Acting in heavy smoke

Smoke is the most common and most treacherous situation during evacuation, because it spreads faster than fire and completely destroys orientation. In dense smoke visibility can drop to a few tens of centimeters, and a person loses direction even in a familiar room. So at the first signs of smoke act quickly and by a clear procedure, while the gas concentration is not yet lethal.

Protecting your airways is the priority. Cover your nose and mouth with cloth, preferably damp: wet cloth partly holds back smoke particles and cools the air. A handkerchief, scarf, sleeve or towel will do. Breathe shallowly and through the cloth. Remember this is only a temporary measure — it does not protect against carbon monoxide and gives very limited time, so its purpose is not to "wait it out" but to get out in time.

Move through smoke as low as possible or crawling, keeping a hand on the wall — moving along the wall helps keep direction and sooner or later leads to a doorway or exit. If you move as a group, hold on to each other and do not break the chain. Never give in to panic or run blindly: panic movement leads to falls, crushing and loss of orientation. If the smoke becomes unbearable and the exit is far, it is safer not to force through it at any cost but to switch to defending in place (see block 6).