Chapter 9 · Urban survivalFire in an apartment building
Chapter 9 · Urban survival

Fire in an apartment building

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In this section (3)
  1. Smoke alarms
  2. Your escape plan from a low floor
  3. If there is a fire

Many apartment complexes are wood-frame, with 2 or 3 floors and shared hallways or stairways. Fire spreads fast and smoke kills more than flames. The Red Cross estimates you may have as little as 2 minutes to get out. The advantage of a low floor: you have a window exit that doesn't exist on upper floors.

Smoke alarms

Your escape plan from a low floor

  1. Draw your floor plan. Mark two exits in each room: the door and the window. Mark where the alarms are.
  2. Test every window. It must open fully, with no paint sealing it or stuck lock. Move any furniture blocking it. If it has bars, they must have a quick-release mechanism from the inside; if not, talk to the management.
  3. Remove the window screen easily. Practice popping it out with a push. Keep a flashlight and shoes next to each bed.
  4. Set a meeting point outside, at a distance from the building: for example, a specific pole or tree in the parking lot. Everyone reports there; no one goes back for anyone.
  5. Assign the pets. One person takes each pet with its leash or carrier, only if they are within reach. Never go back for a pet; tell the firefighters where it might be.
  6. Practice twice a year, once of them at night, as the Red Cross recommends.
Figure 9.3. Escape plan for a ground-floor apartment: two exits per room, alarms in every bedroom and in the hallway, meeting point outside.

If there is a fire

  1. Yell "Fire!" and wake everyone. Activate the building alarm if there is one in the hallway.
  2. Before opening a door, touch it with the back of your hand, as well as the handle and the crack. If it's hot, don't open it: use your second exit (the window).
  3. If it's cool, open it slowly. If smoke or heat comes in, close it and use the window.
  4. Stay low. The cleanest air is near the floor. Crawl if there's smoke.
  5. Close the doors behind you. A closed door slows fire and smoke, and protects your neighbors.
  6. Get out and stay out. Call 911 from the meeting point. Don't go back for anything or anyone; tell the firefighters who is missing and where they might be.
  7. If your clothes catch fire: stop, drop to the ground, cover your face with your hands, and roll until the fire is out.
Figure 9.4. Getting out of a fire: touch the door with the back of your hand; if it's hot, use the window; crawl under the smoke and close the doors behind you.