A friend is building a house themselves, nearly finished now.
They were living on site in a large wooden hut or shed so as to save money and be nearby.
This was recently totally destroyed by fire, and they were very lucky to escape with their life.

This narrow escape underlines the importance of taking proper fire precautions even in temporary structures.
No fire extinguisher was to hand, prompt use of such might have put the fire out.
The fire started near the only door, which was shut.
It was not easy in smoke and darkness to locate the door catch, fortunatly the door yielded to a good kick.
The only light went out as soon as the fire started. No flashlight instantly to hand, it was in a tool box under the bed.
The fire spread with great speed and hope would have been lost very quickly indeed.

The owners cellphone, car keys and wallet were lost in the fire, thereby stranding them without any contact or means of travel.
Even in the relatively mild climate of the UK, being stranded on a hillside without boots*, outdoor clothing* vehicle keys, cellphone or money could have had serious consequences, especialy if any injury had occured.
Fortunatly they were not badly hurt, and were "rescued" by a supplier delivering materials the next morning.

The partly built house provided basic shelter.

The nearest neighbour, about a mile away, saw the fire, but assumed it was intentional burning of rubbish.

Their dog also escaped, though with burns to the front paws. The animal is now reluctant to enter any shed, hut or similar small structure.
* Removed to relax after work and then lost in the fire.

Definitely one helluva close call. It's extremely nasty to find yourself on the ~inside~ of a kindling pile. Smoke can take you out with terrifying efficiency. Glad your friends made it out.

My DW (who really is okay) humours me a little as I put my wallet, phone, keys, leatherman, flashlight, and current data backup in a box beside the bed. Always. Home or travelling. But I've seen a fire progress, and anything that's more than three feet away might as well be on Mars. If in doubt, I'm going out the bedroom window; and when I do, I'll have the tools to deal with the next phase. So I sleep well. I hope DW never has reason to bless my preps.

Cheers,
-Doug

You have a really good habit. I hope you never have to demonstrate how useful it can be.

Yep, keys, wallet, phone, etc should always be with you or beside you when your sleeping. I've seen people put stuff by the front door or kitchen counter or coffee table or wherever and if for some reason they should ever wake to a fire they won't be able to get to it.

Keep glasses and shoes nearby, too.

Sue

I'm glad your friends are okay. They were very lucky.

When I go to bed, the pants (with belt) I'm wearing at the end of the day are laid across the arm of my dressing chair. They always have my current pocket knife, wallet, cellphone (unless it's charging), cash, coins, keys, lighter, and Wenger Pocket Tool Chest SAK, connected to an LED flashlight.

If the smoke alarm goes off while I'm sleeping, I can be dressed in about 15-30 seconds, and have everything I immediately need in my pockets. I can understand that for some people, emptying their pockets is an end of the day, or end of the work day ritual. The only time I empty my pockets is to load the pockets of the next pair of pants.

Women usually don't fill the pockets of their slacks, but put their necessary tools in their purse. So ladies, how far away is your purse when you go to bed? Just as important, do you keep it in the same place every night? Sue? You always have good comments.

My purse, keys and cell phone are on a shelf just inside the front door. They have to be, or I would never find them due to my ADD.

If I had to go out the back door (closer to the bedroom), I would have to leave them behind.

I guess I should make duplicates of all of them and hide/bury them outside somewhere, so I could at least drive away or have access to the stuff in my car.

Sue

Or do what I've done, put a dup in your BOB and keep your BOB beside the bed, so you grab the BOB while getting out of bed and it has at least an old pair of shoes, jacket/coat and car keys. Enough that you can cover up and get in the vehicle and back away from the house.

Glad they escaped, glad the dog is OK, also glad everyone has escape plans and sleeps with a BOB like they were in Ranger School.

But I am wondering what D-fool thing they did to start the fire.

Would not an ounce of prevention be worth not having to sleep with an Alice pack?

I'm glad they got out. People complain about fire codes, but they're there to save lives.

Some of the biggest fires I've ever seen were at apartment buildings under construction before sheetrock went up. All that wood framing standing straight up makes for great bonfires.

I once saw a case where some homeless people had built a shack out of wooden fence sections. A candle sparked a fire inside it and one quick-thinking guy just took off one of the walls and pulled out the burning couch and debris. So the quickest exit isn't always an existing door or window.