Did you know that you have less than 3 minutes to make critical, if not life and death decisions about escaping a house fire?
Less than 3 of the fastest minutes in your lifetime--so what do you do? After making sure that everyone has left, what, if anything, do you try to grab as you exit your home? The Red Cross recommends that you just get your family and yourself out--period, and they offer a worksheet with an escape plan to help you. If you have never thought of this before, perhaps you should now--because our homes are filled with, and in some cases covered with flammable products made from petroleum! Add to this the demand for "open concept" living and then making what few doors that you do have out of cardboard and molded sawdust, and you have a recipe for a fast moving fire that can consume your house in 3 minutes or less! I personally did not realize this until I recently experienced a house fire, and I witnessed a 2 and a half story home completely engulfed in less than 3 minutes (see the photo above), and I'm afraid that if that happened while we were asleep we would not have gotten out. So while everyone is clamoring for the sage advice to make our businesses better and more successful, why not put on the same plane of importance how to make our homes safer from fire? Why not create or invest in a business, for that matter, that is creating new materials that are not fodder for a fast-moving fire? I'm witnessing whole neighborhoods in California consumed by fire, and I can't help but wonder why we do not have the technology to make at least the exterior of the home completely fireproof!
In my case, the fire started on the front porch by a house guest that threw her cigarette box and cellophane into the ashtray, and then failed to put out her cigarette in the same container. She was also the first person to see and cry "Fire!", and when I first saw it, it was just a small glow on our front porch that I could see through the transom window next to the door. A family member beat me to the sink and began filling a large pot to douse the fire, so I returned to the hallway to check on the progress of fire while he filled the pot with water. The fire had quickly spread to one of 2 decorative plants (made of plastic) that flanked the door, and then caught the vinyl siding on fire and spread into the porch roof--in just those few seconds. I could not believe how rapidly the fire consumed the siding and spread into the roof--it was at that point that I realized that the house was a total loss! By the time everyone got out (my daughter just barely got out of the upstairs as the fire rolled under the front door and straight up the 20 foot hallway wall and across the upstairs ceiling in just seconds), and I moved the cars out of the driveway, the house was fully engulfed--all in less than 3 minutes! (Yes we had smoke alarms, but they did not go off until the fire rolled across the ceiling--almost too late for anyone upstairs!) I'm writing this not for sympathy but as a warning to all of you how quickly a fire will spread once it starts. We consider ourselves so modern and intelligent, and yet we live in houses full of flammable products that give off toxic smoke when they burn--how smart is that? So if you have not thought of this before, I urge you to make a plan--you and your family's life may depend on it. Besides your family, what would you grab on your way out the door if you are able? Your wallet or purse? Laptop with important family business and/or photos on it? Consider this too when you make your plan--but make it sooner rather than later! For those of you out in California, my heart goes out to you--I know what you're going through--my house was a total loss, and we lost two loved family pets.
If you want to see a demonstration of the 3-minute factor, check out this link from the Today Show:
(Text excerpt) Why you have less time to escape a house fire today than 30 years ago
Research shows that 30 years ago, you had about 17 minutes to escape a house fire. Today, you have only 3 or 4 minutes. TODAY national investigative correspondent Jeff Rossen conducts a dramatic demonstration that shows why, and how you should prepare.