Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: Chairboy on February 13, 2006, 10:54:14 PM
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Please take a few minutes today to think about the exits from your house in case of a fire. It's a strange request, but I'd really appreciate it. Are there windows you'd need to break? What tools would you use to break them?
I'll post more on the why of this later.
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I'm currently living on an upper floor of a hotel with no fire escape. If there's a fire in the kitchenette near the front door, I'm dead. No way out but over the balcony and straight down.
There are 2 fire sprinklers covering the front door, but they'll only save me if the fire is limited to inside my room. A fire outside my front door again leads me out to the balcony and over the rail.
My parents taught our family how to get out of our house in case of fire, and every school I ever attended covered this topic every year, including handouts we were supposed to give our parents.
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Corner basement appartment with lots of ground level windows, and a pig-sticker to break them. No problems here.
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A couple months ago I almost burnt the joint down.
I was watching a football game (Maimi @ VT) & decided to cook bacon in the toaster oven.
then I forgot about it & 30 min later big fire in the toaster
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also, last month i was piloting a 172 that had an engine fire.
lucky we were in the run-up area...hmmm are you piloting if it's just run-up, or do you have to be aloft?
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Every possible escape route free and clear. Tools at hand to break the storm windows.
We can get out of any room of the house if needed.
Curious to know as to why this was posted. :confused:
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The reason I'd like everyone to think about this is some bad news. My wife's parents were killed in a fire last night. Their secondary exits were blocked by boxes, the fire was at the main door, and they succumbed to smoke before being able to escape out the window her dad had broken open. The fire burned maybe 5-10 minutes max, but grew so quickly and generated so much smoke, there was no time for an extended escape.
So please guys... think about your escape routes. If not for me, then for your families.
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This is my way out and how I do it
1) grab daughter
2) go out apt door
3) down 3 flights of steps
4) run away from the building before it comes crashing down.
What to do if steps are burnt away
1) kiss arse goodbye
( the joy of apt life)
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http://www.boldindustries.com/shop/
I've got a first floor ~600 SqFt apartment with three relatively easy exits.
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Originally posted by Chairboy
The reason I'd like everyone to think about this is some bad news. My wife's parents were killed in a fire last night. Their secondary exits were blocked by boxes, the fire was at the main door, and they succumbed to smoke before being able to escape out the window her dad had broken open. The fire burned maybe 5-10 minutes max, but grew so quickly and generated so much smoke, there was no time for an extended escape.
So please guys... think about your escape routes. If not for me, then for your families.
Sorry to hear that.
Also. make sure your smoke alarms are in perfect working order.
the majority of people that die in fires die not because of the fire itself but because of the smoke.
Many sleep right through it and never wake up.
Important as it is to have exits. The exits are only useful if you are alerted to the hazard before and with enough time to escaape before you succumb to the smoke
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2 x hardwired smoke detectors with battery backups...fire extinguishers in 2 bedrooms plus in the kitchen (which will make short work of the glass screen doors if required)
Tronsky
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I was 12 years old, 21 years ago... My house caught fire in an electrical storm. My brother and I had taken the batterys out of the smoke detectors for some toys(bad idea).
The only thing that saved our lives were my moms ugly Chihuahua and Poodle mix pups. They were barking at the fire and woke my mom up. We were in a single story home with a basement and on a very steep hillside so the drop from the window was about 15 feet. My brother and I jumped and made it no problems. My mom was unable to make the jump and had to crawl out through the kitchen. Another minute later and she would have been killed by the smoke or fire for sure.
My dad being a fireman at the time and on duty had to come put the house out. It was a total loss on the home. Insurance didnt want to pay because a firemans house shouldnt burn? 3 years later we finally won the court case...what a terrible time those years were. I can only imagine how much worse it could have been.
Chairboy I am sorry for your loss. Words cant do much for your family right now, time is what it takes. Good luck bro, my prayers are with you...
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Almost any non residential building has to be built to firecodes. A fire can't just start somewhere and consume the whole building. It literally takes time for the fire to move from place to place because of the way fireproofing is made and designed. Err, that is not to say residential buildings are meant to go up like matches. Houses would become astronomically more expensive if the level of fireproofing went in that would insure ultimate safety. But even then there are regulations. But sometimes you get places that are grandfathered in. There's no way to change this except for completely demolishing the house and starting over.
Most hotels have a central exit, as well as side exits. If they blocked off ANY exit, they will be punished severely (if someone calls them on it).
Also, most modern buildings are designed with the central shaft (most often elevator) updrafts heat and smoke all the way out of the building. This sucks in air on most (key word) floors. So if you stay at a window, you'll receive fresh oxygen.
Of course this is idealized, when does anything ever work out to plan?
The real problems with fires aren't the flames themselves, but the lack of oxygen. It's sort of like drowning, but on a very slow timescale. As the smoke goes on, you lose brain function. So the way to overcome this is to easily understand the exits. If you do this, you'll get out much easier.
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That is terrible news and I'm very sorry to hear it. You and your family are in my thoughts and prayers.
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Originally posted by DREDIOCK
Sorry to hear that.
Also. make sure your smoke alarms are in perfect working order.
the majority of people that die in fires die not because of the fire itself but because of the smoke.
Many sleep right through it and never wake up.
Important as it is to have exits. The exits are only useful if you are alerted to the hazard before and with enough time to escaape before you succumb to the smoke
And make sure you change the batteries every year no matter what. It's a good idea to do the battery changes during an event so it's easier to remember. I change mine when we set the clocks forward for spring daylight savings.
You need a smoke detector in every bedroom and in the hall. A carbon monoxide detector is a good investment also. Especially if you have a fire place or wood stove.
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Chairboy,
I'm really sorry to hear about your wifes' parents. It's been a bad couple of years for you guys. I'm not sure what I can do but express my sympathy and offer whatever sopport i can beyond that. The next few weeks are going to suck.
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Sorry to hear this, Chairboy.
Fire is always one of my major concerns. I double lock my front door at night but, most importantly, the secondary lock is operated by a splined key which is always left in the door. (It's not possible to access that key from outside) If I have house guests, which is often, I instruct them that to open the front door, the bottom lock must be released by turning that splined key. At the rear of the house, my conservatory has those windows which tilt open or can swing open (German design I believe). So I think I'm OK.
During the last election campaign, I was making a lot of house to house calls, sometimes at around 10-11am on a Sunday, before most people had come out of the house for the first time. And I was amazed at how many people came to the door, tried to open it, and then realised it was locked from the inside and had to go hunting for the keys. My advice is always to leave that key in the door for a fast exit. Same thing goes for hotel rooms, if it's the type of lock that is locked using the key from the inside - always leave it in the door before you go to sleep. If there's a fire, the power might go out - no light to help you find the key, except the light of the fire, by which time it will be too late.
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That is horrible Chairboy...my sincere condolances to you and and your wife.
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So sorry to hear that Chairboy.
I am involved in safety codes for RV's and we are often surprised at how much tougher we are on RV's regarding exits than we are on residential buildings.
All RV's must have 2 exits per sleeping area, and each exit requires a different path. This only makes sense. It would be good to check your bedrooms to see if you can meet these requirements.
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Tragic news Chairboy
My Sympathies
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Chairboy,
I am sorry for you loss.
That is terrible.
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Very sorry to hear of your loss Chairboy.
Thoughts and prayers OTW.
On a side note, beetle do you think you could lay off the gun rants even for a thread that has absolutley nothing to do with firearms?!?!?! Talk about an obsession,,,, sheesh
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My condolences to you and your family Chairboy.
To those of you living in an apartment block or hotel; buy a rope already. 9 out of 10 cases all you need to do is get to the apartment below you.
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Hello Chairboy,
Originally posted by Chairboy
The reason I'd like everyone to think about this is some bad news. My wife's parents were killed in a fire last night. Their secondary exits were blocked by boxes, the fire was at the main door, and they succumbed to smoke before being able to escape out the window her dad had broken open. The fire burned maybe 5-10 minutes max, but grew so quickly and generated so much smoke, there was no time for an extended escape.
So please guys... think about your escape routes. If not for me, then for your families.
Please give my sincere condolences to you wife, to lose both parents that way is a horrific shock especially because it never seems possible until it has already happened.
I am grateful though that you challenged us, it suddenly brought home to me the fact that we have three small children and no fire-escape plan other than making sure the smoke detector works. I'll talk with my wife about that tomorrow. Time to get my will finalized as well... Thanks for the reminder.
Quite a few things have happened of late that have forced me to reacknowledge my own mortality, but that's never bad when it forces me to think and act in a way that acknowledges that I'm a pilgrim and sojourner in this world and not a permanent resident, as the Psalmist put it:
"LORD, make me to know my end, And what is the measure of my days, That I may know how frail I am. Indeed, You have made my days as handbreadths, And my age is as nothing before You; Certainly every man at his best state is but vapor. Surely every man walks about like a shadow; Surely they busy themselves in vain; He heaps up riches, And does not know who will gather them. "And now, Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in You. (Psalm 39:4-7)
- SEAGOON