Surviving Fire: Close The Door, Say Experts
By Jessica Dean
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- When you're asleep, you're most vulnerable to a fire in your home. Most fatal fires start in the middle of the night. Even if you have smoke alarms, even if you have an escape plan, some firefighters say you should do one more thing before you shut off the light.
In a house fire, it's not the flames but the smoke that kills.
"One breath. That's all it will take, and it will kill you," said Chief Mark Stowe of the Beaver Falls Fire Department.
How long do people have to get out of their homes in that situation?
"Situation like that? Seconds," said Deputy Chief Eric Fleming of the Philadelphia Fire Department.
But there is a way to buy time. To survive an overnight fire, sleep with your door closed.
A house was set on fire on purpose to prove the point. The fire starts in the living room. Nearby on the same floor are two bedrooms. Down the hall is the kids' bedroom. That door will stay open. On the other side is the master bedroom. That door will be closed.
One minute into the fire, smoke is gathering on the living room ceiling. It starts to trickle into the kids' bedroom.
At two minutes, thick black smoke is choking out the air in the living room and in the kids' bedroom with the open door.
In the master bedroom, you can see the orange glow of the fire at the bottom of the door, but so far, no smoke.
Deputy Chief Fleming explained that it's "the buoyancy of the smoke. It goes up to the ceiling, then it wants to go back down, so if you have a door closed, it cannot easily get through that door."
At three minutes, the entire living room is in flames. The air is black. Fire is licking down the hallway. Debris begins to fall from the ceiling, and smoke consumes the kids' room.
But in the master bedroom, even with the fire raging outside the door, there's barely a sign of smoke here.
Fleming says when you close your door, "you're going to have at least five or six minutes to actually initiate your escape plan."
After fire fighters put out the blaze, you can see the difference when walking through the aftermath. The ceiling in the kids' room is blackened by smoke. Temperatures would have reached 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit, Stowe said. But the master bedroom looks almost untouched.
"The hollow core door which most residential homes have will hold fire and smoke out for between 6 and 20 minutes," said Stowe.
Fire officials know not everyone will sleep with a closed door.
"I'm sure there's a lot of kids who would rather the door be open, and maybe some parents, too," said Tom Shemeley, fire marshal for Cherry Hill.
That's when it's even more important to have smoke detectors right by your bedroom, or even inside. Whatever you do, don't count on the smell of smoke to wake you up.
"A lot of times, since most fires occur at night, a lot of people never wake up," said Fleming.
Every bedroom should have a second exit in addition to a door - like a window.
Plan that alternative exit well in advance - even practice it with your family – so that you're ready.
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