What to do if there is a fire in your home

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Shout "Fire!" and wake everyone. Leave your things behind: a fire can become deadly in about Status: Verified.
Tackle the fire only if it is small, such as a pan or a waste bin, and your way out is clear behind you. Never throw water on burning fat or oil, or on an electrical fire. If it does not go out at once, leave.
Get out and close each door behind you. A closed door slows the fire and the smoke.
Stay low if there is smoke, and cover your mouth and nose with a damp cloth. Never walk through thick smoke. Use the stairs, never the lift.
Call Status: Verified once you are outside. Give the exact address and floor, and say whether anyone is still inside. Warn your neighbours on the way out.
Stay out. Never go back in for a person, a pet or your things. Tell the firefighters who may still be inside, and where.
If you cannot get out, close the door, block the gaps with wet towels or clothes, go to a window, call Status: Verified and signal so you are seen.

Fit a smoke alarm on every level of the home, so that it wakes you if a fire starts at night.
Test each alarm every month. Change the batteries every Status: Verified, and replace the whole alarm after Status: Verified.
A carbon monoxide alarm is a different device. See Carbon monoxide.

Keep a fire blanket in the kitchen and a fire extinguisher where you can reach it on the way out. Learn how to use them before you need them.
For burning fat or oil, only a fire blanket or a class F extinguisher is safe. Water makes the fire flare up.
Write down where the extinguisher, the fuse box and the gas valve are in your household plan.

Know two ways out of every room, and keep the hallway and stairs free of clutter.
Keep the house keys, your phone and your glasses near the bed, so you can leave at night without searching.
Agree on one meeting point outside, and practise the escape with everyone twice a year.
Never leave the cooker, candles or a heater on when nobody is in the room.

Go back in only when the fire service says the building is safe. A fire can flare up again, and the floors and wiring may be damaged.
Tell the rescuers if anyone breathed smoke or was burnt, even if they feel fine now.
Photograph the damage and call your insurer before you clear up.
Replace any smoke alarm, extinguisher or fire blanket that was used or damaged.
If nightmares or worry persist after the fire, talk to someone you trust. See Coping with a crisis.

Practise the escape route with them, and give each child a simple task. Let them hear the smoke alarm so they know the sound.
Teach them to go out and stay out, never to hide, and how to call the emergency number.

If you are deaf or hard of hearing, fit smoke alarms that flash or vibrate.
Agree now with a neighbour or family member who helps you out, and keep your mobility aids near the bed.

Include pets in the practice, but never go back inside for one. Tell the firefighters where the animal may be.

Use the stairs, never the lift. If the stairwell is full of smoke, stay in your flat with the door shut, seal the gaps, call Status: Verified and wait at a window where you can be seen.