By MIKE DOOLEY
Fort Wayne News Sentinel
The Sept. 7 fire at Three Rivers Apartments didnt meet the customary definition of a high-rise fire because it was confined to the underground parking garage at the complex. But what if it had been in one of the multistory buildings? What should residents do if theres a fire in, or near their apartment?
The United States Fire Administration, part of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, offers advice in a fact sheet it publishes about surviving a fire in a high-rise building. Those same suggestions are included in material that Fort Waynes fire department offers.
Nearly all the lists start with the same advice: Dont panic. Most high-rise buildings are designed to retard fire, and in most cases, fires that do break out inside them can be confined to the area where they started.
At the same time, dont assume someone else has reported the fire. Call the fire department or the emergency number for the building, or pull a fire alarm if the fire is near your living or work space.
Here are other tips for surviving a high-rise fire:
If the fire is in your apartment
- Get everyone out, and stay close to the floor as you leave. Close, but dont lock, doors as you leave.
- If possible, alert others on the floor by knocking on doors. Activate the nearest fire alarm.
- Do not attempt to use an elevator. Go down the nearest stairway and call the fire department from a floor below the fire or from a phone outside the building.
If the fire is not in your apartment
- If the fire is on a floor below yours, stay in your apartment or workspace. Keep the door closed and seal it with tape or wet towels.
- Turn off all air conditioners and fill the bathtub, if one is available, with water. Use the water to cool down the door if it gets warm to the touch.
- If you believe you are in grave danger, open a window and wave a bedsheet or other item to help firefighters see you.
Smoke detectors should also be used in all high-rise apartments. Residents should keep handy safety devices such as flashlights and first-aid kits. In Fort Wayne, a city ordinance requires operating smoke detectors be installed in all dwelling places, including high-rise apartments.
The Fort Wayne Fire Department currently has four aerial ladder trucks that can be used to fight high-rise fires and rescue residents of upper floors. Those ladders, however, only reach about the fourth floor of most buildings.