Thanks for a very informative and thorough post, Lono! I wonder whether you'd be so kind as to entertain two questions I have. They're psychological in nature, I suppose.



This may sound like a stupid question, but is a fire the sort of life crisis that tends to lead people to take a hard look at themselves and end the bad relationships, etc.? Or is this case by case as with most things human?



If we find ourselves in the lucky position of being the neighbors rather than the victims, how can we comfort the unlucky, other than by giving them the necessities & shelter? Knowing me, I can just imagine saying stupid things that focus on the practical aspects, and totally forgetting about the words that would give them comfort. What do they typically want to hear, and how should we tell it to them? I am afraid that "it's going to be OK" (the first thing that'd come to my mind) really won't stand up "my house just burned down!"

Thanks!

Da Bing

DS, DH, and SD if she's home, are absolutely my only priorities. I'm not even going to contemplate not getting them out. The rest is just stuff. (Sorry cats. If there's time, you'll be on the list too.)

If I think of stuff at all, it would be my EDC purse. It has some important and useful stuff, including keys to both vehicles, which have some more stuff, not to mention the vehicles could be very useful stuff.

Lono, do you mean important stuff should be stored closer to the floor? Interesting, I never though of that but it makes good sense.

-Blast

On your first question (there are no stupid questions) - I don't know. I'm a disaster caregiver, my involvement typically runs 24-48 hours from the fire, at most. Other folks pick up and provide assistance after that. My actual job is to keep my time at the fire scene minimal - its 3AM, clients have just been through trauma, they're tired, they don't want to spend alot of time talking to a guy in a red vest. I don't have enough to go on to know what happens longer term, sorry.

On your second question, what I've seen that seems to work best if when a neighbor can look at their just burned out neighbor, and anticipate needs: because even though she's without shoes, she's not asking anyone for a pair, her thoughts are with her missing cat or her losses inside the home, all the family memories and memorabilia etc. If she's barefoot or in socks, bring her a spare pair of shoes that might fit. Offer to take care of her kids (sit them in front of a TV, volume low), bring coffee or a hot drink, give them a place to sit, other than a hard bench on the edge of the fire truck. And don't worry about saying something stupid - the Red Cross trains us not to say stupid things, but we often catch ourselves saying "its going to be OK" and "you're lucky you got out when you did". If you can think to say it, remind your neighbor that *you're* grateful that everyone got out okay, that because of that you know that things will work out in the long run. And about the missing cat, they're usually the first out the door or window, and hiding under a front porch or in the bushes until the fire trucks leave. Usually, but not always. So keep an eye out for missing animals over the next few days.

Good point, I could be easily misinterpreted on that statement. I've seen when a fire burns hot it melts medicine containers, phones, chars wallets, all stuff kept on bedside tables. But if the wallet, keys etc fell to the floor, maybe they get wet and dirty, but they survive the intense heat. I've also seen things survive on bedside tables too, it just depends on how hot the fire gets. If the interior doors are burned away to the doorknob, chances it was hot enough to do pretty much the same to stuff on a bedside table. All I have to go on are the relatively few fire scenes I've seen, I'm no where near as knowledgeable as a fire fighter.

I didn't mean that if you had alot of important papers you could pile them on the floor and they'd come out okay. If the fire is fought in the room, they'll get really wet in the process, if they didn't burn up in the first place. Anything important, use a safe rated for fire protection. But I would mount such a safe down low too :-)

Last year I had to go through this. My son left a pot of water boiling on the stove to sterilize his nebulizers, then forgot all about it. 3AM the smoke detector goes off, house is filled with toxic, acrid smoke from the burning plastic. At first I didn't know how bad it was, I just knew we needed to GET OUT!

Shoes, wallet, key ring and cell phone were all on my dresser and I grabbed them and my slippers on the way past. Kids and dog were ushered outside, the cats were being their typical antisocial selves and were left for the moment. Of course it was 40 degrees outside and raining.

Once all the people were safe I went back inside to see where the fire was and if anything could be done, while my daughter called 911. I found the burning pot -- it hadn't caught to anything yet -- moved it to the sink and turned-off the stove. Disaster avoided, but it took hours to clear the house of smoke, even using the high-power fans the fire department had with them.

Since then I've taken to keeping our 'go bags' out in the storage shed, in tight-sealing storage containers to keep pests out. I figure the extra minute or two needed to grab the bags out of the shed is a worthwhile trade-off to getting stuck outside in the cold and rain in your underwear and slippers. With hurricane Irene approaching, I will probably move them into our living room in case things deteriorate to the point that evacuation is indicated.

Oh, the cats wound up strolling out the open front door after a few minutes, looking disinterested in the entire situation. I locked them and the dog in my son's Jeep for safe-keeping until the smoke was cleared and the fire department left. They thanked me by wining the entire time to get out.

Wow Lono, freaking great post. Lots of info. Thanks.

I'd finally have a legitimate excuse to sponge off the government like the rest of my neighbors who have been doing it illegitimately for as long as I've known them. ;-)