Fire Safety is a topic most families should be well-versed in but are not often always. At the end of the day, nobody will uphold the protection of your home except you and your family members yourselves. The lack of preparation should not be something to worry about when it comes to fire-related issues. Knowledge is power. What can be done in times of a fire at your home?

What to do in the midst of a fire situation?

1. One of the most important things to understand about a fire situation is that every second counts. The way the fire may spread on a structure is beyond anyone’s control. However, having a strategic escape plan and being able to follow it swiftly is crucial in an emergency.
2. Sometimes, the fire itself is not what hurts you. When a building is on fire, everything in the room gets heated up to extreme temperatures and will either catch fire or melt and start collapsing. While you can see a fire and consciously avoid it, what you may fail to detect in the panic are the falling objects. From furniture to pillars to collapsing walls, these are all dangers you are exposed to. The call about not going back to a burning structure is correct. Leave and vacate a burning place as soon as possible to avoid trapping yourself in the blaze. When you are already safely outside, do not attempt to go back in to retrieve your belongings but wait for the rescue to arrive at the scene.
3. In the case of fatalities, fire flames are often not the cause as well. What kills are the smoke and toxic fumes. When too much smoke is inhaled, one may get deprived of oxygen and suffer from carbon monoxide poisoning which leads to a fatality. This can be avoided with the employment and installation of engineered smoke control systems that can be found in Singapore. What this system does is to divert the smoke away from fire escape routes so that people can avoid inhaling too much smoke in the evacuation.
4. Do not panic and follow the instructions and announcements on the Public Address system in your building. Panicking will only result in more fear and disorganisation which will make the evacuation more complicated.

In a household, the plans and rules of fire safety must be discussed and understood by every member of the family. Where there are kids involved, the adults have to take on the role of guiding them in times of such emergencies. It is a good idea for a family to have an emergency fire kit as well that they can grab and go when necessary. As for workplaces, the administrators and employers must take charge in making sure that every employee is aware of what they have to do. Evacuation plans and maps should be placed around the building and necessary sprinkler and fire emergency systems must be integrated into the building. We must all play our part in fire safety!