By FireRescue1 Staff
COLUMBIA, Md. — UL’s Fire Safety Research Institute (FSRI) announced today the release of new fire safety videos that combine more than 10 years of data with custom 3D modeling and real-world footage from the organization’s full-scale fire experiments. The video series, which coincides with the beginning of Fire Prevention Month, will be released throughout the month.
The first video in the series shows how a home fire grows and spreads, underscores the dangers of smoke, and encourages everyone to have and practice a fire escape plan, including what to do if they cannot escape. Subsequent videos in the series show fire growth and spread in different types of homes ranging from a high-rise apartment to a two-story single-family house. Regardless of the type of home, however, FSRI stresses the need for a plan A, B and C with two ways to get out of every room and options for when you cannot escape.
Additionally, FSRI released its annual consumer fire safety survey, which found that roughly one-third Americans (32%) do not have a fire escape plan for their home, and of those who do have a fire escape plan, 21% say they have never reviewed or practiced it.
Other highlights from the fire safety survey include:
- Despite the fact that half of Americans believe it’s safer to sleep with their door closed in the event of a fire (50%), an equal amount indicate that they still sleep with their door open at least some of the time (50%). Everyone should Close Before You Doze.
- 41% of Americans believe that they would not have enough time to gather what’s important to them and safely exit their home in the event of a fire, a sizeable increase from 2021 (31%) and 2020 (30%).
- Gen Z and millennials are less likely to think smoke inhalation is the most common cause of death in a home fire, with only 53% choosing this response (vs. 71% of their older counterparts).
UL FSRI fire safety videos and additional resources, including a how-to guide for creating your own fire escape plan, can be found at CloseYourDoor.org.
Read additional Fire Prevention Week content.