How To: Protect Yourself In Case Of A Fire
The last thing you want to do at the time of a fire is to be thinking about your escape route, trying to figure out your next move or have malfunctioning equipment.
Plan ahead, with persons that you work with, your family and always include your children in the planning.
One member of Jamaica Fire Department pointed that for homes and businesses:
- It is always best to have smoke detectors, fire extinguishers, automatic fire sprinklers and fire alarm.
- These must be serviced on a quarterly basis to avoid malfunction in the case of an emergency
- Have a contingency plan – what do in case there’s a fire
- It’s always a good idea to try and remain as calm as possible and stick the plan of how to exit
- Have a direct number for the Jamaica Fire Brigade in close proximity. Calling the operator may delay the response time of the fire brigade
As it relates to motor vehicles:
- Have a working fire extinguisher and plan an exit strategy for the car, and always remember to involve your children
Other things to pay keen attention to:
- Test doors before opening them – if hot, use another escape route.
- If you are trapped, close the door between you and the fire and close cracks to keep out smoke. If you have a phone on your person, call the fire brigade and inform them of where you are. Signal for help with a flashlight if there’s a window in the room.
- Crawl on the floor to escape smoke – clean air will be nearer to the floor
- Show children how to crawl through smoke to get clean air, and never leave children alone in case of fire.
Always remember that disaster can happen quickly and without warning. Call the fire brigade at 110 in case of fire.
Source: The Gleaner, The Jamaica Fire Brigade