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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To beg you all to have a fire evacuation plan

136 replies

WelshMaenad · 31/08/2012 20:51

my friend's house has gone up in flames this evening. Thankfully she and her dd were not home when it happened, but they have list everything. Her neighbours said that it went from a wisp of smoke to a blazing inferno within minutes, had they been home, maybe sleeping, they would have been in a lot of trouble.

I am going out to buy fire escape ladders tomorrow. Please please please review your escape options in your home. Seeing her house in flames has literally petrified me, it was horrific and so frightening.

OP posts:

twooter · 01/09/2012 06:45

Also check your fire alarms haven't expired. They only last 8-10 years or so, and will become worse at detecting smoke over that time.

Sirzy · 01/09/2012 06:51

Great thread to get people thinking and planning. Like PP I have a phobia of fire so am paranoid about making sure I know escape routes even in hotels etc (down to always having shoes and jumpers/coats where they can be grabbed incase of evacuation!)

The simplest way to ensure your plan for home is as good as possible is to phone your local fire station and ask them to do a safety check - they will point out things you probably wouldn't have thought of (danger of tumble dryer - always "defluff" it and don't leave on when your out), put fire alarms in for free and ensure everyone knows the best plans.

Also don't rely on landlines if there is a fire it could burn through the wires for the phone - make sure you have a charged mobile phone with you when you go to bed or carry it with you if home alone.

ObviouslyOblivious · 01/09/2012 06:52

My parents are obsessed with putting the dishwasher, washing machine and tumble drier on overnight to save money :(

CobOnTheCorn · 01/09/2012 07:13

This is really helpful. I don't have a plan so I've just been thinking up one. Some of our upstairs windows only open a fraction, some kind of safety thing, which is bothering me know. Do you think I can change the setting or something? Rather than changing the windows!

Pils double lock their front door and put the key in a 'safe' place which always concerned me when we stayed there. It wasn't to bad as DP had spare keys so we could keep them nearby when we were sleeping.

DS1 has just spent a weekend with pils by himself and I'd forgotten about the keys. I don't want him to stay there again on his own now that I've remembered.

theodorakis · 01/09/2012 07:13

Can I also add that it is always a good idea to locate your nearest exit in public areas? And, if you see an obstructed or locked fire exit, report it. If they are not taking you seriously, call the police. Here in Qatar, you may know we had a terrible fire in our shopping mall recently. It has completely changed my attitude

cozietoesie · 01/09/2012 07:33

Quite right, theodorakis - particularly with regard to reporting obstructed or locked fire exits. I think we could all probably remember a number of fire tragedies in recent years where that was a critical factor. It often happens, particularly in places of entertainment where the building maintenance may not be that great (no investment in new systems) and where they want to keep things locked for 'security' reasons eg to stop younger people getting in the back doors or leaving them open, say, for friends to access without paying or to have cigarettes in no-smoking buildings.

MammaTJisanOlympicSumoWrestler · 01/09/2012 07:39

My next door neighbour came hammering on my door one night, asking me to take her DCs in and phone her DH in the pub. Her new tumble dryer had burst in to flames right in front of her.

We had a leaflet through the door shortly after asking if we wanted the fire brigade to come round and do a check on the house.

I gladly took them up on it and now have an escape plan in place.

The one thing that impressed me was how effective the doors are. I did not really trust the 'half hour protection' they are meant to give. I went in my neighbours house after the fire and although the kitchen was gutted, including UPVC back door melted, everything else looked fine.

Triggles · 01/09/2012 08:23

I really worried about this when DH was working nights - how would I get both children out of the house safely if there was a fire? But at least now that he works dayshift, it's a bit less worry, as there will be 2 of us getting them out. We have tip and tilt windows so they open like a door. The plan is basically to get both children in one room with us (any bedroom will work depending on which room is safest at the time), and throw a mattress out onto the ground, then each of us take a child and jump. My handbag with the keys is always in same place at night, right next to bed. Spare keys for each door are just inside door just in case.

DS3 still doesn't understand the "don't hide from fire" although we're working on it. DS2 repeats it, but not quite sure if he understands or not. Our other 2 children are adults in their own home. I think we'll remind them both about having a fire evacuation plan.

Tanith · 01/09/2012 08:24

Re: the ladders.

I think the issue with them is that they give a false sense of security.
They are never used except in an emergency and it's then, with all the panic going on, that people find out the ladder won't fit the window, or they waste time trying to fix it up. Actually climbing out of a window and down it is also an extremely difficult thing to do and it's never usually practised until it's needed.

How many of you with these ladders have practised setting them up and climbing out of the window? How did you find it?

When the fire brigade told me, I went upstairs to try it. I knew then that, in an emergency, I could never use it, let alone persuade frightened young children down it.

CouthyMow · 01/09/2012 08:25

YANBU. My friend lost her 5 yo in a fire as she was carrying her 2.5yo and newborn baby, thought her DD was following, but list her in the smoke.

This was 9 years ago now. I have owned fire escape ladders and had a very clear escape plan ever since.

CouthyMow · 01/09/2012 08:26

We have practiced. 19mo DS3 finds it hilarious, but the older DC take it very seriously.

cozietoesie · 01/09/2012 08:27

To underline the need for a plan. I had a tradesman in last month and while we were talking he told me about a recent fire he'd had - the deep freeze went up. (And what's the one thing you always leave on overnight?) Luckily, it happened at teatime so family and pets were all OK although the house was a mess. If it had happened in the early hours, it would have been a lot more problematic.

Tanith · 01/09/2012 08:32

Meant to add:

If you have a fire escape ladder, you should practice using it regularly so it becomes second nature in an emergency.

Most people don't. They have it in a corner of an upstairs room and a lot of them don't even set it up once. Add an emergency and panic and that's why the fire brigade don't recommend them.

tara0202 · 01/09/2012 08:45

couthy that is awful about your friends child.

I do have a plan. Basically get dd and out window onto flat roof. Keys always in doors.

I am moving in 2 weeks and this has made me think about what I'll do there. I think escape ladders sound a good idea? I'd rather break a bone than die in a fire. Good advice though to actually practice using them to ensure you're able to.

Last year the factory jst

tara0202 · 01/09/2012 08:46

Damn. Pressed post by mistake!

The factory behind my house went up. So quick. Whole street was evacuated at 2am.

Silibilimili · 01/09/2012 09:13

Good post op.

cozietoesie · 02/09/2012 05:23

Well this thread has kicked me into contacting the local fire brigade to arrange a free fire safety inspection. Easy peasy. Found their website and there's a section on it for doing just that - quick email from the website (took all of 30 seconds) and they'll contact me - would even fit a fire alarm free if I hadn't got one. (I have.)

vvviola · 02/09/2012 06:20

I thought I had a great plan - balcony in our bedroom, window in DC's both not v high off ground. Until I realised that the DC bedroom windows have special hinges that mean they only open a few cm.

Must have a rethink.

And must get on to DH to start doing our general emergency/earthquake/tsunami plan too. Especially as DD1 will be doing a big practice in school at the end of the month & will probably interrogate us on it

(When they practiced at kindergarten she got quite bothered that DD2 was too little to "be turtle safe" i.e. duck & cover herself. She thinks about everything that one...)

cozietoesie · 02/09/2012 06:23

Blimey - where do you live, vvviola ? (I'm assuming that was serious about the tsunami plan.)

vvviola · 02/09/2012 06:27

We're in New Zealand. Relatively safe where we are (Auckland), but still theoretically possible. I got an awful shock when DD1's kindergarten enrolment pack had details of their tsunami warning escape route & dates of their earthquake drills.

Better prepared and never have to use it than the opposite I suppose...

cozietoesie · 02/09/2012 06:30

Ah right - makes sense. Particularly the earthquake one.

SilentMammoth · 02/09/2012 06:48

Someone commented earlier about new build being built to high fire standard s. we moved into a new build; we were the first people to live there. It was essentially a flat with no downstairs and a flight of stairs leading from the front door. I kept smelling a funny smell and told dh who didn't smell it. Turns out our fuse box, located by front door and our only point of egress, was smouldering. I was absolutely furious.

GracieGirl · 02/09/2012 06:55

The advice for getting babies and toddlers out of a upstairs window used to be...

Stick them inside your double duvet cover and lower them out of the window to a neighbour down below.

Is this still classed as good advice? Corner to corner it would reduce the drop by 7 feet ish.

LittleWhiteWolf · 02/09/2012 07:11

One of the perks of living in a bungalow is the fact that it's a very short drop to safety!

timetoask · 02/09/2012 07:16

This thread has been an eye opener, thank you op.
I have always thought, it would never happen to me, but I am defenitly going to take some steps to be ready for fire.

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