Closing Doors At Night Add Protection Barrier During Home Fires

A fire inside the home can be slowed down by taking the time to secure your doors before going to sleep.

Livingston Fire Chief Rocky Dial said this provides a necessary barrier to smoke and fire. Dial said a closed door can add 2-3 to even 10-15 minutes of escape time depending on the type of door.

“Most of the time the smoke will get the person before the fire actually gets to them,” Dial said. “The smoke and the particles and all this new plastic stuff in the houses puts off really toxic vapors.”

Dial said there can be many variables in how long a door can protect you from smoke and fire, depending on doors material and fit to the frame.

“Whether it’s a solid door or just an open corridor inside there,” Dial said. “You can have anywhere from 2-3 minutes, up to 10-15 minutes depending on the type of the type of door and how secure the door is to the door jam, how tight it fits.”

Dial said that creating a routine of securing doors, checking appliances and unplugging extension cords at night are key to sleeping safely.

“A lot of times we’re seeing in kids rooms, they’ll put power strips with numerous plugins going to things that are not even being used,” Dial said. “Just make sure that they’re not covered over with clothes and they can ventilate and keep cool.”