How to escape from a fire? No equipment is needed!

As the saying goes, "fire and water are merciless." Fire is a very scary thing, especially in crowded places, which can easily cause mass casualties. Therefore, in daily life and work, we must always abide by safety regulations and avoid fires as much as possible. However, if a fire does occur, mastering escape skills is a matter of life and death.

Generally speaking, to enhance the ability to escape from a fire, it is mainly necessary to rely on regularly organizing fire drills to ensure that everyone in the venue is familiar with the escape routes and methods; at the same time, effective firefighting and escape equipment is also an important part of escape.

01 Smoke

In fact, most of the people who died in fires did not die directly from the flames, but from breathing high-temperature, toxic smoke, which led to suffocation. Especially in large buildings (such as shopping malls and hotels), because of the many floors, large area, large space, the role of fire sprinklers, and the efforts of firefighters, it often takes a certain amount of time for the fire to spread.

Image source: Pixabay

However, smoke can spread to every corner of the fire scene in a very short time. In these smoke, there are both high-temperature solid smoke particles and carbon monoxide produced by incomplete combustion of organic matter.

Research has shown that the smaller the diameter of smoke particles, the more they can penetrate deep into the human respiratory tract with breathing, causing greater damage. For example, particles with a diameter of less than 1 μm can enter the alveoli of the human body, irritate the lungs, and are more likely to cause suffocation.

Carbon monoxide is a pervasive gas - a wet towel obviously cannot filter out carbon monoxide. Once it is inhaled by humans, it will compete with the hemoglobin in the blood, causing it to lose the ability to transport oxygen, leading to poisoning and death, which was often called "gas poisoning" in the past.

Therefore, to achieve effective escape, you must first resist the attack of smoke. The solution is: put on a filtering self-rescue respirator, commonly known as a "fire escape mask."

Its principle is not complicated: the silver hood can protect the face from being burned by the heat radiated by the flame, and can also isolate toxic smoke; and the cylinder at the mouth and nose that looks like a can is called a filter canister, which contains granular activated carbon. When the wearer takes a deep breath, the activated carbon can intercept and absorb the solid particles in the smoke and prevent them from entering the respiratory tract. In addition, there is a layer of catalyst in the canister that can quickly oxidize carbon monoxide into non-toxic and harmless carbon dioxide, thereby fully protecting the wearer and buying a precious time window for escape and rescue.

An escape mask can obviously only be used by one person, so in order to truly effectively cope with the challenge of fire escape, it is necessary to prepare enough escape masks according to the number of permanent residents in the venue. In addition, when taking out the escape mask from the packaging, don't forget to unplug the plug in front of the filter tank, otherwise you will be completely unable to breathe.

02 Learn to "fall from the sky"

However, even with an escape mask to protect against smoke, if the fire is large and the flames directly block the stairs, where should the escape route start?

One solution is to equip high-rise buildings and offices with escape descent devices. When the stairs are surrounded by fire, the descent devices can be used to escape from the sky.

The structure of the descender is very simple: the descender itself is usually firmly fixed on the wall near the window or balcony to provide a fulcrum for the user; a roll of steel wire rope, the length of which should be greater than the height here; and a safety belt to tie the user firmly.

Image source: Pixabay

When using it, first fasten yourself with a safety belt, then hang the wire rope on the safety belt, and then jump down - the descender itself and the wire rope can withstand the sudden impact force; and the ratchet, pulley and other devices will control the wire rope and release it slowly until the user lands smoothly on the ground. At this moment, if there are other people trapped in the building, the wire rope can also be retrieved and reused. More importantly, this slow rope release process is automatic and does not require human intervention, which is suitable for ordinary people to use.

Therefore, it is necessary to equip high-rise buildings with a certain number of descenders, which can really save lives at critical moments.

03 Auxiliary small equipment

In addition to fire escape masks that protect the respiratory tract and descenders that help trapped people land safely from high-rise buildings, there are also some small equipment that can assist in escape.

For example, a strong flashlight is very useful. When a fire occurs, the entire building will lose power quickly due to burning wires or triggering fire sprinklers. At this moment, the escapees are in complete darkness and it is very easy for them to go the wrong way, trip over obstacles, or even fall down the stairs. A strong flashlight can help solve this problem.

Of course, some people think that mobile phones also have a "flashlight" function. But if you compare the two, it is not difficult to see that mobile phones are only "amateurs" in terms of lighting. Whether it is the brightness of the light, the ability of the light to penetrate smoke and dust, or the duration of lighting, they are not as good as a strong light flashlight.

At the same time, fire evacuation diagrams can also give us very important tips. In an unfamiliar environment (such as a hotel or shopping mall), it is difficult to accurately remember the entrances and exits of a building and safe escape routes in a short period of time.

Therefore, in these places, a reasonable escape route is planned for each area, marked on the building floor plan of the area, and then posted or hung on the wall. When a fire occurs and escape is required, the floor plan can be taken down and the route suggested can be followed.

Of course, if you only rely on the escape route diagram and a flashlight, you may still go the wrong way, which may be a fatal regret in fire escape. For this reason, buildings will set up emergency exit indicators on the walls (usually with a green glowing arrow). Following them, you can quickly reach the emergency exit. This indicator has an independent power supply, and even if the whole building is out of power, it can still emit a striking light to guide the path of life.

In addition, if you see a small portable fire extinguisher on the way to escape, it is best to take one with you. This is because there may be some burning obstacles on the way to escape, making it difficult for people to approach or pass through. A small fire extinguisher can open up a narrow passage from the fire scene and gain hope for yourself and others.

No one wants to encounter a fire, but when a fire really happens, escape becomes the only option. Of course, it is best to understand the principles and operations of the above equipment in normal times so that they will not fall behind at critical moments.

Source: Chongqing Science and Technology Museum

Author: Mantou Laoyao, popular science writer, and PhD in Chemistry from Nanjing University.

Audit expert: Li Chunli

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