next articleFire safety in the bedroom
Fires that occur in the home often take place at night when its occupants are asleep. By the time the smell of smoke awakens you, it may already be too late to escape. Smoke alarms are crucial in giving you and your family the extra time necessary to safely escape from a fire. Smoke alarms should be installed outside bedrooms, inside bedrooms, and at the top of stairs. Use the following suggestions to ensure bedroom fire safety:
1. Closed doors usually offer some protection against both fire and smoke from outside of the room. If bedroom doors are normally closed at night, consider smoke alarm locations within each bedroom because a closed door can keep smoke produced by a fire in the bedroom from reaching an alarm located in the hall.
2. In a single floor home, the alarm should be placed in the hallway near the bed rooms. In a house where bedrooms are upstairs, one alarm should be near the top of the stairs close to the bedroom area. The simplest rule for locating the basic (or only) smoke alarm in your home should be "between the bedrooms and the rest of the house, but closer to the bedrooms". Remember, it is smoke NOT flames, which is the primary cause of death in a fire. Of those who die in fires, 80% are asphyxiated by toxic fumes.
3. Smoke rises! Therefore, when attempting an escape from a bedroom, be sure to crawl close to the floor. The entire family should regularly practice rolling out of bed and crawling to an exit.
4. If you are awakened by the smell of smoke, feel the bedroom door before opening it to see if it is hot. If it is, DO NOT attempt an escape through this door. instead , you should try to escape from a window. If this is not possible, then a bedsheet or rug should be jammed into the cracks around the door to prevent smoke from coming in. Then wait for help to arrive.
5. NEVER smoke in bed.
6. DO NOT fold or roll an electric blanket. Heat will build up in the wires and ignite the blanket. Unplug the blanket and lay it flat when not in use.