What Are 10 Things to Do During a House Fire?

Check Doors

• A fire can be behind closed doors without burning through. Check any door in a burning home -- before opening it -- by placing the back of your hand against the surface of the door and the doorknob. If you feel heat, do not open the door; instead, find an alternative route for escape, such as a window. If the door is cool, open it slowly and make sure there is not a heavy cloud of smoke along the escape route.

Notify Others

• Immediately notify others in the house that there is a fire. Do not rely on smoke detectors to do it. At the same time, don't go searching for friends or family members if you don't know where they are in the home. Do not attempt to run into a room if it's full of smoke or flames.

Call 911

• Immediately notify fire officials and emergency personnel by calling 911 after you have exited the property. Do not stop inside the home during a fire to call. If without a cellphone, run to a neighbor's house to call.

Leave Pets and Valuables Behind

• Never delay an escape from a burning house to find pets or collect valuables. Exit the house and notify fire officials of any pets that remain.

Stop, Drop and Roll

• If your clothes catch on fire, do not run --- drop to the ground and begin rolling back and forth to extinguish the fire.

Crawl, Don't Stand

• Smoke and heat rise in a room; therefore, staying low to the ground is the safest way to keep away from the high temperatures of a fire as well as the heavy smoke. Stay low until you escape the burning home.

Cover Your Face

• Cover your face with a shirt or damp towel during a house fire. This helps prevent smoke from entering your lungs. Cover children's faces as much as possible, especially when helping them exit.

Close the Doors

• Once you have crawled out of a room, close the door behind you. Closing doors prevents the fire from spreading.

Stay Out

• Once you're out of the home, stay out. Even if you left pets or belongings behind, do not re-enter a burning house. Notify fire officials immediately you believe if people or pets are still in the house and direct them to where they might be.

Evacuation Spot

• After evacuating, meet the rest of the household members in a predetermined evacuation spot and remain there until everyone in the household has arrived. This should be a spot designated for occupants of the house to meet as part of a household safety plan.