E.D.I.T.H.

In 1991, 3,500 Americans died in home fires. That's nearly 10 people a day. Tens of thousands more were injured. People can survive even major fires in their homes if they get out quickly and stay out.

RULES FOR SURVIVORS

•Install and maintain smoke detectors.

•Make an escape plan and practice it.

•Consider installing an automatic sprinkler system.

PLAN YOUR ESCAPE

When a fire occurs, there's no time for planning. Sit down with your family today and make a step-by-step plan for escaping a fire.

Draw a floor-plan of your home, marking two ways out of every room - especially bedrooms. Make sure that all members of the family know the escape routes.

Agree on a meeting place, outside your home where every member of the household will gather after escaping a fire to wait for the fire department. This allows you to count heads and inform the fire department if anyone is trapped inside the burning building. It is preferred that you make the meeting place in front of your residence. This will allow the fire department to know that you are all safe and accounted for.

Practice your escape plan at least twice a year. Have a fire drill in your home. Appoint someone to be monitor and have everyone participate. A fire drill is not a race. Get out quickly, but carefully.

Make your exit drill realistic. Set your smoke detector off so that the noise adds realism to the drill. Pretend that some exits are blocked by fire and practice alternative escape routes. Pretend that the lights are out and that some escape routes are filling with smoke.

BE PREPARED

If you live in an apartment, be sure all doors and windows can be unlocked easily, even in the dark. Use the stairs to leave the building. Never use an elevator during a fire; it may stop between floors or take you to a floor where the fire is burning.

If you live in a two-story house, make sure everyone in the household can unlock all doors and windows quickly. If you must escape from a second-story window, be sure there is a safe way to reach the ground. Make special arrangements for children, older adults, and people with disabilities. Disabled people should have a phone in their bedrooms, and, if possible, should sleep on the first floor.

Test doors before you open them. While kneeling or crouching at the door, reach up as high as you can and touch the door, the knob, and the space between the door and its frame with the back of your hand. If the door is hot, use another escape route. If the door is cool, open it with caution. Crawl under the smoke to escape the "BAD" air.

If you are trapped, close the doors between you and the fire. Stuff the cracks around the doors to keep smoke out. Wait at a window and signal for help with light-colored cloth or a flashlight. If there's a phone in the room, call the fire department and tell them exactly where you are. Keep yelling so that fire fighters can find you quicker. Don't be scared when you see the fire fighter. He will look much different with all of his protective gear. He will have a mask on and he will be making some loud breathing noises. He may look like a monster but he is there to rescue you. Do not hide under your bed or in a closet. This will make it more difficult for the fire fighters to locate you.

GET OUT FAST

In case of fire, don't stop for anything. Do not try to rescue possessions or pets. Your pets and toys can be replaced but you can not. Go directly to your meeting place, and then call the fire department from a neighbor's phone. Every member of your household should know how to call the fire department.

Crawl low under smoke. Smoke contains deadly gases, and heat rises. Cleaner air will be near the floor. If you encounter smoke using your primary exit, use your alternate escape plan. If you must exit through smoke, crawl on your hands and knees, keeping your head 12 to 24 inches (30 to 60 centimeters) above the floor.

STAY OUT

Once you are out of your home don't go back for any reason. If people are trapped, the fire fighters have the best chance of rescuing them. The heat and smoke of a fire are overpowering. Fire fighters have the training, experience, and protective equipment needed to enter burning buildings.

PLAY IT SAFE

SMOKE DETECTORS: Most fatal home fires happen at night while people are asleep. Smoke detectors sound an alarm when a fire starts, waking people before they are trapped or overcome by smoke. With smoke detectors, your risk of dying in a home fire is cut nearly in half. Install smoke detectors outside every sleeping area and on every level of your home, including the basement. Follow installation instructions and test smoke detectors monthly. Change the batteries twice a year.

AUTOMATIC SPRINKLER SYSTEMS: Automatic sprinkler systems attack a fire in its early stages by spraying water only on the area where the fire has begun. Consider including sprinkler systems in plans for new construction and installing them in existing homes.

This info is provided by the National Fire Academy in Emmittsburg, Maryland.