53 people died! Knowledge that can save lives at critical moments! You must know...

Expert of this article: Liu Yongjia, Deputy Chief of Harbin Forest Fire Brigade and Director of Fire Fighting and Rescue Command

Never abandon, never give up.

The more fragile life is, the more tenacious it is.

Recently, the rescue situation of the self-built house collapse accident in Changsha has been concerned by the people across the country. The reporter learned from the press conference on the self-built house collapse accident in Changsha, Hunan on the 6th that the accident caused 53 deaths and a total of 10 people were rescued.

Image source: Screenshot of CCTV News Weibo

But in the golden rescue period that far exceeded 72 hours, we also saw the miracle of PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds.

At 4:15 am on the 3rd, a girl who had been trapped for 88 hours was successfully rescued. After being rescued, she described how she saved herself, which was called a "textbook-like operation" by netizens.

Source: Screenshot of report

At 00:02 on the 5th, another female survivor was rescued after being buried for more than 131 hours.

When a disaster occurs, self-rescue and being rescued by others are equally important. Having the correct self-rescue method means hope of survival.

While I am moved and admire the girl's calmness in saving herself, I hope that each of us can understand this knowledge that can save lives in critical moments, but I also hope that we will never have to use it.

Why are water, quilts and mobile phones the key items for self-rescue?

When a disaster occurs, the first thing we should do is to stay calm, observe the surrounding environment, look for usable items, maintain vital signs, and send out distress signals.

It is reported that the girl who was trapped for 88 hours used half a pot of water, a quilt, a mobile phone and other items in a planned way to extend the time for rescue.

The importance of water is self-evident. Under extreme conditions, the water resources around us are limited, so we need to use them reasonably. Drinking 50ml to 100ml of water every hour or half an hour can maintain basic survival. However, if you do not drink water, depending on your physical condition, you will become dehydrated and cause organ failure or even death in about a week. Therefore, if there is no water resource around us, we should also create conditions for drinking water as much as possible, and replenish body water through urine when necessary.

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The temperature of the collapsed environment will vary depending on the depth. If the trapped area is relatively shallow and light can be seen, it proves that there is air flow and the temperature is not much different from the outdoor temperature. However, at night, the temperature difference between day and night is generally relatively large in spring and autumn, and items such as quilts can maintain body temperature. If there is no quilt, try to curl up to prevent hypothermia.

As a communication tool, mobile phones can send distress signals to the outside world when trapped. If you find that your mobile phone has no network signal, you can use it to make sounds, such as playing music, recording distress audio and playing it back, etc., so that we can maintain our physical strength and help rescuers determine the rescue direction based on the sound.

When a building collapses, why can’t we just “lift the lid” from above to rescue people?

During the rescue of a collapsed self-built house in Changsha, many netizens wondered why the rescuers didn't just "lift the lid" from the top?

The main reason is that the accident house collapsed vertically downward in an overlapping manner. In addition, it was a self-built house, some floors had been renovated, and the building structure was complex.

After the collapse, various building materials such as steel bars and wood were piled up and intertwined together, and the "small lever" structure formed by the collapse was in a state of balance.

Rescue scene, source: Hunan Fire Department

If large rescue equipment such as excavators and cranes are used, or if rescue workers are arranged to go to the ruins and adopt a "layer-by-layer" rescue method, it will not only destroy the structure of the ruins, but also cause the ruins that are originally in a balanced state to collapse again, resulting in secondary injuries to the trapped people and threatening the safety of the rescue workers themselves.

Are there any signs of building collapse?

When a building collapses, the time is short, the speed is fast, and it is difficult for people to escape, so people often do not have time to react.

Due to the influence of various comprehensive factors such as the overall structure of the building, building materials, building quality, geographical environment, etc., the precursors of the accident are not very obvious. After the accident, it may also cause damage to the electrical appliances, gas, power equipment and other facilities inside the building, and it is very easy to cause secondary disasters such as fire or even explosion.

However, if the house collapse is not sudden due to reasons such as house aging, there are still signs, such as:

● The floor of the house appears to be sinking, bulging, cracking, or fissured.

● Cracks appeared in the interior load-bearing walls, gradually spreading from small to large.

● The load-bearing columns may be affected by factors such as foundation structure or groundwater flow and deformed, which may lead to bulging, tilting, or the interior of the wooden building materials may be easily eaten by mosquitoes or decay, resulting in reduced load-bearing capacity.

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● Part of the wall tilted with unusual noises, and large areas of wall and ceiling fell off without warning.

● There are continuous abnormal noises in the house, similar to “squeaking”, rustling, and crackling sounds.

If you find the above signs, leave the house immediately and move to a safe area 50 meters away.

What should I do if a building collapses?

These things must be done

► When encountering a building collapse, immediately look for and get close to relatively large objects, such as wardrobes, beds, tables and other wooden products. These objects have a certain degree of elasticity, and when they collapse, they will leave gaps around them to form a triangular area, which is more likely to leave a survival space. If you are in bed when it collapses, quickly lie down under the bed and use the bed to protect yourself to reduce injuries.

► If you are buried by collapsed objects, stay calm and maintain your strength. Pay attention to the surrounding environment and look for any items that may be helpful for survival, such as water cups, mobile phones, quilts, etc.

► If there are hard objects such as metal tools or stones around you, knock on them regularly to make noises to help rescuers find you.

► After the collapse, the mobile phone signal will be affected by many factors such as the building structure material. If the factors such as the operator's SIM card, mobile phone casing, base station, weather and the depth of being trapped are eliminated, the mobile phone will still have a signal and it is very likely to get in touch with the outside world. Therefore, if you have a mobile phone with you, call for help as soon as possible.

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Remember not to do these things

● Stay away from glass or brick products to prevent them from breaking into pieces and causing injuries.

● Remember not to get close to stairs, as they are the most vulnerable part of a building due to their construction materials and structure.

When saving yourself from a building collapse, you must pay attention to the surrounding situation, choose a way to call for help according to the situation, talk less, conserve your energy, make good use of items around you that can help maintain vital signs and call for help, and wait patiently for rescue.

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