You only have minutes to get out of a burning home safely

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – With the weather cooling and Christmas trees and lights going up, your local fire department typically takes more calls this time of year.

But if a fire starts in your home, do you know how much time you have to get out safely?

It used to be about 17 minutes in a typical house, but that window has shrunk dramatically in recent years.

A study from Underwriters Laboratories suggests you now need to escape within three or four minutes.

“That has to do with both the contents and the construction,” says Jonathan Gormick with Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services.

“Construction methods of buildings and construction methods for all the products we have inside them, including furniture and other decor, now rely very heavily on low-density synthetics — plastics, polymers and composite materials that include a lot of chemicals and petroleum-based products.”

That increases how quickly a home burns, how quickly it loses structural integrity, and how much toxic smoke is given off.

“That’s not to say non-synthetics don’t give off toxic byproducts. But synthetics definitely give off far more, making it much, much more dangerous,” Gormick tells NEWS 1130.

Even the clothing and carpeting in your home now contain more fast-burning substances and modern, open floor-plans can accelerate fires by allowing faster airflow and more oxygen.

Gormick says synthetics have slowly crept into the market over the past 50 years and have now virtually replaced heavier, more natural materials like wood in our homes.

“Even in general home construction, instead of using heavy two-by-ten joists, we are using laminate beams along with laminate floors and plastics, polymers and composites in almost everything.”

Gormick says that’s why it is imperative to have more than one working smoke alarm and a carbon monoxide detector in your home.

“That’s a key component in any fire safety plan, but you should also know what to do when that alarm goes off and have two ways out of any space in your house. That’s critical.”

VF&RS has a program called “Home Safety Check” for anyone who isn’t sure if their smoke alarms are working.

“Call 3-1-1 and we will send personnel out to your house, we’ll go over safety considerations in every part of your house and if you don’t have a working smoke alarm, we will install one for free.”