After a fire in a holiday hotel I started trying to book rooms at hotels and conferences on the ground floor (which Americans call 1st floor) or the 1st floor (which Americans call second floor).
Since that time, smoking had become illegal in bedrooms in UK hotels and although originally you had separate rooms reserved for smokers indoors, now smoking is forbidden in most public places where people work or pass though. Major causes of fires are kitchen fires and smoking, especially smoking in bed, when the smoker is likely to fall asleep leaving a cigarette burning in an ash tray or waste paper bin. So the ban on smoking in bedrooms benefits everybody.
1 Check fire escapes.
2 Check fire extinguishers and smoke alarms and gas leak detectors.
3 If needed, buy fire extinguishers or alerts or fire blankets for kitchens and bedrooms for your own rent-out property (or home swap).
4 Note assembly areas in the nearby car park. (I have always wondered whether a car park is a good place to stand in a fire. Ok if it's empty.
(We once drove out of a car park in a hurry on New Year's Eve, I think it was in Prague, when cars in a large car park were crammed close together and several people started letting off rockets and sparklers near our car and other car engines.)
After
It is a surprise to me to see smoking on balconies banned. I did see recently that somebody was send off a ship after smoking on a ship's balcony. The problem with smoking on balconies whether on a ship or in a hotel is that a gust of wind can send the smoke into nearby windows where people inhale it and worse still carry a lit, half lit or supposedly stubbed out cigarette in through a nearby window or open door where it can start a fire.
Exit Directions
On the back of a bedroom door in hotels in the USA, UK and Europe and most parts of the world you are likely to see either directions as to what to do, how stop stay put and signal to attract attention, and / or how to get out in the case of a fire. (In some areas you will also see directions on what to do in the case of a flood or tsunami, or just any emergency.)
Advice I have read includes:
Take your door key in case the star or exit is blocked or smokey and you need to return to your room. (You also need to get back in if it's a false alarm and reception is busy helping others.)
You are usually advised not to delay your exit by gathering valuables. I leave the door key by the door. Some hotels handily have a slot or hook by the door handle containing the key or key card. If not, I put the key on the floor where I will tread on it on exiting. I also like to keep my shoes or slippers either under the bed at the pillow end or by the exit.
Advice on staying in the room might include:
Check the door handle to be sure it is not hot before opening to be sure the fire and smoke are not too near.
1Block the gap under the door with a rolled up towel to stop smoke getting in.
2 Soak towels and bedding with water to make them less combustable and a flexible shape to block holes which might let in smoke.
3 Removing sheets to make ropes for climbing.
4 Throwing out cushions or mattresses to create a softer landing.
5 Writing a notice in big letters in black felt tip pen (or pen, paint, shoe polish, lipstick, eyeliner, nail varnish, whatever you can find, on white paper, A4 sheets taped together, white pillowcases, saying help, SOS, or an appeal for help in English or another language. You could also draw the number of people in stick figures.
Exit Map
The map may helpfully mark your hotel bedroom in colour You can then count the number of rooms to the dire exit. I looked and noticed a slight step up between my room and a fire exit. If i had to get out in a hurry in darkness, or smoke, I might trip, so it was a good thing I was aware of that hazard.
You could also try walking to the exit with your eyes shut or wearing a blindfold (with somebody watching as you do it to stop you if you veer towards an obstacle or to the top of a flight of stairs. You can also note when the fire drill is due to take place.
If you are making an announcement in a hotel or conference you might want to warn people of the regular fire drill at, for example, 11 am on a Monday or a Friday. You might also add that any fire alarm outside these times is not merely a drill but the real thing.
Although a drill might be simply to test that the bells are working, often it is to check that all guests as well as prominent and temporary staff are familiar with procedure. Knowing what to do also helps in a real emergency to keep people calm because they have taken the route before and to save confusion and speed the process.
It also teaches you whom is in command, who needs help, and what you need to take with you.
Read up on the latest information from fire brigades, hotels, transport and websites in your area.
You can buy folding rope fire ladders to fix and carry with you in your luggage.
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.
No comments:
Post a Comment