Burn Injury Prevention: Escape Plans

Escape Information

Safeguard Your Home

• Install smoke detectors on each floor of your home. One must be outside the bedroom.
• Change batteries in smoke detectors at least once a year. (Never borrow smoke alarm batteries for other purposes).
• Keep emergency phone numbers and other pertinent information posted close to your telephone.
• Draw a floor plan and find two exits from each room. Windows can serve as emergency exits.
• Practice getting out of the house through the various exits.
• Designate a meeting place at a safe distance outside the home.
• Respond to every alarm as if it were a real fire.
• Call the fire department after escaping. Tell them your address and don’t hang up until you’re told to do so.
• Let them know if anyone is trapped inside.
• Never go back into a burning building to look for:
• missing people,
• pets,
• property,
• etc.
• Wait for firefighters

Hotel and Workplace Fire Safety

• Become familiar with exits and posted evacuation plans each time you enter a building. 
• Learn the location of all building exits. You may have to find your way out in the dark.
• Ensure that fire exits are unlocked and clear of debris.
• All buildings, whether homes, workplaces or hotels, should have working smoke alarm systems.
• Make sure you know what the alarm sounds like.
• Respond to every alarm as if it were a real fire.
• If you hear an alarm, leave immediately and close doors behind you as you go.
• Establish an outside meeting place where everyone can meet after they’ve escaped.
• Call the fire department after escaping. Tell them your address and don’t hang up until you’re told to do so. Let them know if anyone is trapped inside.
• Never go back into a burning building to look for:
• missing people,
• pets, property,
• etc.
• Wait for firefighters

If You Are Trapped in a Burning Building

• Smoke rises, so crawl low to the ground where the air will be cleanest.
• Get out quickly if it is safe to leave.
• Cover your nose and mouth with a cloth (moist if possible).
• Test doorknobs and spaces around doors with the back of your hand.
• If the door is warm, try another escape route.
• If it’s cool, open it slowly.
• Slam it shut if smoke pours through.
• Use the stairs; never use an elevator during a fire.
• Call the fire department for assistance if you are trapped.
• If you cannot get to a phone, yell for help out the window.
• Wave or hang a sheet or other large object to attract attention.
• Close as many doors as possible between yourself and the fire.
• Seal your door with rags.
• Open windows slightly at the top and bottom, but close them if smoke comes in.