C10 - Sunday News, November 30, 1980

Hints from a professional

The fire in the MGM
Grand Hotel in Las Vegas
left most of us feeling sick,
especially if we are frequent
travellers. And so it should!
If a modern luxury hotel like
the MGM can go up in
smoke, imagine what some
of those elderly dumps we
often find ourselves in could
do.

Fire safety regulations
around the world are so
varied (starting from “zilch”)
that we have no assurance
whatsoever when we begin
unpacking in some foreign
country. The old chestnut,
“rules are meant to be
broken” applies as well. It is
alleged that the MGM did its
fair share along this lhne.
Scary, eh?

Regular readers know that
I am a safety freak. If there’s
anything I can find to worry
about, Ill find it. If there’s
nothing available for a
legitimate worry, I can
usually find something if I
think hard enough. I shudder
when my children want to
spend the night at a friend's
house, for fear of fire. Hotels
give me a good case of the
jitters and I was very
relieved to find that I was
not alone.

North Vancouver fire
chief Bob Mcdonald shares
the same feelings.

I talked with him today
about how travellers can

protect themselves from
disaster without avoiding
travel entirely. Here are

some of McDonald's
suggestion.
*Most professional _ fire

fighters avoid any room
higher than the fifth floor.
Modern firefighting

trayel-

by Ba rbara
McCreadie

equipment can _ possibly
reach as high as the ninth
floor but only if they can get
the machines very close to
the building. Often access is
blocked or restricted.

*He prefers a room facing
the street, despite the added
noise. It is much more
difficult to rescue a victim
from a room over-looking a

lane and well-nigh im-
possible from a room
overlooking an inner

HOTEL GUESTS SHOULD check for flre exit and
other fire safety features as soon as they arrive.

Carlos Varos

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courtyard.

eWhen our fire chief
checks into a room he takes
a few sensible precautions.
First, he notes the location
of the fire stairs. (I hope
everyone knows that you
never use an elevator in an
emergency.) Every hotel
room in Canada should have
an emergency instruction
card posted. Find it. Then he
takes a look at the general
maintenance of the hotel.
Gaps under the doors? Fire
doors left or propped open?
Do they open and close
properly?

He has no hesitation in
picking up his bags and
walking out if things aren't
satisfactory AND DID SO on
a recent visit to Calgary.

If he has a choice, he
prefers to stay in motels.

“Every building should
have a sprinkler system,”
remarked the chief. “There
has never been a reported
fatality in a room with a
sprinkler. This system is
effective against both flames
and smoke — which is more
often the killer. The cost of
installing the system is a very
small percentage of the total
building cost and can be
amortized in five to 10 years
with their reduced insurance
rates.”

“What shoullid you do if
you find yourself in
trouble?” I asked.

“Get out fast!” he replied.
“Feel your door and if it's
cool use the emergency
stairs and flee. Never
disregard a fire alarm even if
you presume it's false.

“If the door is hot, don’t
open it. Block the cracks
and stand near a window,
but not mght in front. Heat
may cause it to explode.
Don't open windows because
the draft may suck smoke or
flames into your room.

“Never prop emergency
exits open. Remember, most
of them are self-locking and
once you're into” the
emergency stairs you have to
go all the way to the top or
bottom.”

I have a few thoughts to
add to the chief's. Since |!
wear glasses and am quite

ire safety tips for hotel guests

helpless without them, I
have made it a habit to place
them in the same spot every
night. If the room doesn't
have a night table, I pull a
chair beside the head of my
bed for my precious specs.

I keep my purse beside me
— always in the same place.
Many panic stricken people
have wasted valuable time
searching around for
valuables when they should
be running like hell. I don't
think I'd be so stupid but
who can say?

If you habitually sleep in
the “altogether”, either keep
your robe or pants on the
foot of the bed. If you don't,
and can’t find a cover-up,
grab a sheet and wave

goodbye to your wardrobe.

I asked the chief about
portable fire alarms and he
recommends them highly,
especially for travel in exotic

places where fire protection |

may be minimal. Check out
Knill’s Alarms for these.

If you smoke, and can't
wait till morning for a puff,
get out of bed. It is my guess
that inveterate readers (or
drunks) are the main culprits
when fires start in beds from
cigarettes. I've gotten into
the habit of pulling a chair
up to the bed, sitting on the
chair with my feet up while I
read. I know that I won't
dose off while my cigarette
burns fancy little holes in the
rug.

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