Crystal Towers Blaze: How To Prevent Smoke Inhalation And Survive A Fire

It took a 10-year-old girl’s quick thinking to save the lives of 13 people trapped in the Crystal Tower blaze in Parel. Zen Sadavarte, a school-going girl, quickly fashioned rudimentary air purifiers out of moist cotton wads and asked everyone to breathe through it. Her little contraption helped prevent smoke inhalation, preventing the death toll from going any higher. Her presence of mind paid off and her neighbours survived the fire. Mumbai Fire: Blaze in Parel's Crystal Tower Kills 4; What We Know So Far

In an interview with DNA, Zen recollected a training on fire safety given by her school teachers. "I remembered the first thing they had asked us was to stay calm and ask others too. That is what I told my parents. Later, I asked them to wet a cloth and cover the face and breathe through it," she said. Most of the toxic gases emitted during the fire are water soluble. So when a wet cloth or a piece of cotton is held against the mouth and nose, the gases get trapped, minimising any chance of smoke inhalation and resultant lung injury.

Thinking on her feet was what saved Zen and others. As counterintuitive as it may sound, one should stay calm during such situations to tackle them effectively. Here’s what you can do to save yourself and others during a fire.

Smoke Inhalation During Fire

Fire-related accidents can claim lives by the dozens. However, it’s often the smoke that kills people before the flames can get to them. Smoke inhalation is the primary cause of fire-related deaths, accounting for up to 50 to 80 percent of the cases. Toxic compounds are released into the air during combustion when materials like wool, rubber, silk, upholstery, carpeting, plastic goods, etc. burn.

Gases like carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide, hydrogen cyanide and oxygen radicals are capable of causing fatal lung injuries. The commonest gas released when any product burns are carbon monoxide, which combines with haemoglobin in the blood to form carboxyhaemoglobin.

Symptoms of Smoke Inhalation

The symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning when the carboxyhaemoglobin level exceeds 15 percent. Here’s how the symptoms manifest:

Who Is At Risk?

Smoke inhalation can prove fatal to anyone, but heart patients, people with chronic lung diseases like asthma and senior citizens stand a greater chance of dying. Children, who typically inhale more air compared to adults, are also at increased risk of smoke-related fatalities. They should be prioritised during a fire accident.

How To Stay Safe and Prevent Smoke Inhalation During A Fire

A little bit of quick thinking will go far. The first step to surviving a fire is to stay calm and not panic. To prevent lung injury and burns, here are the steps:

• Look for safe exit routes once you sense fire instead of staying inside a closed room. Use the staircase and not the elevator.
• To assess if a room is safe to enter or not, touch the door. If the door is hot to touch, stay away.
• In case you are trapped inside a room, seal the gaps with a wet cloth to absorb the smoke. Place a mattress against the door and soak it with water.
• Smoke raises upwards. So the closer you are to the ground, the safer you will be. So drop down on your hands and knees, and lay on the floor.
• Use a wet-cloth air purifier by dampening a large piece of cloth and holding it against your face. Breathe only through this.
• Drop down and roll on the floor if your clothes catch fire.
• If you have to run through the flames, douse yourself in water.
• Get flammable materials like curtains, upholstery, etc. out of the way, lest they catch fire.

After The Fire

Once you have dragged yourself to safety, alert any emergency personnel who may be around at the site. There may still be some amount of carbon monoxide in your system, which can prove harmful. Your priority would be to minimise the levels of carboxyhaemoglobin. Medical technicians will immediately administer 100 percent oxygen through a mask. In case of burns or trauma, get immediate medical assistance.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 23, 2018 01:52 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).