Wildfires have burned over 1,000,000 acres and hundreds of homes in Texas. If you live in an area with wildfire hazards, be sure to have an emergency evacuation kit and smoke masks to aid in your evacuation.
How you prepare for a wildfire may make all the difference for you an your family in such a disaster.
Every Life Secure
According to the CDC (US Centers for Disease Control) "most victims of fires die from smoke or toxic gases and not from burns." Some sources indicate that "inhalation injury from smoke and the noxious products of combustion in fires may account for as many as 60-80% of fire-related deaths in the US, many of which are preventable."
With approximately 2,755 people (not including firefighters) in the United State dying from fires each year, this means that over 2,000 people might be spared death each year if they were to have a smoke mask or smoke hood in the event of a fire.
Quite simply, smoke masks and smoke hoods can save lives in a fire. No matter how quickly firefighters respond to a fire, the danger from smoke inhalation has already begun before they can arrive on the scene. By the time smoke and toxic fumes begin to form and set off smoke detectors, people are already in danger.
That's why it makes sense to have a smoke mask or smoke hood to give you time to safely exit a burning house, office, or other building. Smoke and toxic fumes will often spread faster throughout a structure than the flames themselves. This means that safe evacuation is often possible if one can just protect their breathing long enough to get out of the building and away from the smoke and toxic fumes caused by the fire.
In many cases the 15 minutes or so of protection provided by some smoke masks (eg. Xcaper Smoke Mask) may be adequate for safe escape. In other cases, such as in a high rise or large facility, it may be important to have up to 30 minutes to escape. Some smoke hoods (eg. IEvac Fire Escape Hood) provide this length of protection or more.
Some smoke mask kits also provide eye protection from smoke. All Smoke hoods provide eye protection and some smoke hoods provide a certain level of heat protection for the whole head. Not all smoke hoods are of the same quality and protection level. Make sure you are getting a lot more than a simple plastic bag with a filter.
In general, the more severe the potential fire and smoke environment one might anticipate, the more advisable it may be to have a smoke hood. For less extreme environments, a smoke mask kit may prove adequate protection.
As fires may often be associated with wider disasters from terrorism or other man-made or even natural events (eg. earthquakes, hurricanes), one might also consider a combination evacuation kit. Evacuation kits such as the !Extreme™ Disaster & Fire Evacuation Kit (80020) are designed to get you out of a fire safely and then to support you for up to three days in a more widespread disaster in which help may not be immediately available to all victims.
A combination emergency evacuation kit helps you to cover all emergency bases and can be used in a non-fire emergency as well. Such kits can make a lot of sense for use at home or at work and can be kept at one's bedside at home or in a desk drawer or office shelf at work.
No matter where you live or work, fire and the related smoke and toxic fumes are one of the greatest dangers you may face. As with all emergencies, advanced preparation can often help avoid injuries or death and allow one to be calm when faced with a threatening situation.
As literally thousands of lives could be saved with the use of a smoke mask or smoke hood, its worth considering the purchase. This is especially true as such protection can now be purhcased for less than $100. Even very sophicated smoke hoods can be purchased for less than $200. This puts such protection within the reach of most businesses and families.
While a smoke detector may be the key to an early alert in case of fire, a smoke hood or smoke mask may be the key to a quick and safe evacuation from a burning building.
Consider your risk and be sure to chose the smoke mask or smoke hood that is best suited for the potential risks where you live or work. At LifeSecure we have chosen to carry the Xcaper smoke masks and IEvac Fire Escape Hoods as we consider them to be among the best and most user friendly fire evacuation protection devices in the industry. Both of the these systems are well suited for quick and easy deployment in a fire evacuation.
Click here for more information on preparing to survive a fire.
Click here for more information on preparing to survive a wildfire.
Every Life Secure
Shortly after starting LifeSecure, one of our co-founders, Larry Ginsberg, lost a friend to a high rise fire. Larry's friend died in the locked stairwell of a downtown high rise building in a major US city. Though the flames never reached his friend and the others who perished with her, the smoke from the fire did. The firefighters had responded quickly but didn't get to them in time to save them.
Larry commented to me that if his friend and the others each were to have had some kind of fire mask or hood, they likely would have been able to move through the smoke to safety on another floor or been able to successfully exit the building.
This tragedy sparked in Larry a determination to find simple, effective, and affordable smoke protection solutions for high rise workers and dwellers. Because of his personal experience and desire to help others avoid injury in fires, we agreed that Larry would take the lead in finding fire protection products to add to our LifeSecure Emergency Solutions offerings.
Larry found that most fatalities from fires (about 75%) are caused by inhaling smoke and gases, especially carbon monoxide, rather than from the actual flames. He also understood that few employers and individuals could afford or would be adequately trained to use full protective fire suits. Therefore, a practical and affordable smoke mask or hood would provide the greatest opportunity to protect the most people in case of a fire.
Recent experience with an increasing number of wildfires in the West made us determined to find solutions that work for high rise fires and for wildfires as well.
After considerable research and interaction with manufacturers of various smoke masks and hoods, LifeSecure has introduced both the Xcaper series of smoke masks and the iEvac Fire Escape Hood. You can see our full fire protection product offering in the Fire Preparation section of LifeSecure.com.
Here are a few fire protection products that we now feature at LifeSecure.com and that may help you prepare for a fire in your home, office, or facility:
The Xcaper series of smoke masks uses the same patented technology that has been used for many years to protection wildland firefighters. After the September 11 attacks, the Xcaper series was launched specifically to provide ordinary people with a product for use in evacuating high rise buildings during fires or a terrorist attack.
Xcaper Enterprise Smoke Mask Kit (34120) This kit includes a longer shelf life mask - 5 years. It provides a minimum of 15 minutes of protection (depending on conditions) against hazardous toxins including carbon monoxide and absorbs nearly 100% of particulate matter common to smoke from fires. This kit is packed in a Hip Pac that can be attached to a belt, and in addition to the mask and a set of Xcaper goggles, also includes the Xcaper emergency whistle and LED flashlight on a lanyard. This fire protection product is a good option for protecting employees in most high rise offices and may be preferred by people looking for protection in their high rise dwellings.
Many businesses will find the longer shelf to be of value. High rise office workers and people using this kit for protection in a condo or apartment may like the flashlight as it can provide emergency light while putting on the mask as well as while making one's way through what may well be darkened rooms and hallways in a fire situation. The whistle can help rescue workers find the user more easily in the smoke and darkness.
This smoke mask kit has a suggested retail price of $54.95. This equates to about $11.00 per person per year of protection.
iEvac Fire Escape Hood (34100) For those situations in which an evacuation may take up to 30 minutes or increased protection is desired, this fire escape hood may best meet your fire protection needs. The iEvac Fire Escape Hood provides protection again carbon monoxide, smoke, hydogen cynide, chlorine, ammonia, sulfur dioxide and hydrogen chloride for up to 30 minutes. The iEvac is the first fire hood certified to the American National Standard for Smoke Escape Hoods (ANSI/ISEA 110-2003) - Respiratory Protective Smoke Escape Device (RPED).
The hood is easy to put on and protects the full head against radiant heat. One size fits all adults. It can be used to escape fires in homes, offices, high-rise buildings and other fire causing disasters. The iEvac has a 5 year shelf life and a suggested retail price of $189.95. This equates to about $37.99 per person per year of protection.
As is common with so many other emergency preparedness products, one can get signicant protection from the hazards of smoke from fires for relatively few dollars per year over the lifetime of the product. When one considers the very real hazards from fire, the investment in a smoke mask or hood amounts to just good common sense for those who live or work in high rise buildings or who are in other environments where there is a high fire risk.
Every Life Secure
An Emergency Preparedness Blog helping to make "Every Life Secure" in any emergency or disaster... at home, work, school, or on-the-go
