Practise your escape plan

After reviewing the floor plan with the members of your household, have an actual practice to ensure that everyone knows what to do. Practice your escape plan every six months. In a real fire, you must react without hesitation as your escape routes may be quickly blocked by smoke or flames. Your practice drills will ensure that everyone knows what to do when fire strikes.

TEXT 5

Every fire is dangerous. But you can survive a fire if you know what to do.

The law requires that every apartment building have certain fire safety features. Ask your building management or your fire department to tell you about the fire safety features in your building. Then you should plan what you will do if there is a fire. Your local fire department can also help you to answer these questions.

In a fire, you will not have very much time to decide what to do. So plan ahead. It may save your life.

You must know how you will escape from the building if there is a fire. In fact you need at least two ways to escape, because one may be blocked by smoke. If you cannot escape, you must know how to protect yourself from the smoke. Learn how to do these things now.

Remember

• In a fire, most people die from smoke, not from flames. Smoke makes it hard for you to see, and even two deep breaths of smoke can make it hard to think clearly or stay awake. You must avoid smoke.

• The apartment where the fire starts is a dangerous place. Get everyone out, and close the door behind you.

• Most fires that kill people occur at night, when everyone is asleep. That's why you need a smoke alarm near rooms where people sleep. Test your smoke alarms once a month to make sure they are working properly.

• Fire and smoke move very quickly, and the conditions where you are may change in an instant. Make sure you know what to do.

Answer Yes or No to the following questions:

• Do you have at least one smoke alarm in your apartment, and are you sure it works? Smoke alarms save lives by giving you early warning of a fire in your apartment.

• Do you know how to protect yourself from smoke? Remember, most people die from smoke, not fire.

• Do you have a roll of duct tape? Duct tape is a special tape available from hardware stores. Use it to block smoke from entering your apartment through spaces around your door, vents and other openings.

• Do you know how you are going escape from your building if there is a fire? Most apartment buildings have at least two exit stairways. Find out where these are and practice using them. Know which floors you can use to cross from one stairway to another.

• If you are unable to use stairs in an emergency, have you told your landlord or building manager that you will need help? Your apartment number can be added to the fire safety plan, so fire fighters will know that you may need to be rescued.

• Do you know where the fire alarms are on your floor, and how to pull them? You will have to use the fire alarm if you discover a fire on your floor.

• Have you arranged a place outside the building where you will meet everyone you share your apartment with after you leave? Having a meeting place gives you confidence that everyone got out safely.

• Do you know the telephone number to call if there is a fire? Keep this telephone number in a place where you can find it fast in an emergency.

If you answer "no" to any of these questions, you should get the information you need by speaking to your building management or your fire department.

• Do you know what the fire alarm sounds like? Make sure that everyone you live with knows what to do when they hear the fire alarm.

• Can you hear the fire alarm in your apartment? The fire alarm should be loud enough to be heard in your bedroom.

• Are all the exit doors clearly marked? All exit doors should have a sign that says "EXIT".

• Are your corridors and stairways kept clear of debris or obstructions, and are they well lit? Your landlord must make sure exit routes have adequate lighting and are never blocked.

• Are Emergency instructions posted on your floor? They will tell you what to do if there is a fire in your building.

• Is there an approved fire safety plan for your building? The landlord must have a fire safety plan approved by the fire department, and must follow it.

• Are your stairway doors equipped with automatic closers and latches that work, and are the doors to the stairway kept closed at all times? Your landlord must keep doors working properly so that they limit the spread of smoke and fire.

If you answer "no" to any of these questions, you should get the information you need by speaking to your building management or your fire department.

• Is there a voice communication system in your building? Buildings higher than 12 storeys must have a voice communication system.

• Can you hear messages clearly in the corridor? Speakers in your apartment or the hallway are used to give you important information if there is a fire.

• Does your apartment door have an automatic closer and does it work? Having the door close automatically prevents smoke and fire from spreading into the corridor.

• Are any of the doors leading from the stairway into the corridors kept locked? Some stairway doors may be locked for security reasons.

• Are corridors and stairways equipped with emergency lighting? Emergency lighting will keep stairs lit even if the electricity to the building stops working because of a fire.

If you answer "no" to any of these questions, you should get the information you need by speaking to your building management or your fire department.

TEXT 6

If T here is a F ire in your A partment

Tell everyone in your apartment to leave.

Close all doors behind you.

Pull the fire alarm on your floor and yell fire.

Leave the building using the nearest stairway.

Call the fire department when you are safe.

Meet the firefighters at the front entrance and tell them where the fire is.

Most of the time, the best thing to do in a fire is leave the building as soon as possible. But in some cases you may not be able to leave and you may have to stay in your apartment. In either case you must act quickly. No matter what your decision you must protect yourself from the smoke.

Check the door to your apartment. If smoke is entering from around the door, do not protect yourself from smoke inside your apartment as described later.

If there is no smoke, brace yourself and open the door a little.

If you see smoke or feel heat, close the door quickly and protect yourself

If the corridor is clear, take your keys, lock your door, and go to the nearest stairway.

DO NOT USE THE ELEVATOR

Open the nearest stairway door carefully.

If there is no smoke, use the stairway to leave the building.

If there is smoke, do not enter. Close the door. Go to another stairway and open the door carefully.

If there is no smoke here, use this stairway to leave the building If there is smoke, do not enter. If there are other stairways, try them. If there are not, return to your apartment and protect yourself from smoke.

If you find smoke on your way down the stairs, leave that stairway as soon as you can. In some buildings, some doors leading from the stairway to the corridor may be locked. But at least every five floors the doors will not lock so you can leave the stairway.

• Use another stairway if it is clear of smoke.

• If you can t use any stairway, return to your apartment if you can, or go into any corridor and bang on apartment doors until you find a place to take shelter.

• Never go to the roof. Smoke usually rises to the top of the stairway. Doors opening onto the roof are locked and you could be trapped.

• Remember, wherever you are, if there is smoke, crawl low under it. The air is cleaner near the floor.

You must protect yourself from smoke. Stay in your apartment until you are rescued or until you are told to leave. This may take a long time. Do not try to leave your apartment a long time after the alarm has sounded. The longer you wait, the more risk there is that heavy smoke will have spread into stairways and corridors. Your chances of survival are less.

• Keep smoke from entering your apartment. Use duct tape to seal cracks around the door and place wet towels at the bottom. Seal vents or air ducts the same way.

• If smoke enters your apartment:

Telephone the fire department, tell them where you are and then move to the balcony. Close the doors behind you.

If you don’t have a balcony, go to the most smoke-free room, close the door and seal it with tape and towels. Open the window for fresh air.

Show your rescuers where you are by hanging a sheet from the window or balcony.

Keep low to the floor where the air is cleaner.

Listen for instructions from authorities.

TEXT 7

Early History

A great deal can be learned by a study of the history of the development of fire prevention. It is hoped that the brief review given here will assist the reader in recognizing the reasons for certain procedures being followed in the field today.

As early as 300 BC, the Romans established a "fire department," composed primarily of slaves. The response of those individuals is reported to have been quite slow. Little else is known about their procedures; however, the program apparently was so unsuccessful that it was necessary to convert the department into a paid force in 6 AD.

This apparently proved successful, and by 26 AD the full-time fire force in Rome had grown to approximately 7,000. These individuals were charged primarily with a responsibility for maintaining fire prevention safeguards. The population of Rome at the time was in the neighborhood of just under one million.

The fire brigades of Rome patrolled the streets in their efforts to bring about proper fire prevention procedures. They were granted the authority to administer corporal punishment to violators of fire codes and were provided with rods for use in administering such punishment. Records indicate that they were empowered to administer corporal punishment because "most fires are the fault of the inhabitants”. It is difficult to imagine public acceptance today of corporal punishment in connection with fire prevention code enforcement. As an interesting sideline, in addition to their fire prevention duties, these patrolmen had the responsibility of keeping a watchful eye on the clothing of individuals who were using the public baths and were required to make inspections of the baths on a regularly scheduled basis.

In 872, according to history, a bell was used in Oxford, England, to signal the time for the extinguishments of all fires. From this appropriate time for "covering" of fires developed the Norman words couvre feu (cover fire), which later became the English word «curfew». Records from 1066 indicate that during their occupation of England the Normans strongly enforced the requirements for extinguishing fires at an early hour in the evening. Because construction at the time was such that dwelling fires could easily spread, this preventive measure was an effective safeguard.

As an added means of fire prevention, certain building code requirements were also imposed. Fitzstephen, writing in 1189 during the reign of Henry II, stated, "The only plagues of London were immoderate drinking by idle fellows and often fires." This was an indication of a severe fire problem in that nation in those early days.

In an effort to control the fire situation, the lord mayor of London in 1189 issued an order to the effect that "no house should be built in the city but of stone and they must be covered with slate or tiled." This requirement was apparently vigorously enforced in structures built from that day on in the city. However, the full effect of that order was not yet felt by 1212, when the fire that caused the greatest loss of life to that date--it took 3,000 lives—occurred in London.

As a further example of the effort to reduce fire spread possibilities, Oxford in 1190 imposed a requirement for fire walls to be placed between every six houses. The purpose of this was to enable more rapid control of a fire and limit its spread.

Emphasis was on fire prevention in the Scottish Act of 1426. It ordered, for example, that "no hemp, lint, straw, hay or heather or broom be stored near a fire." Edinburgh merchants selling such wares were permitted to use lanterns, but not candles, and citizens in general were forbidden to carry naked flames from house to house.

Fire precautions figured largely in the Edinburgh Improvement Act of 1621. This act ordered noncombustible roofs and required tradespeople who kept "heather, broom, whins and other fuel" in the center of town to remove the material to remote areas.

High-rise buildings were also a problem in the 17th-century Edinburgh. Some buildings reached 14 stories, which caused the Scottish Parliament to issue a regulation in 1698 restricting new buildings to a height of 5 stories. The regulation did not, however, affect existing buildings.

History also records problems with arson during riots in the early days of England. In 1272 in Norwich, 34 rioters involved in arson and looting were captured and punished. Their punishment consisted of being dragged about town until dead. One woman arsonist was burned alive as punishment for her act.

In a later arson case, the punishment was equally severe. A 15-year-old male in Edinburgh who was judged responsible for setting fire to peat stacks was burned alive in 1585 as punishment for his act.

Specific punishments for fire prevention violations are also noted in historical documents. The city records of Southampton, England, contain a late 1500s case in which a baker was fined two shillings for having combustibles too close to an oven. Manchester bakers were forbidden by a 1566 law to keep barley "within two bays of the ovens."

Charles II in 1664 gave authority for imprisoning those who contravened building regulations. These regulations related, then as now, to fire safety. A 1763 act prohibited the piercing of fire walls. A problem we find today with the stretching of communication wiring such as telephone and computer cables in commercial buildings.

Among fire prevention recommendations issued to the public during those early days in England was one in 1643 that suggested that candles be placed in water-base holders. The thought was that an unattended candle would burn down and go out before causing trouble. An act of Parliament in 1556 required bellmen to patrol the streets and cry out, "Take care of your fire and candle."

Fire alarm systems employed by communities in England were unique when compared with present practices. In Nottingham, a patrol of 50 women roamed the streets during the night in the interest of fire prevention. Their duty, in addition to detecting fires, was to awaken the sleeping community in the event of a fire.

During 1666, a major fire struck London. This fire, referred to as the Great Fire of London, burned for four days and destroyed five-sixths of the city, yet only six deaths occurred. This was in sharp contrast with the 3,000 deaths that occurred during the fire of 1212. The effectiveness of the previously imposed fire prevention requirements undoubtedly had a bearing on the reduced number of deaths. Although thousands of structures were destroyed, the progress of the fire was retarded long enough to allow the occupants to vacate their premises.

As a further indication of efforts in the fire prevention field, an English citizen named David Hartley secured a patent for a fire prevention invention in 1722. The invention consisted of steel plates with dry sand between them intended to be used as a means of reducing fire spread from one floor to another, a method of construction that was employed in some of the early buildings in England. Mr. Hartley's invention was considered of sufficient value to have a statue erected in his honor.

In 1794, theater fire protection was given a boost by the placement of a water tank on the roof of a theater in England. The tank provided a curtain of water in the event of a fire. In addition, an iron safety curtain was provided to separate the theater patrons from fire on the stage.

The Birmingham, England, fire brigade issued a requirement in 1884 that inhabited tall buildings be provided with two staircases. This was looked upon as a progressive fire protection measure. This is an important requirement still in place today in America.

UNIT 7

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