What to do During a Fire: Why Being Prepared Beats Learning the Hard Way

Written by: Rebecca Callahan, volunteer

This is where I now live.  My building is a perfect example of how the world can change in an instant.  In 2007, DC Fire and EMS responded to a two-alarm fire here that grew quickly, taking several hours for the firemen to put it out. The building was basically a shell after the fire, so it lay derelict for nearly four years before a developer decided to purchase the property, and reconstruction and recovery could begin.

What would you do if that had been your building? Did you know that once a fire starts in your home, you may have less than two minutes to escape? When I moved in, I took time to meet with my neighbors and made sure that we all had a good sense of what we needed to do to stay safe and to prevent another devastating incident. 

According to the US Fire Administration - FEMA.gov, three out of five home fire deaths result from fires in properties without working smoke alarms. It is heartbreaking that smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors—the best preventers of critical injury and fatality—are often overlooked and even sabotaged by homeowners because of simple inconveniences. To avoid the irritation of a sounding alarm, some people even take the battery out while cooking and often forget to put it back in. This should never be done. Smoke rises quickly, so detectors should always be mounted directly on a ceiling or on a wall near the ceiling. Ideally, you should have a smoke detector in your hallway as well as in your bedroom.  

During a fire, lives can be saved by smoke alarms and having a well-practiced fire escape plan. You, your family and pets should have an evacuation plan that you exercise regularly. If you live in a rental property, make sure that you and your homeowners’ association (HOA) regularly test the warning systems to ensure that you and your neighbors would be quickly notified in the event of a fire.

When we moved in a few years ago, our fire alarm system had a few glitches. While this was somewhat inconvenient, we did gain hands-on experience to learn where emergency exits and escape routes were, how to ensure our building met code requirements for fire rated doors and other safety precautions before we could fall into complacency and never realized safety issues until a real emergency. We also have a very high percentage of pets in our building, especially dogs. While dogs can sometimes be effective living smoke detectors, they also require that residents consider the necessary steps required to ensure that all resident pet owners know how to help evacuate pets and provide signage for firefighters so that they are aware of pets in the building. This helps rescue them and for their owners safety.

I personally have responded with the disaster teams to over 100 fires in New York City, Baltimore and Washington DC.  Some resulted in critical injuries, and all of them involved loss of valuables. As hard as it may be to believe, there really is no physical item that is so critical that it is worth risking your life.  The only irreplaceable items are people and pets. The most important tip for fire safety is this one: if a fire occurs in your home, GET OUT, STAY OUT and CALL FOR HELP. Never go back inside for anything or anyone. 

The first responders will do all they can to rescue anyone who has not escaped. The only way you can make their job harder is for them to have to go back and rescue you too. We all have the best of intentions, but becoming a casualty when you could have simply escaped takes valuable time away from others who were not lucky enough to be able to escape. It’s that simple.

Learn more about fire prevention, fire safety, preparedness, go kits and much more. 

The bottom line is this: you will never regret being Red Cross Ready!