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Hotel safety
- When making a hotel reservation or checking into a hotel, ask about the fire safety features of the facility and choose a facility that's protected by both smoke alarms and is fully fire sprinklered.
- When checking in, ask what the fire alarm system sound is for the facility.
- Become familiar with the fire escape plan posted in your room.
- Locate the two nearest stairs and count the number of doors between your room and the stairwell. In a fire, the hall may be dark and it may be difficult to see the exit stairway. Counting the number of doors may help you find the stairs.
- Look for exit signs wherever you are in the facility.
- Check to make sure the exits are not locked or blocked. Notify the hotel manager if exits are not accessible.
- Keep your room key by your nightstand so that you can easily reach it in an emergency.
- Travel with a flashlight and fresh batteries in case the power goes out.
- Report any unusual behavior or fire hazards to hotel management.
- If the fire alarm sounds, leave the building immediately. Take your room key with you, in case the exits are blocked by fire or smoke, you can return to your room.
- Test doors before you open them. If there is fire on the other side, it will feel warm around the cracks. If the door is warm, use your second way out or stay in your room and begin procedures for "If You Are Trapped." If the door is cool, open it cautiously and check to make sure your escape path is clear of fire and smoke.
- Always use the stairs, not an elevator, during a fire.
- If you must escape through smoke, crawl low under the smoke on your hands and knees to your exit.
- If you can't escape and there's not fire in your room, stay put.
- Call the fire department and let them know your exact location.
- Shut off fans and air conditioners because they can draw smoke into the room.
- Stuff towels or sheets in the cracks around all doors and vents between you and the fire.
- If you can, open the window at the top and bottom, but be prepared to shut it if smoke comes into the room. Do not break the window so that you are able to shut it if needed.
- Stay at the window and signal the firefighters by waving a light-colored cloth or a flashlight.
The Charlotte Observer
by Andrew Shain, Consumer Writer
Tuesday, Janauary 27, 2004
"Fires have declined with smoke and fire alarms and use of fire-resistant materials, said John Hall, an assistant vice president with the National Fire Protection Association. Hotel fires have fallen from 12,500 in 1980 to 4,600 in 1999, according to the latest association data. Twenty-four people died in hotel blazes nationwide in 1999.
The number of hotel fires that killed five or more people dropped from 20 from 1974 to 1978 to one from 1999 to 2003, Hall said. The numbers dropped sharply after a 1980 fire at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas killed 87 people. "An incident like the one in South Carolina has become rare," Hall said.
Still, most deaths occur at hotels without sprinklers. From 1994 to 1998 an average of 28 people died in hotel blazes. None died in hotels with sprinklers, Hall said. The most common cause of deadly hotel blazes is smoking, followed by children playing with fire and then arson. For all hotel fires, the most common cause is cooking.
"The industry as a whole has a long way to go," Hall said. A study of all fires showed that sprinklers cut deaths and property damage by up to two-thirds, Hall said.
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