Feature Article October 16, 2002
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Drawing up an escape plan
By Jay DeBernardi, CF Fire & Emergency Services
Like many things, a successful escape from a burning building can be
merely a matter of you being lucky; however, you can improve your odds
of survival by having an escape plan. An escape plan does not have to
be complicated. It must, however, be realistic and be able to be done
quickly.
The first step is to draw a rough floor plan of your home showing the
exterior exits (doors and windows) for each floor, and mark in porch or
garage roofs that can be used. Next, you decide what is the best way to
escape and what alternate ways out are available.
If you are a family with small children, you need to decide how to
reach your children and how to get out of the house from the last
child's location. In the case of a non-ambulatory family member, plan
what to do to get that person out.
Once you're out, you need a common meeting place that every family
member knows about. It should not be in the way of responding emergency
personnel. This is so you can give firefighters an accurate head count;
then, if someone is missing, you can identify the person and state the
last known location. This allows fire crews to commence search and
rescue operations immediately.
Once you meet at your meeting place, call the fire department from a
neighbor's home. Never re-enter the structure for something you forgot.
Search and rescue requires different fire tactics, so if everyone is
safely out of the house, fire crews can concentrate all their energies
on fighting the fire.
You should practise your escape plan at least a couple times a year so everyone is familiar with it.
When you develop your plan, you may discover that due to your home's
structure, it may be advantageous to have a knotted rope or rolled up
ladder to escape with minimal risk. Jumping from a second or third
storey window is not without some risk of injury. Ensure that the rope
is adequate to the task for weight-bearing and is easy to grip (good
diameter and knotted at regular intervals). Also make family members
aware of where it is and make sure it is in that place. In summary,
remember:
* Plan two ways out of every room.
* Hold a fire drill twice a year.
* Never go back inside a burning building for any reason!
Don't forget to replace the battery and check for operation of your
smoke detector when you change your clock spring and fall!
Central Frontenac fire crews from Arden, Mountain Grove, Sharbot Lake,
and Parham stations participated in the recent Hydrocarbon fire course.
All participants found the theory and live fire operations extremely
useful. The participants were required to write a test at the end of
the session and, if successful, will receive a certificate in
Hydrocarbon fire operations.
Other crews from Parham, Sharbot Lake and Mountain Grove Stations took
the Fire Marshal's Emergency Patient Care course in September and
successfully completed the program. This enables them to provide first
response when the ambulance is delayed. Completion of this course also
allows crews to take defibrillator training in the future if they are
able to obtain an AED.
October is Fire Prevention Month. Let's team up to make every month fire prevention month.
