Question:
Katherine's experience in trying to put out the fire points out an important fire safety issue that everyone should be aware of: fire extinguishers. I hope that everyone who reads this website has at least one fire extinguisher in their home. Just as important, you should locate your extinguishers where you can easily find them preferably near the exit to a room. You should never locate a fire extinguisher near the stove because you would have to go towards the fire to get it. If Katherine had practiced locating where her fire extinguishers were, she might have had a chance to put out the fire. I hope everyone in the website takes a lesson from Katherine today to examine their own fire safety. Check your smoke detectors. Get more fire extinguishers, learn how to use them and locate them sensibly. Have a "fire drill" to practice getting out of your home in a hurry. Learn to find your way out of any part of your home by crawling on your hands and knees while blindfolded--- in the smoke of a fire it may be your only way to escape. If you ever have a fire, remember RACE... R = Rescue others from immediate danger A = Alarm - Call 911 C = Contain the fire by closing doors E = Extinguish the fire if possible To use a fire extinguisher, remember PASS... P = Pull the pin A = Aim for the base of the flames S = Squeeze the trigger S = Sweep from side to side

Answer: Good post Elmercat! Just wanted to add a couple other fire safety tips -- if you dine out regularly, or frequent large office buildings, theaters, apartments, or hotels, make sure you make note of where the exit doors and stairways are. If you stay in hotels, be sure to ask when you make your reservations if the hotel has *WORKING* sprinklers in all their rooms and hallways. Non-functioning or non-existent sprinklers are nearly always to blame for fires escalating out of control in large buildings and resulting deaths from smoke and heat.