I just attended a fire awareness program recently. The speaker is from Fire Prevention Centre Malaysia (a NGO maybe). Here are some key points worth to share..
1. Every room should have a way to escape, i.e. another exit other than the door. For example the grilled window should have an opening with a lock, where the key is put near the window and tested occasionally. Most important thing is everyone in the house knows how to use it.
2. Most of the victims die because of smoke, not fire. Smoke spreads very fast, is toxic and sparkling. Running through without any protection e.g. heat resistance mask is fatal. Cover with a wet towel does not help much.
3. The inner nose is black if a person inhale too much smoke. You will suffocate in 2 minutes, faint in 4 minutes, and probably gone in 6 minutes. Face shield or clean the mouth during CPR.
4. Smoke will gather on top of ceiling first, therefore the area near the ground will have more oxygen. However, never simply crawl without assessing the situation. In public places like shopping malls, hospitals and hotels, you will be stepped dead when people are rushing out.
5. You will not survive when you jump out from a high building. If you cannot escape, find the fire resisting door, feel the handle. Do not open if it is hot or smoke coming out from the holes (indicating there is fire on the other side). Find a sealed room, stuff the hole bottom with cloth to prevent the smoke from coming in. Do not switch on any electrical appliances including lights.
6. It takes less than 1 minute for a small electrical fire of a socket to burn whole room.
7. There is 2 types of fire extinguisher, ABC powder and CO2. ABC is multi-purpose extinguisher while CO2 is for electrical fire ONLY. Using CO2 on human being will kill him/her.
8. Prevention is better than anything. Learn how to use fire extinguisher. Teach your kids how to escape. Install smoke detector to alert everyone to get out as soon as possible.
Some Whispers