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    English

    In a fire, crawl low, feel the door before opening it, don't open it if it is hot, take the stairs and not the elevator, and once you are out don't go back

    • High value
    • Evidence B
    • Buys life
    • Costs a little
    • Takes minutes
    • No willpower

    In a real emergency, call 911 first, then read this.

    In plain words

    Get down on the floor and crawl toward the exit under the smoke. Before opening a door, feel the handle and the door itself, and if it is hot or smoke is coming through the gap, don't open that door and take the second way. Open a door slowly, and if thick smoke comes, shut it again at once. Take the stairs and not the elevator. Once you are out, don't go back for belongings. If your clothes catch fire, stop, drop and roll, and cover your face with your hands.

    Cost

    Put 1 or 2 stand-alone smoke alarms in the home, a few dozen CNY. Look ahead of time at the two exits in the corridor.

    What you get

    The U.S. FEMA escape text: "get down on the floor and crawl toward the exit under the smoke." Before opening a door, feel the handle and the door itself, "if it is hot, or there is smoke at the gap, don't open this door and use the second way." Open a door slowly, and close it again at once if there is thick smoke. If your clothes catch fire, "stop, drop and roll," covering your face with your hands. If you can't get out, close the door, stuff cloth or tape in the gaps and vents, and call to give your location. The fire self-rescue notice from the Ministry of Emergency Management (ๅบ”ๆ€ฅ็ฎก็†้ƒจ) agrees: don't use the elevator to escape, run downstairs if the fire is small, cover your mouth and nose with a wet towel or mask, and leave crouching or bent over

    Notes

    Don't take the elevator, since a power cut traps you inside. Don't go back for belongings. Don't run upward unless you have confirmed the roof door is open. Don't jump from a window. Fold the wet towel 3 times into 8 layers, and don't make it too wet, since a towel that is too wet makes it hard to breathe. When the smoke and toxic gas are too thick, even a towel can't block them. For wildfires and fires in the wild, see ยง9.28 (no cooking fires in forest or grassland areas).

    Evidence grade
    B : Supported by research but without a precise number, or based on small or single studies.
    Sources
    1. US FEMA Ready.gov. Home Fires. https://www.ready.gov/home-fires
    2. Ministry of Emergency Management (2019). Self-Rescue Methods for Fires in Public Places [in Chinese]: "Do not take the elevator when escaping; if the fire is small, try to run down the floors" "You can cover your nose with a wet towel or mask, and crawl or bend over to evacuate". https://www.mem.gov.cn/kp/shaq/201904/t20190401_366015.shtml
    3. Guizhou Provincial Fire and Rescue Corps (2020). Fire Safety Knowledge | Three Key Points for Escape [in Chinese]: "A wet towel folded 3 times (8 layers) removes smoke fairly well, but when the concentration of smoke and toxic gas is too high, the filtering effect cannot be guaranteed. Also, a towel that is too wet makes breathing difficult". https://gz.119.gov.cn/xfkp/xfcs/202010/t20201026_71437855.html

    Translated from the Chinese original. Original book, section 13, tip 24. Content may be out of date and rules differ by place. When you actually deal with an agency, a doctor or a court, follow what local officials, doctors and lawyers tell you. Disclaimer