PLAN TO Get Out Alive — the Fire Department's family fire prevention program presented in partnership with McDonald's restaurants -— has a life-saving record. The Kent, Practico and Gunn families attest to that.

Al Lonneberg, public education officer with the Surrey, B.C. fire department, remembers Erica Kent’s experience very well.

Erica, 11 when the fire happened, had paid careful attention when the Plan To Get Out Alive fire preven- tion program was being described in lectures at Grandview Heights ele- mentary school in Surrey.

When fire broke out at her home in the early hours of a Sunday morn- ing in October 1987, she knew exact- ly what to do. And, says Lonneberg, “She did all the right things. We were very pleased, because the end- ing could have been quite different.”

Erica was sleeping in a bunk bed in a room with her sister Jessica. At about 2:30 a.m., fire caused by a cig- arette smoldering in a chesterfield, broke out in the living room.

“T started choking,” Erica remem- bered. “I could smell the smoke because I was on the top bunk.”

She immediately climbed down from the bunk and woke Jessica. The door of the room was open a little and Erica could see smoke coming in, “The fumes from the smoke were really bad,” she said, adding that she realized almost immediately that the first thing to do was to get herself and Jessica out of the house before trying to reach anyone else.

Erica climbed out of the bedroom window and lifted Jessica through after her. Then she took action to warn the others still inside. “I ran around to the back of the house and hopped up onto a fence,” she said. Ske was able to awaken her father, Lyle Kent, who escaped with his wife through a patio door, then roused Erica's brother who escaped through a window.

Lonneberg credited Erica with saving the day. Erica is moclest about her actions during the fire. “I never thought of anything —. I just did it. I wasn’t scared.” She is glad that the

TRUCK LOA

an saves |

attention she received following the fire has made other children sit up and take notice. Now she encourages others to piy attention to fire safety training and not to assume that the emergency will happen to someone else. “You never know,” she said. “It could happen to you.”

In another instance, just three wecks after a Plan To Get Out Alive campaign, the Practico family of Langley, B.C. survived a night fire which destroyed their condominium. The Practico children, Tony, then 9, and Steven, then 7, had planned escape routes from their home on a Plan To Get Out Alive worksheet. When the fire awakened Tony, he knew what to do and was able to alert his sleeping fa.aily who escaped safely.

“Steven was coughing like crazy when I woke up,” said Tony. “There was no way there would be that much smoke without fire.” Tony dropped to the floor and crawled down the hall to waken his father, Leonard.

“The smoke was so thick I couldn’t see a foot in front of me,” said Leonard. He awakened Steven and his wife Vikki and they made their escape.

The fire had started on the main floor in a television sei, which exploded, shorting out the telephone line. The Pratico family fled the con- doand called the fire department from a neighbor's house.

The family believes that practis- ing Plan To Get Out Alive enabled Tony to react appropriately when the fire broke out. When they moved into a new home, one of the first things they did was prepare an escape plan.

In the City of Winnipeg, the fire chief received a letter from Albert and Soinja Gunn. They identified themselves and said they have two children, then aged seven and five, and they added: “We owe you our lives.”

Their letter talked about planning and said: “For the past two years, my family has taken part in the home fire drill. We took our children through the steps of getting out alive.

FIREPLACE tro. Since 1912

SALE

ONE DAY ONLY!

Saturday, October 22 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

ra {

Featuring gas inserts by Regency & EmberFire

3600 E. Hastings St., Vancouver (1 block west of Broadway)

wes

Little did we know that this simple exercise would turn out to be ceal. Im so very proud of my children. They didn’t panic at all. They went straight from a sound sleep to out the front door and across the street to our neighbor as if it were a natural oceur- rence.”

The Gunns then added: “I don’t know how to thank you enough for bringing the Home Fire Drill to our attention. Please don’t stop telling people that a fire is real, not just something that happens to someone else.”

Our autumn prices start

falling Saturday, October Ist at 9:30a.m. sharp! It’s our biggest sale of the year. You'll find regular $20 prices as low

Wednesday, October 19, 1994 -- North Shore News - 41

Follow safety tips

THE NATIONAL Fire Prevention Association offers 10 fire prevention lps for people who travel and slay in hotels and motels.

L. Understand your hotel or notel’s fire safety system. Try to stay at loca- tions with smoke detectors and automatic sprinklers and read the fire safe- ly and escape information posted in your room or common areas,

2, Find the two exits nearest your ream,

3. Be sure you can find and unlock your room door in the dark. Keep your room key and a flashlight close to your bed and take your key with you so you can return to your room if exits are blocked.

4. Locate the fire alarm on your (oor and, if you discover a fire, sound the iharm, leave the building, then call the fire department.

5. Hf a fire starts in your room, get out, close the door and then sound the alarm and report the fire,

G. Crawl under smoke. Smoke rises so cleaner air will be near the floor.

7. Never use elevators during a fire.

8. if you hear the fire alarm, evacuate — don't investigate.

9, Be sure your door is cool before you open it. Feel the doorknob and the space between the door and its frame.

10. If the fire is outside your room, your room may be the safest place for you. Call the fire department and let them know where you are trapped.

as $2.99 per yard. But shop early as quantities are limited. Sorry —no holds or loans on sale items.

North Vancouver * 1180 Marine Drive, Ph: 986-1906 Kerrisdale » 2045 W. 4ist Avenue, Ph: 266-3611

Mon. -Sat., 9:30-5:30 p.M./Sun., noon—5P.M.

QUINN

DECORATIVE FABRICS

HOME SHOW

SALE

Avoid costly decorating errors by letting our experienced design consultants assist you in coordinating your furnishings, window coverings, floor coverings and accessories.

SAVE 20-30% OFF SELECTED DRAPERY FABRICS

Up to 60% OFF Blinds

Venetians ¢ Verticals e Pleated Shades

SAVE 20-30% OFF SELECTED REUPHOLSTERY &

FURNITURE FABRICS

} plow FREE PICK-UP AND DELIVERY

CUSTOM SOFAS from $799

Braman Furniture * Made in Canada * Over 10,000 Fabrics Available