Fire Safety in High-Rise Buildings (copyright  ©  1999 National Fire Protection Association)
Parker-Holsman Co.    1461 E. 57th Street    Chicago, IL 60637    773-493-2525 Your Neighborhood Realtor since 1931

High-rise fires present special situations. In most cases the fire escape procedure is the same as for a single-family home: Get Out and Stay Out. Sometimes, however, it's safest to stay in the building, separating yourself from the effects of a fire, and wait to be rescued.

Consult your building management and fire department in advance and learn what you're expected to do.

• If you discover a fire, sound the alarm and call the fire department.
• If you hear instructions over your building's public-address system, listen carefully and do as you are told. You might be told to stay where you are.
• Follow your evacuation plan, unless you see smoke or other signs of fire.

Be Prepared

• Know where to find your building's fire alarms, and learn how to use them.
• Post emergency fire department numbers near all telephones.
• Learn the sound of your building's fire alarm.
• Make sure everyone in your home knows where to go if the fire alarm sounds and practice your escape plan together. Your building manager should post evacuation plans where everyone can see them.
  
  Some evacuation plans may have you go to a "safe area" inside the building and wait for firefighters to supervise your escape.
• Know at least two escape routes from every room in your apartment or condo, and learn every exit from your building.
• Count the doors between your living unit and the two nearest building exits. You may have to escape a fire in the dark.

Know When To Go
In some high-rise fires, the safest thing to do is protect yourself from the effects of fire and stay put until the fire department comes.

If you leave...

• Exit quickly, closing all doors behind you to slow the spread of fire and smoke.
• If you encounter smoke or flames, use another escape route. If you have to escape through smoke, crawl low. Heat and smoke rise. Cleaner air will be 1 to 2 feet (30 to 60 centimeters) above the floor.
• Test doors before you open them. Kneel or crouch, reach up high and touch the door, the knob, and the space between the door and its frame with the back of your hand. If the door is warm, don't open it. If the door feels cool, open it carefully and be ready to slam it shut if smoke or heat rushes in.
• Never use an elevator during a fire. It may stop between floors or at a floor where the fire is.
• Once you are out, tell the fire department if you know of anyone trapped in the building. Do not go back inside, for any reason, until the firefighters tell you it's safe.

If you stay...
If you cannot escape safely or if you're instructed to stay where you are, be calm and protect yourself.

• If possible, go to a room with an outside window and a telephone, closing all doors behind you and the fire.
• Use duct tape or stuff the cracks around the door with towels, rags, or bedding and cover vents to keep the smoke out of the room.
• If there's a phone in the room where you're trapped, call the fire department emergency number and tell them exactly where you are. Do this even if you can see fire trucks from your window.
• Wait at a window and signal for help with a flashlight beam, if you have one, or by waving a sheet or other light-colored cloth.
• If possible, open the window at the top and bottom to allow fresh air in, but close it quickly if smoke from outside comes in. Do not break the window.
• Be patient. Rescuing all the occupants of a high-rise building can take several hours.

Building Safety

Alarms, Emergency Lighting, and Fire Sprinkler Systems
Find out who is responsible for maintaining your building's safety systems - such as fire doors, alarms, emergency lighting, and fire sprinkler systems - and do not hesitate to report a problem. If the problem is not corrected, report the situation to your fire department. Make sure that nothing blocks or otherwise interferes with safety devices inside or outside your living unit.

Exits
Never lock or block fire exits or block doorways, halls, or stairways. Keep clutter off stairways. Fire doors not only provide a way out during a fire, they also slow the spread of the effects of fire and smoke. Never prop fire doors open.

Return to top

Disclaimer: Parker-Holsman Co. is providing this information as a public service. Parker-Holsman Co. is not responsible for the content of this document. Questions or comments concerning the content of this document should be directed to:

Go to the fire safety main page

Go to the Parker-Holsman Co. homepage | Site Map

Typing errors and problems with links should be reported to our webmaster for correction.

Copyright  ©  2003 Parker-Holsman Co.
Please take a look at our copyright and other legal information.