Following fire safety rules can save your life, help responders

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Coben Scott
  • 100th Civil Engineer Squadron
ROYAL AIR FORCE MILDENHALL, England (USAFENS) --  Fire is one of mankind’s greatest friends. Fire keeps us warm, cooks our food and provides us light.

In the past, it kept predators at bay and forged our weapons, tools and transportation. Fire allowed us to find our loved ones wandering in the woods, and it still burns in memory of those we have lost. Unfortunately, it is also one of our greatest enemies.

The Cocoanut Grove nightclub fire in Boston, Nov. 8, 1942, killed 492 people. The Great White concert fire at The Station nightclub in West Warwick, R.I., Feb. 20, 2003, killed 98 people. These fires are vivid reminders of the destructive capability of fire and ineffective evacuation. If not kept in check, fire and evacuation problems can cause countless deaths and property loss.

To maintain effective evacuation and fire control, the National Fire Protection Association and the Air Force have implemented several fire safety codes. Some of these are easy to follow, like removing clutter from exit routes and prohibiting burnt candles or incense in dormitory rooms. One of the easiest rules to follow is self-evacuation.

Others are more difficult to implement, such as installing sprinkler systems and replacing unsafe exit doors with approved models.

Fortunately, Royal Air Force Mildenhall facilities are subject to rigorous inspection by our fire prevention staff. These inspections eliminate, or document for follow-up, conditions that might cause fires to spread or inhibit effective fire evacuation.

Keeping access to the fire exits open and ensuring there are no exit impediments are designed to make evacuation more effective. Making sure the exits are functional is only half the battle; making sure people use the exits is a little more complicated.

During a fire alarm, everyone should exit the facility. This seems simple enough, but at 3 a.m. and minus 2, it gets much harder to follow the rules.

I respond to several alarms, and I see varying degrees of evacuation. When a facility is not fully evacuated, this places an additional strain on the responders and increases the time needed to perform a complete facility sweep. Often, evacuees tell firefighters where the problem is; we focus our attention on ensuring the facility is fire safe, thereby shortening the time occupants are standing in the cold or rain.

Rest assured, firefighters on scene are working diligently to discover the source of the alarm and will have you back in your facility as quickly as possible. While standing in the elements is never pleasant, it’s doubly frustrating to find you’ve been standing in the rain because someone maliciously caused the alarm. RAF Mildenhall Fire and Emergency Services responded to 13 malicious calls in 2004, and there has been a recent rise in prank calls.

Activating a pull-station or hitting a break-glass might seem like fun, but it’s no laughing matter when families or dormitory occupants are roused from a deep sleep to evacuate. A fall down a flight of stairs or a slip on the ice can cause serious injuries.

Additionally, 12 firefighters are scrambling for their bunkers and speeding to the alarm. Even though apparatus operators are highly trained, accidents can happen. How would you feel if your malicious alarm caused an accident? Think twice before you hit that break-glass for fun.

Eliminating malicious activations should lead to improved evacuation rates because occupants will know it’s not just a prank. With everyone out of the facility, firefighters can focus on finding the cause, fighting the fire and saving property.

The next time you hear a fire alarm, evacuate the facility. I believe Mark Twain said it best when he said, “It is better to be safe a thousand times than to die once.”