6.1 — House Fire and Smoke

The most likely serious emergency in an ordinary life, and the one where preparation makes the largest difference.

Two facts govern everything in this chapter.

Smoke kills, not flames. The large majority of fire deaths are from smoke and toxic gas inhalation rather than from burns.

And you have less time than you think. Modern homes, with synthetic furnishings and open layouts, burn faster than older ones — the time from a fire becoming noticeable to a room becoming unsurvivable can be a couple of minutes.

Prevention, which is most of it

Smoke alarms

The single most effective safety device in a home.

They roughly halve the risk of dying in a house fire, and the mechanism is simple: they wake you. Most fatal house fires happen at night, and smoke does not wake a sleeping person — it deepens sleep.

One on each floor, outside sleeping areas, and inside bedrooms if anybody sleeps with the door closed.

Test monthly. Replace batteries yearly. Replace the unit after about ten years.

And a specific note: if an alarm is beeping intermittently, replace the battery rather than removing it. A disabled alarm is present in a very large share of fatal fires.

The common causes

Cooking, unattended. The single most common cause of house fires.

Electrical faults and overloaded sockets.

Heaters, particularly near curtains or bedding.

Candles.

Smoking, particularly in bed.

And charging devices — especially cheap or damaged lithium batteries, and particularly electric two-wheelers charged indoors, which is a rapidly growing cause and produces extremely fast, intense fires.

The five-minute checks

Close bedroom doors at night. **A closed door dramatically slows fire and smoke spread and keeps the temperature inside survivable for far longer. This is one of the highest-value free actions available.

Do not overload sockets.

Keep a clear exit path — no clutter in corridors, and keys where you can find them in the dark.

Never leave cooking unattended.

And do not charge lithium batteries overnight or in an escape route.

The plan

Written, and rehearsed (5.12).

Two ways out of every room, including a window where possible.

A meeting point outside.

Everybody knows the plan, including children.

And the rule, agreed in advance: get out, stay out, call from outside.

During: what to do

Get out

**Immediately. Do not gather anything.

Shout to wake others as you go.

Do not investigate.

Stay low

Because smoke and hot gases rise, and the air near the floor is survivable for considerably longer.

Crawl on hands and knees, keeping your head about half a metre off the ground.

Test doors before opening

Back of the hand on the door and on the handle.

If it is hot, do not open it — the fire is on the other side and opening it will let it in. Use your second route.

If you must open a door, open it slowly, braced, ready to close it.

Close doors behind you

Every door you close slows it down.

And once out, stay out

Do not go back in. For anything or anybody.

Tell the fire service who is inside and where, and let them go in — they have breathing apparatus and you do not.

Going back in is one of the most common causes of death in house fires, and the decision has to be made in advance, calmly, because it will not be made correctly in the moment (1.3).

If you cannot get out

Five things, in order.

Go into a room with a window, ideally on the street side.

Close the door and put bedding, towels or clothing along the bottom to block smoke. Wet them if there is water.

Open the window and stay at it for air.

Signal. **Shout, wave something light-coloured, use a torch. Make it obvious which room you are in.

And call the fire service and tell them exactly where you are.

A closed door with the gap sealed buys a substantial amount of time, and the fire service knowing your location is what makes that time useful.

Only jump from a first-floor window as an absolute last resort — and if you must, lower yourself from the sill to reduce the drop, and throw bedding down first.

If clothing catches fire

Stop, drop and roll.

Stop moving — running feeds the flames.

Drop to the ground.

Roll, covering the face with the hands.

Or smother with a blanket or heavy cloth.

Then cool the burn with running water for twenty minutes (3.4).

Fire extinguishers

Useful within narrow limits, and the limits matter.

Only tackle a fire if: it is small — smaller than a bin — it has just started, you have a clear escape route behind you, and you have the right extinguisher.

If it does not go out within a few seconds, leave.

And the specific ones worth knowing:

Never water on an electrical fire or a cooking oil fire.

A pan fire: turn off the heat if you can reach it safely, and smother it with a lid or a fire blanket. Never move a burning pan and never put water on it — water on burning oil produces a violent explosion of flame.

A fire blanket in the kitchen is a cheap and genuinely useful item.

Smoke inhalation

Anybody who has been in smoke needs medical assessment, even if they seem fine.

Because airway swelling from hot gases can develop over hours, and carbon monoxide poisoning is invisible (6.2).

Signs: coughing, hoarseness, soot around the nose or mouth, singed nasal hair, difficulty breathing, headache, confusion.

What to do with this page

Smoke alarms on every floor, tested monthly. They halve the risk and a disabled one is present in most fatal fires.

Close bedroom doors at night. Free, and it buys minutes.

Get out, stay out, call from outside. Decide in advance that you will not go back.

Stay low. Test doors with the back of your hand.

And if you are trapped: closed door, gap blocked, window open, and tell them exactly which room.

Next: 6.2 — gas, electricity and carbon monoxide, the three invisible household hazards.