House fire

Fire is FAST!

There is little time! In less than 30 seconds a small flame can get completely out of control and turn into a major fire. It only takes minutes for thick black smoke to fill a house or for it to be engulfed in flames. Most deadly fires occur in the home when people are asleep. If you wake up to a fire, you won't have time to grab valuables because fire spreads too quickly and the smoke is too thick. There is only time to escape.

Fire is HOT!

Heat is more threatening than flames. A fire's heat alone can kill. Room temperatures in a fire can be 100 degrees at floor level and rise to 600 degrees at eye level. Inhaling this super-hot air will scorch your lungs. This heat can melt clothes to your skin. In five minutes, a room can get so hot that everything in it ignites at once: this is called flashover.

Fire is DARK!

Fire isn't bright, it's pitch black. Fire starts bright, but quickly produces black smoke and complete darkness. If you wake up to a fire you may be blinded, disoriented and unable to find your way around the home you've lived in for years.

Fire is DEADLY!

Smoke and toxic gases kill more people than flames do. Fire uses up the oxygen you need and produces smoke and poisonous gases that kill. Breathing even small amounts of smoke and toxic gases can make you drowsy, disoriented and short of breath. The odorless, colorless fumes can lull you into a deep sleep before the flames reach your door. You may not wake up in time to escape.

Only when we know the true nature of fire can we prepare our families and ourselves.

Basic fire escape planning

Pull together everyone in your household and make a plan. Walk through your home and inspect all possible exits and escape routes. Households with children should consider drawing a floor plan of your home, marking two ways out of each room, including windows and doors. Also, mark the location of each smoke alarm. This is a great way to get children involved in fire safety in a non-threatening way.

A closed door may slow the spread of smoke, heat and fire. Install smoke alarms in every sleeping room, outside each sleeping area and on every level of the home. When one sounds, they all sound.

Everyone in the household must understand the escape plan. When you walk through your plan, check to make sure the escape routes are clear and doors and windows can be opened easily.

Choose an outside meeting place (i.e. neighbour's house, a light post, mailbox, or stop sign) a safe distance in front of your home where everyone can meet after they've escaped. Make sure to mark the location of the meeting place on your escape plan.

Go outside to see if your street number is clearly visible from the road. If not, paint it on the curb or install house numbers to ensure that responding emergency personnel can find your home.

Have everyone memorize the emergency phone number of the fire department. That way any member of the household can call from a neighbour's home or a cellular phone once safely outside.

If there are infants, older adults, or family members with mobility limitations, make sure that someone is assigned to assist them in the fire drill and in the event of an emergency. Assign a backup person too, in case the designee is not home during the emergency.

If windows or doors in your home have security bars, make sure that the bars have emergency release devices inside so that they can be opened immediately in an emergency. Emergency release devices won't compromise your security - but they will increase your chances of safely escaping a home fire.

Tell guests or visitors to your home about your family's fire escape plan. When staying overnight at other people's homes, ask about their escape plan. If they don't have a plan in place, offer to help them make one. This is especially important when children are permitted to attend "sleepovers" at friends' homes.

Be fully prepared for a real fire: when a smoke alarm sounds, get out immediately. Residents of high-rise and apartment buildings may be safer "defending in place."

Once you're out, stay out! Under no circumstances should you ever go back into a burning building. If someone is missing, inform the fire department dispatcher when you call. Firefighters have the skills and equipment to perform rescues.

Putting your plan to the test

Practice your home fire escape plan twice a year, making the drill as realistic as possible.

Make arrangements in your plan for anyone in your home who has a disability.

Allow children to master fire escape planning and practice before holding a fire drill at night when they are sleeping. The objective is to practice, not to frighten, so telling children there will be a drill before they go to bed can be as effective as a surprise drill.

It's important to determine during the drill whether children and others can readily waken to the sound of the smoke alarm. If they fail to awaken, make sure that someone is assigned to wake them up as part of the drill and in a real emergency situation.

If your home has two floors, every family member (including children) must be able to escape from the second floor rooms. Escape ladders can be placed in or near windows to provide an additional escape route. Review the manufacturer's instructions carefully so you'll be able to use a safety ladder in an emergency. Practice setting up the ladder from a first floor window to make sure you can do it correctly and quickly. Children should only practice with a grown-up, and only from a first-story window. Store the ladder near the window, in an easily accessible location. You don't want to have to search for it during a fire.

Always choose the escape route that is safest – the one with the least amount of smoke and heat – but be prepared to escape under toxic smoke if necessary. When you do your fire drill, everyone in the family should practice getting low and going under the smoke to your exit.

Closing doors on your way out slows the spread of fire, giving you more time to safely escape.

In some cases, smoke or fire may prevent you from exiting your home or apartment building. To prepare for an emergency like this, practice "sealing yourself in for safety" as part of your home fire escape plan. Close all doors between you and the fire.

Use duct tape or towels to seal the door cracks and cover air vents to keep smoke from coming in. If possible, open your windows at the top and bottom so fresh air can get in. Call the fire department to report your exact location. Wave a flash light or light coloured cloth at the window to let the fire department know where you are located.

During A Fire

Crawl low under any smoke to your exit - heavy smoke and poisonous gases collect first along the ceiling.
When the smoke alarm sounds, get out fast. You may have only seconds to escape safely.
If there is smoke blocking your door or first way out, use your second way out.
Smoke is toxic. If you must escape through smoke, get low and go under the smoke to your way out.
Before opening a door, feel the doorknob and door. If either is hot, leave the door closed and use your second way out.
If there is smoke coming around the door, leave the door closed and use your second way out.
If you open a door, open it slowly. Be ready to shut it quickly if heavy smoke or fire is present.
If you can’t get to someone needing assistance, leave the home and call the fire department. Tell the emergency operator where the person is located.
If pets are trapped inside your home, tell firefighters right away.
If you can’t get out, close the door and cover vents and cracks around doors with cloth or tape to keep smoke out. Call your fire department. Say where you are and signal for help at the window with a light coloured cloth or a flash light.
If your clothes catch fire, stop, drop, and roll – stop immediately, drop to the ground, and cover your face with your hands. Roll over and over or back and forth until the fire is out. If you or someone else cannot stop, drop, and roll, smother the flames with a blanket or towel. Use cool water to treat the burn immediately for 3 to 5 minutes. Cover with a clean, dry cloth. Get medical help right away by calling your local emergency number or the fire department.

Escaping the Fire

Make sure windows are not nailed or painted shut. Make sure security gratings on windows have a fire safety opening feature so they can be easily opened from the inside.
Consider escape ladders if your residence has more than one level, and ensure that burglar bars and other antitheft mechanisms that block outside window entry are easily opened from the inside.
Teach family members to stay low to the floor (where the air is safer in a fire) when escaping from a fire.
Clean out storage areas. Do not let trash such as old newspapers and magazines accumulate.

Fire Escape Planning for Older Adults and People Access or Functional Needs

Live near an exit. You'll be safest on the ground floor if you live in an apartment building. If you live in a multi-story home, arrange to sleep on the ground floor, and near an exit.
If you use a walker or wheelchair, check all exits to be sure you get through the doorways.
Make any necessary accommodations, such as providing exit ramps and widening doorways, to facilitate an emergency escape.
Speak to your family members, building manager, or neighbours about your fire safety plan and practice it with them.
Contact your local fire department's non-emergency line and explain your special needs. Ask emergency providers to keep your special needs information on file.
Keep a phone near your bed and be ready to call your local emergency number if a fire occurs.

Fire escape plan template

Prevent Home Fires

Most home fires occur in the kitchen while cooking and are the leading cause of injuries from fire. Common causes of fires at night are carelessly discarded cigarettes, sparks from fireplaces without spark screens or glass doors, and heating appliances left too close to furniture or other combustibles. These fires can be particularly dangerous because they may smolder for a long period before being discovered by sleeping residents.

Home fires are preventable! The following are simple steps that each of us can take to prevent a tragedy.

Cooking

Stay in the kitchen when you are frying, grilling, or broiling food. If you leave the kitchen for even a short period of time, turn off the stove.
Wear short, close-fitting or tightly rolled sleeves when cooking.
Do not cook if you are sleepy, have been drinking alcohol, or have taken medicine that makes you drowsy.
Keep children away from cooking areas by enforcing a "kid-free zone" of 3 feet around the stove.
Position barbecue grills at least 10 feet away from siding and deck railings, and out from under eaves and overhanging branches.

Smoking

If you smoke, smoke outside. Most home fires caused by smoking materials start inside the home. Put your cigarettes out in a can filled with sand.
Make sure cigarettes and ashes are out. The cigarette really needs to be completely stubbed out in an ashtray. Soak cigarette butts and ashes in water before throwing them away. Never toss hot cigarette butts or ashes in the trash can.
Check for cigarette butts. Chairs and sofas catch on fire fast and burn fast. Don't put ashtrays on them. If people have been smoking in the home, check for cigarettes under cushions.
Never smoke in a home where oxygen is used, even if it is turned off. Oxygen can be explosive and makes fire burn hotter and faster.
Be alert - don’t smoke in bed! If you are sleepy, have been drinking, or have taken medicine that makes you drowsy, put your cigarette out first.

Electrical and Appliance Safety

Frayed wires can cause fires. Replace all worn, old or damaged appliance cords immediately and do not run cords under rugs or furniture.
Buy electrical products evaluated by a nationally recognized laboratory, such as Underwriters Laboratories (UL).
If an appliance has a three-prong plug, use it only in a three-slot outlet. Never force it to fit into a two-slot outlet or extension cord.
Use electrical extension cords wisely; never overload extension cords or wall sockets.
Immediately shut off, then professionally replace, light switches that are hot to the touch and lights that flicker.

Portable Space Heaters

Keep combustible objects at least three feet away from portable heating devices.
Buy only heaters evaluated by a nationally recognized laboratory, such as Underwriters Laboratories (UL).
Check to make the portable heater has a thermostat control mechanism, and will switch off automatically if the heater falls over.
Check with your local fire department on the legality of kerosene heater use in your community.
Only use crystal clear K-1 kerosene in kerosene heaters. Never overfill it. Use the heater in a well-ventilated room.

Fireplaces and Woodstoves

Inspect and clean woodstove pipes and chimneys annually and check monthly for damage or obstructions.
Never burn trash, paper, or green wood.
Use a fireplace screen heavy enough to stop rolling logs and big enough to cover the entire opening of the fireplace to catch flying sparks.
Make sure the fire is completely out before leaving the house or going to bed.
Store cooled ashes in a tightly sealed metal container outside the home.

Children

Take the mystery out of fire play by teaching children that fire is a tool, not a toy.
Store matches and lighters out of children's reach and sight, preferably in a locked cabinet.
Teach children not to pick up matches or lighters they may find. Instead, they should tell an adult immediately.
Never leave children unattended near operating stoves or burning candles, even for a short time.
Check under beds and in closets for burned matches, evidence your child may be playing with fire.

More Prevention Tips

Avoid using lighted candles.
Never use the range or oven to heat your home.
Keep combustible and flammable liquids away from heat sources.
Portable generators should NEVER be used indoors and should only be refueled outdoors or in well ventilated areas.

Here are some videos from Youtube that show you how it looks like.

Credit to the owner of the video