect yourself, your family, and your place from such a risky situation, then call for the expert help from fire engineers. They are the experienced, approved, and recommended fire risk assessors. Read more about this topic here:
#1: Don’t Panic
Although it is difficult to stop yourself from freaking out under hazardous situations, it is best if you can prevent this behaviour. Extreme panicking can cloud your brain and which makes it impossible for you to have a clear head. It limits your ability to think clearly and find realistic solutions to get control over the situation. Take a deep breath when you are trapped in a firehouse. Think of the probable ways out. If you have a phone with yourself, then immediately call 911 and higher authorities of the locality. If you don’t have a phone, yell for help; this way your neighbours can reach out to you. Get a blanket, thicker cloth, or towel to cover up any cracks or vents. If there is a window, keep the smoke out or hang a piece of cloth to call for emergency help. Keep your head clear and think of rational solutions to ensure the safety of residents.
#2: Don’t Take the Elevator
If you want to be safe and secure, then never take the elevator under risky circumstances. You must cover this point in your fire escape strategic plan. Let me repeat: don’t take an elevator when your place is on fire. If you do, you may get trapped, or you may suffer a fall when an elevator fails or gives out under dangerous state of affair. Thus, it is advised to prefer the use of stairs of fire escape route instead of an elevator.
#3: Design an Escape Route
You know emergency escape plans can save life up to 80 per cent. Do you have one for your home? If not, then start by sketching a map of your place, including the hallways, windows, and doors. Pin down the emergency exit points like the back door or front door. Once done with mind mapping, come up with the emergency route and contingency route (in case emergency route is blocked). Remember, when there is fire, the actual smoke makes it impossible to see certain pathways, so make sure of that factor when designing an escape route for your home. Use different scenarios to attain better readiness. For beginners, you must practice on your escape route by creating a fake scenario. Consider this fact that smoke can decrease visibility up to a greater extent. The more practice you have for such risky scenarios, the better you will be prepared for actual emergencies.
#4: Stop, Drop, & Crawl
Often, when a house is on fire, heat and smoke are more dangerous to human health than the flames themselves. During house fire, the temperature can rise to 100 degrees-600 degrees. Under condition when there is heavy smoke, immediately drop to the floor area where the air is cleaner so you can crawl to the nearest exit point or escape route. Get a towel or a thicker piece of cloth and keep it on your nose to filter out the smoke out. When extreme smoke rises, you can typically find more breathable air low to the ground. This way, you can prevent yourself from passing out.