Being a victim of a house fire may never cross your mind. However, you should be well prepared just in case this happens. In addition, you must have a plan so that you don't panic when a house fire occurs. If your house catches fire, your top priority is to save yourself and your family members as soon as possible. You don't have time to save your valuables or even your pets. In order to save yourself from a house fire, you must use the little time carefully and effectively. Read the following steps to find out how to save yourself from a house fire.
Step
Method 1 of 3: Protecting Yourself Inside a Burning House
Step 1. React as soon as possible when you hear the fire detector go off
If you hear the fire detector go off and see a fire, carefully leave the house. Do not take cell phones, valuables, or other important items. Your top priority is to get yourself and your family out of the house safely. If a house fire occurs at night, shout loudly to wake the family. You may only have a few seconds to save yourself. Therefore, ignore other things that can hinder saving yourself and your family.
Step 2. Exit the house through the door carefully
If you see smoke entering the room through the doorway, you cannot go out through the door because the smoke is poisonous and behind the door there is a fire. If you don't see smoke, touch the doorknob with the back of your hand to make sure it's not hot. Open the door slowly and leave the room if the doorknob feels cold. If the door is open and there is a fire preventing you from leaving the room, close the door to protect yourself from the flames.
If the doorknob is hot or there is smoke coming into the room through the doorway and there is no other door to get through, you should try to escape through the window
Step 3. Protect yourself from smoke inhalation
Lie down and crawl on your hands and knees to avoid the smoke. Invite the family to crawl. While running can help you escape faster, it can make you more susceptible to smoke inhalation (injury caused by inhalation of smoke that interferes with breathing) which can make you dizzy and even faint. Therefore, if you are going to pass through a room filled with smoke, you should cover your nose and mouth.
You can cover your nose and mouth with a wet cloth or cloth. However, do this if you still have time. This step helps you survive in a smoke-filled room for one minute. Even if you don't have a lot of extra time, a wet cloth or cloth can help filter out the harmful substances in the smoke that make you susceptible to smoke inhalation
Step 4. Stop, drop, and roll over if the clothes catch fire
If clothing catches fire, stop moving immediately, drop to the floor, and roll around until the fire is out. Rolling around can put out a fire quickly. Cover your face with your hands when rolling to protect yourself.
Step 5. Avoid smoke if you can't get out of the house
Don't panic if you can't run away from home and are waiting for help. Even if you can't get out of your house, you can still avoid the smoke and protect yourself. Cover the door and seal any vents and crevices around it with cloth or tape to prevent smoke from entering the room. No matter what you're doing, don't panic because you can still control the situation even if you feel trapped.
Step 6. Ask people around the house for help from the second floor window
If you're trapped on the second floor, do whatever you can to get to a room where people can hear or see you. You can hang white sheets or other items on the windows to let the police know that you need help. Make sure you close the windows because the open windows help the fire get oxygen from outside the house. Cover the doorway with a towel or whatever else you can find to prevent smoke from entering the room.
Step 7. Exit the house through the second floor window if possible
If you live in a two-story house, you should have a special fire escape ladder that you can use to get out of the house through the second floor window. The ladder is useful for saving yourself from house fires or other disasters. If you have to escape through a window, look for a ledge. Once you find it, you can exit the house through the window and then hang onto the ledge. However, keep in mind that your body should be facing toward the house when trying to lower yourself onto a ledge or out of a window. Hanging on the ledge on the second floor can bring your body closer to the ground and you can drop to the ground safely.
You may find it safer to stay indoors until help arrives and protect yourself from the blaze by closing the door. Additionally, you can protect yourself by preventing smoke from entering your room, covering your nose and mouth with a cloth to filter the air, and hoping that help will arrive soon
Method 2 of 3: Tips After Leaving Home
Step 1. Count the number of family members who managed to escape
If a family member has not managed to get out of the house, you should re-enter the house if it is absolutely safe. Notify the authorities if you are concerned that a family member may still be trapped in the house. Also, let them know when everyone in the family manages to get out of the house so they don't have to enter the house looking for the trapped person.
Step 2. Call Emergency Services
Indonesia has several telephone numbers to call for emergencies. Call 113 or 1131 to call the fire department. If you or a family member is injured, call 118 or 119 to call an ambulance. You can also call 110 for police assistance. If you are overseas, the following telephone numbers can be used to call the authorities: 911 (United States), 000 (Australia), 111 (New Zealand) and 999 (United Kingdom). If you are in the UK and want to contact the authorities using a cell phone, dial 112 (this number is a priority for UK mobile networks as many people accidentally dial 999). In addition, the phone number can be used throughout Europe and you will be connected to local authorities if needed. Use a cell phone or borrow a neighbor's phone to call the police.
Step 3. Check the health condition of you and your family
If you have contacted the authorities and they are heading home, check your health and that of your family to make sure you and your family are not injured. Provide first aid if you or a family member is injured. When the authorities have arrived, you can ask for their help.
Step 4. Stay away from burning houses
You should wait for help in a safe place away from the burning house. Once the fire is out, check the condition of the house to make sure you can enter the house safely. If the damage to the house is not too severe, you can remove the items that are still intact and clean the house. In addition, you must also calm the family, especially the children, to reduce the trauma they experience.
Method 3 of 3: Preventing House Fires
Step 1. Make a rescue plan and practice with the family
The best way to save yourself from a house fire is to have a rescue plan. You should make a plan and practice it at least twice a year so that you and your family get used to and understand the plan. In addition, this is done to ensure that you can keep your head clear and can execute a plan in the event of a fire. Here are some things to keep in mind as you plan and practice:
- Create two escape routes for each room. You should have two escape routes just in case one gets blocked. For example, if the escape route through a door is blocked by smoke or fire, you should find another route through another window or door.
- Practice escaping by crawling in a dark room with your eyes closed.
Step 2. Make sure your home is adequately equipped to deal with house fires
To make sure your home is ready for a house fire, make sure the fire detector is working and the battery is fully charged. In addition, make sure that the windows of the house can be opened easily, and that curtains and window screens (screens that are placed on windows to prevent leaves, dust, and insects from entering the house) can be removed quickly. If the window is protected by a trellis, make sure the trellis can be opened from inside the house quickly. The whole family should know how to open and close trellis protected windows. If your home is adequately equipped to deal with a house fire, you and your family have a greater chance of successfully protecting and saving yourself from a house fire.
Buy a folding ladder, hook ladder, or other ladder that has the SNI (Indonesian National Standard) logo that can be used to get down from the roof or second floor window
Step 3. Adopt safe living practices
To prevent house fires, there are several preventive steps that should be followed:
- Teach children that fire is dangerous and should not be used as a toy.
- When you are cooking, you should not leave the kitchen. Do not leave food being cooked unattended.
- Don't smoke in the house. When you have finished smoking, make sure the cigarette butt is completely extinguished.
- Dispose of electronics that have damaged wires that could cause a fire.
- Avoid using candles indoors, unless you store them in a visible place. Do not leave burning candles in the room unattended.
- Make sure you turn off the stove before leaving the kitchen.
- Try using a gas lighter instead of a wooden lighter.
Tips
- Make sure equipment used in an emergency, such as fire extinguishers and folding ladders, can be found easily and in good condition. In addition, you and your family must understand how to use it. Check the fire extinguisher regularly (at least once a year). If the tool is damaged, replace it with a new one.
- Make sure the fire detector is functioning properly. You should replace the fire detector battery twice a year.
- Practice implementing the plans that have been made with the family. A house fire disaster probably won't happen to you. However, this can happen to anyone. Therefore, you should be prepared for any eventuality.
- Clean equipment regularly to prevent fires.
- Make sure you check fire detectors regularly. You should replace it every five years.
- Do not re-enter a burning house.
- If your clothing catches fire, stop moving, drop, and roll over with your face covered.
- Use the back of your hand, not your palm or fingers, to touch the doorknob to make sure it's not hot. The back of the hand has more nerve endings than the palm of the hand. This way, you can accurately estimate the temperature of the doorknob without burning your hands. Also, hot doorknobs can burn your hands even if they don't look hot. You may use your palms or fingers to save yourself. Therefore, you must protect it.
Warning
- Make sure everyone in the house knows where to save themselves. Determine a specific location far enough from the burning house that they can wait in a safe place. However, make sure the location can be reached quickly and easily. Tell them to go to that location immediately and stay there until everyone in the house arrives.
- The thing to keep in mind is don't forget to lie down because the smoke from the fire gathers on the ceiling. Fire smoke is toxic and can burn your body. Therefore, lying down and crawling can help you avoid inhaling or getting burned by the fumes that enter the room. You can stand when the smoke is no longer filling the room. However, be careful when entering other rooms as they may be filled with smoke.
- Do not re-enter a burning house. Don't copy the heroic scene in the movie where the main character enters a burning house to save his family. This only happens in movies. In the real world, many people who re-entered burning houses lost their lives. If you re-enter the house and get stuck in it, it will only be a hassle for the firefighters because they have to save you.
- When the house is on fire, you will have a hard time getting to the room where the family members are. Therefore, all adult family members should know how to escape from the room they are in, even if they cannot get out through the door.
