Staying alive in dangerous situations often comes down to decisions made in a matter of seconds; Tulsa firefighters say this is especially true when dealing with a house fire.
If you wake up and hear a fire alarm going off and you find yourself surrounded by smoke it can be extremely disorienting. Your adrenaline is pumping and that's why firefighters say it's so important to have a plan in place ahead of time.
"First thing you need to do is find your loved ones and get them out of the house. Don't send them out of the house escort them out of the house," said Captain Stan May with the Tulsa Fire Department.
May's advice cab be summarized simply.
Get yourself and your family outside. Then call 911.
Keeping your family safe starts well before a fire sparks.
"Smoke detectors is where it starts," he said.
In trying to escape a home that is already burning, May saud you should feel a door to make sure you're not about to walk into a room filled with flames.
"Most of the good air if there is any left is going to be a foot and a half foot off the ground 2 foot off the ground," May said.
Fires are dangerous of course but even without injuries they can be emotionally devastating– photos and heirlooms are often lost.
Captain May said that leads to another mistake people make.
"The time you lose trying to fight the fire is maybe the time it takes for you or your loved ones to lose their life."
He said make sure your family knows what the escape route, get them to safely nd let the professionals investigate the source of the smoke and deal with the fire.
"Make sure you got your group together because people will do strange things when they start to panic." :5Just get out of there, couple of minutes people will be there that have the proper equipment and tools to deal with that." :5
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