Firemans Strike - Staying Alive

[Janeway]

Thought the following information on reasons for deaths at home due to fire might help you all stay safe:

Main causes of fire ignition
Smoking 57%
Cooking 15%
Electric fires & Suicide 7% each

Main contributory factors in death i.e. why people didn't get out(more than one may apply to some occasions therefore stats add up to more than 100%).
Alcohol 76%
Living Alone 35%
Disability/Mobility 23%
Foam in furniture (toxic smoke) 16%

People at highest risk
Anyone living alone
Children under 1
Males over 30yrs
Anyone aged over 60

Therefore please get a friend to stay over if you're on your own, don't smoke in the house, don't drink to excess and make sure your smoke detector is working and you can get to the kids.

Janeway,what a good idea for a thread -it's always better to be informed in our situation.Here's my tips.If you need to break a window to escape it's easier if you hit it in the corner as it takes more force if you hit it in the middle and won't break so easy.Buy one of those fabric ladders for an emergency so you can get out of upstairs windows.Make sure you shut the door and block underneath it with a towel before you break the window too.Remember to stay low as there is more clean air on the ground.

janeway, this is excellent. although, should probably put these tips into practice at all times and not just when the firefighters are on strike!

Janeway, thanks for that, we had a conversation last night about the likelihood of a fire in our house due to lots of electrical items plugged in etc and I got really worried about it, especially as we sleep up in a loft and ds is one floor down. We talked about getting a ladder and I think I will now.

Make sure your smoke detectors are working!!! And keep a fire extinguisher easily reachable in your kitchen. A small one is only £15 or so, and could keep a small fire from spreading. I have used them more than once (not for cooking as it turned out).

What I keep meaning to do is to keep a (charged!) mobile phone by my bed as we don't have one upstairs. Also, the electrics may get cut off in a fire and at least you would still be able to ring out.

Had a talk at our mother and baby group by a fireman before the strike. Here's what I can remember...

If you need to shout for help then shout 'fire' rather than 'help' as people are more likely to respond.

Keep as many doors possible closed at night. If a fire starts in a room, the smoke will get under the door to set off the smoke alarms but the fire will be contained behind the door for a short while - hopefully long enough to call for help.

To test whether the fire is directly outside a room that you are in, place the back of your hand towards the top of the door. If it is hot, the fire is there.

If you can't get out of a room, roll up whatever you can (duvet, sheets etc) and place along the gap under the door to slow smoke getting in.

Smoke rises, so if you are in a smoke filled room then get as close to the floor as possible.

Get out of the house rather that trying to put the fire out yourself.

Keep exit routes clear of obstructions.

Keep a mobile phone in the bedroom at night.

If you absolutely have to jump out of a window then lower yourself down until your arms are outstretched and let yourself drop - minimising the distance between yourself and the floor.

The most important thing is to have a plan known by all members of the family ie escape route, above strategies etc etc etc

message withdrawn