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if possible). Take short, shallow breaths.
• Keep doors and windows closed. Open them
only if you have to in order to escape.
• Meet at your planned meeting place after
leaving the house. Carry out a head count.
• Call the Fire brigade on 999 as soon as possible
from outside your house. If possible use a
neighbour’s phone or call box rather than a
mobile phone (as the location can be traced
from the number if the line is lost, or if the
battery runs out).
• Give the address and your name.
• Never go back inside the building until a
member of the fire service has told you it is
safe to do so.
Contact your local Fire Brigade. They will give you
more ideas about how to make your home safer
from fires and how to plan your family’s escape.
WHAT TO DO IN CASE OF
A FIRE IN YOUR HOME
• If you have made a family escape plan and
practiced it with your family, you have increased
their chances of escaping safely. Go over the
following rules with your children each time
you have fire drills. This will help everyone
remember them in case of a real emergency.
• Don’t panic, stay calm. Your safe escape may
depend on thinking clearly and remembering
what you have practiced.
• Notify every member in the residence of the
fire.
• Get out of the house as quickly as possible.
Follow a planned escape route. Do not stop to
collect anything or to get dressed.
• Feel the doors to see if they are hot. If they
are hot, do not open them – use an alternative
escape route.
• Stay close to the floor. Smoke and hot gases
rise.
• Cover your nose and mouth with a cloth (wet
