1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:06,480 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff, production of I Heart Radio. Hey 2 00:00:06,519 --> 00:00:11,320 Speaker 1: brain Stuff Lauren Bogobam Here. On a cold night in Fairfax, Virginia, 3 00:00:11,520 --> 00:00:14,680 Speaker 1: firefighters were dispatched to a house fire, where on arrival 4 00:00:14,880 --> 00:00:17,720 Speaker 1: they were told that everyone had exited the building. The 5 00:00:17,760 --> 00:00:20,800 Speaker 1: Fairfax County Fire and Rescue team went in to extinguish 6 00:00:20,800 --> 00:00:23,720 Speaker 1: the fire, which was in full force with rolling flames 7 00:00:23,720 --> 00:00:27,120 Speaker 1: and thick smoke. Two firefighters entered ahead of the crew 8 00:00:27,160 --> 00:00:29,400 Speaker 1: to search the home. As they were turning to finish 9 00:00:29,440 --> 00:00:32,760 Speaker 1: their search, one heard a voice calling for help. They 10 00:00:32,800 --> 00:00:36,240 Speaker 1: found a girl behind a closed bedroom door. The interior 11 00:00:36,320 --> 00:00:38,879 Speaker 1: of the house was burnt and smoke covered, but what 12 00:00:39,000 --> 00:00:43,040 Speaker 1: the firefighters saw behind the door was a clean room. 13 00:00:43,200 --> 00:00:45,360 Speaker 1: One of them said in a video showing footage from 14 00:00:45,360 --> 00:00:47,440 Speaker 1: the fire, there was no smoke in the room. It 15 00:00:47,479 --> 00:00:50,320 Speaker 1: was completely clear. I noticed that there was no soot 16 00:00:50,360 --> 00:00:52,240 Speaker 1: on her. She didn't have any signs of smoke in 17 00:00:52,280 --> 00:00:55,320 Speaker 1: hillation or anything like that. She was just completely clean 18 00:00:55,560 --> 00:00:59,640 Speaker 1: due to the closed door. Most of us are familiar 19 00:00:59,640 --> 00:01:02,120 Speaker 1: with fire safety tips like stop, drop and roll, and 20 00:01:02,240 --> 00:01:05,600 Speaker 1: get low and go, but a decade of fire safety 21 00:01:05,600 --> 00:01:08,560 Speaker 1: research has shown that closing doors can also be life saving, 22 00:01:08,920 --> 00:01:11,280 Speaker 1: especially when getting out in case of fire is not 23 00:01:11,360 --> 00:01:15,200 Speaker 1: an option, so let's introduce a new one, close before 24 00:01:15,240 --> 00:01:19,360 Speaker 1: you doze. We spoke with Jennifer Williams, a marketing specialist 25 00:01:19,440 --> 00:01:23,080 Speaker 1: with the u L Firefighter Safety Research Institute and organization 26 00:01:23,120 --> 00:01:26,480 Speaker 1: that advances fire research knowledge and develops cutting edge practical 27 00:01:26,560 --> 00:01:30,399 Speaker 1: fire service education. She said, we're looking to create a 28 00:01:30,400 --> 00:01:33,360 Speaker 1: generational behavior change of closing doors before you go to 29 00:01:33,360 --> 00:01:36,200 Speaker 1: bed at night. In general, it's not something that people 30 00:01:36,240 --> 00:01:38,760 Speaker 1: think about and they certainly don't correlate doing it to 31 00:01:38,920 --> 00:01:43,880 Speaker 1: fire safety. According to u L, of house fire deaths 32 00:01:43,920 --> 00:01:47,640 Speaker 1: occur between eleven pm and seven am, and of people 33 00:01:47,680 --> 00:01:51,000 Speaker 1: surveyed did not close their bedroom doors at night. You 34 00:01:51,080 --> 00:01:53,160 Speaker 1: might think that a closed door would be no match 35 00:01:53,200 --> 00:01:55,640 Speaker 1: for a house fire, but the difference between how a 36 00:01:55,720 --> 00:01:57,360 Speaker 1: room with an open door and a room with a 37 00:01:57,400 --> 00:02:01,240 Speaker 1: closed door survive a fire is dramatic. Smoke moves up 38 00:02:01,240 --> 00:02:03,600 Speaker 1: and out and fills a room from the top down, 39 00:02:04,160 --> 00:02:06,800 Speaker 1: so it reaches the floor last, which means it can't 40 00:02:06,800 --> 00:02:09,400 Speaker 1: seep beneath the door easily. That's why we're taught to 41 00:02:09,400 --> 00:02:12,600 Speaker 1: stay low in the case of a fire. Firefighters have 42 00:02:12,680 --> 00:02:17,600 Speaker 1: long understood the benefit of compartmentalizing a fire. Fire needs oxygen, fuel, 43 00:02:17,639 --> 00:02:21,519 Speaker 1: and heat to survive. Thus, if a fire can be compartmentalized, 44 00:02:21,760 --> 00:02:24,840 Speaker 1: its spread will slow because it lacks oxygen. If the 45 00:02:24,840 --> 00:02:27,560 Speaker 1: oxygen supply is cut off completely, the fire may even 46 00:02:27,560 --> 00:02:30,680 Speaker 1: go out. If you close your bedroom door at night 47 00:02:30,840 --> 00:02:32,800 Speaker 1: and a fire starts in the kitchen while you're sleeping, 48 00:02:33,160 --> 00:02:35,280 Speaker 1: you may have enough time to wake up and figure 49 00:02:35,280 --> 00:02:37,799 Speaker 1: out what to do. This could give you enough time 50 00:02:37,800 --> 00:02:40,400 Speaker 1: to exit the building or call nine one one, but 51 00:02:40,560 --> 00:02:42,320 Speaker 1: also might give you a safe place to wait for 52 00:02:42,320 --> 00:02:45,320 Speaker 1: the fire department while those smoke, heat, and toxic fumes 53 00:02:45,400 --> 00:02:49,239 Speaker 1: remain beyond your door. Also, in a bedroom with a 54 00:02:49,280 --> 00:02:52,360 Speaker 1: closed door, even when a fire is raging outside, the 55 00:02:52,360 --> 00:02:55,480 Speaker 1: temperature can remain below a hundred degrees fahrenheit or thirty 56 00:02:55,520 --> 00:02:58,880 Speaker 1: seven celsius, with carbon monoxide levels at one hundred parts 57 00:02:58,919 --> 00:03:01,880 Speaker 1: per million. Compare that to a room with the door open, 58 00:03:02,120 --> 00:03:05,359 Speaker 1: where temperatures can quickly rise above a thousand degrees fahrenheit 59 00:03:05,480 --> 00:03:09,280 Speaker 1: or three seventy seven celsius and carbon monoxide levels become 60 00:03:09,320 --> 00:03:13,840 Speaker 1: extremely toxic at ten parts per million. Of course, though 61 00:03:13,880 --> 00:03:18,079 Speaker 1: if you can get out do Williams says that you 62 00:03:18,080 --> 00:03:20,679 Speaker 1: should actually close as many doors as possible at night. 63 00:03:21,400 --> 00:03:23,959 Speaker 1: One reason it's so important is that home fires spread 64 00:03:23,960 --> 00:03:26,960 Speaker 1: more quickly today than they used to. Forty years ago, 65 00:03:27,040 --> 00:03:29,480 Speaker 1: we had about seventeen minutes to escape a house fire, 66 00:03:29,800 --> 00:03:32,280 Speaker 1: but today that's down to three minutes or less. We 67 00:03:32,320 --> 00:03:35,840 Speaker 1: can thank contemporary building practices and synthetic materials for the change. 68 00:03:37,160 --> 00:03:40,240 Speaker 1: So far, the close before you doze campaign is working. 69 00:03:40,760 --> 00:03:44,240 Speaker 1: Williams says that Americans who have seen the message say 70 00:03:44,280 --> 00:03:47,320 Speaker 1: they'll close their bedroom doors. The remaining nine percent say 71 00:03:47,320 --> 00:03:49,400 Speaker 1: they won't because they don't want to be separated from 72 00:03:49,480 --> 00:03:53,080 Speaker 1: children or pets. But for those nine percent or anyone 73 00:03:53,080 --> 00:03:56,760 Speaker 1: who occasionally forgets, Williams reminds us that other fire safety 74 00:03:56,760 --> 00:04:01,120 Speaker 1: measures are equally important in the home, especially working smoke alarms. 75 00:04:01,600 --> 00:04:03,920 Speaker 1: She says every home should have smoke alarms on every 76 00:04:04,000 --> 00:04:06,720 Speaker 1: level of the home and inside and outside of every 77 00:04:06,760 --> 00:04:09,920 Speaker 1: sleeping room. Be sure they're hard wired together so that 78 00:04:09,960 --> 00:04:12,120 Speaker 1: if one goes off, they all do, alerting you to 79 00:04:12,160 --> 00:04:15,040 Speaker 1: a fire anywhere in the home. Ideally, you should check 80 00:04:15,080 --> 00:04:18,360 Speaker 1: them every month. You should also create a fire escape plan. 81 00:04:18,640 --> 00:04:20,960 Speaker 1: It should include two ways out of every room and 82 00:04:21,000 --> 00:04:24,440 Speaker 1: a meeting place outside, and you should practice it a 83 00:04:24,560 --> 00:04:26,479 Speaker 1: drill is a great way to teach your children what 84 00:04:26,520 --> 00:04:34,520 Speaker 1: your smoke alarms actually sound like. Today's episode was written 85 00:04:34,520 --> 00:04:37,320 Speaker 1: by Dr Carry Whitney and produced by Tyler Clang. Brain 86 00:04:37,320 --> 00:04:39,559 Speaker 1: Stuff is a production of I Heart Radios How Stuff Works. 87 00:04:39,760 --> 00:04:41,840 Speaker 1: For more in this and lons of other home safety topics, 88 00:04:41,960 --> 00:04:44,520 Speaker 1: visit our home planet how stuff Works dot com and 89 00:04:44,640 --> 00:04:46,839 Speaker 1: for more podcasts for my heart Radio, visit the iHeart 90 00:04:46,880 --> 00:04:49,360 Speaker 1: Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your 91 00:04:49,360 --> 00:04:50,080 Speaker 1: favorite shows.