How to properly escape from a residential building fire? 2 hedging misunderstandings to be wary of

How to escape from a fire in a residential building? Many people think that they should run downstairs or outside to be safe. Is this really the case?

Electric bicycle short circuit

Blind escape leads to death

At about 0:31 on April 25, 2026, a fire broke out on an electric bicycle in the aisle of Unit 3, Building 2, Yongfu Apartment Residential Community, Chengdu, Sichuan. The fire eventually killed 5 people and injured 2 people. The direct economic loss of the fire was 7.3468 million yuan, and the burned area was about 12 square meters.

Cui Wei, a fire control expert from the Jiangsu Provincial Fire and Rescue Bureau: The direct cause of the fire accident was that the electrical circuit of the electric bicycle parked by the resident caught fire due to a short circuit, which then ignited the surrounding electric bicycles and other combustible materials, spreading to cause a disaster.

Witness at the fire scene Mr. Liang: When I went home at night, I saw a battery car on fire downstairs in the community. I called the police to inform the fire department, honked the battery car horn, and told others to get down quickly.

It was the battery car horn that Mr. Liang pressed that honked, waking up the sleeping people in the residential building. Some residents started to run downstairs in panic, and many people followed closely and escaped downstairs along the stairs they usually used.

Cui Wei: Don’t panic when you find a fire. First, you need to quickly understand where the fire is. If there is a fire at home and you can still run out, you should immediately escape out the door. If there is a fire downstairs, it may not be safe for the residents upstairs to evacuate downwards. If you blindly follow the crowd and run down, the corridor has been blocked by fireworks, which is very dangerous.

Escape misunderstandings:

If you notice a fire, run out of the building immediately and you'll be safe.

Many people think that if there is a fire downstairs, wouldn't it be safe for the residents upstairs to evacuate down the stairs? This is a big misunderstanding. The stairwell is like a chimney. If an electric car catches fire on the first floor, poisonous smoke will rush up the stairs.

Cui Wei: Our investigation found that after the electric car caught fire downstairs, a large amount of smoke spread upward from the foyer along the chimney effect of the stairs. If the door of the resident is closed, there is basically no smoke in the home. At this time, the home is relatively safe, but the stairs are already filled with thick smoke, which is more dangerous. In this case, the residents upstairs should first choose to close the door, caulk the cracks, and stay in a room where smoke cannot enter and wait for help. If you open the door and go down to escape, it will increase the risk.

In this fire, the victims were five upstairs residents who lived on the 11th, 6th and 3rd floors respectively, and all of them died after running to the 1st floor. However, the residents on the 1st floor where the fire broke out were unharmed. Many people may not understand why?

Cui Wei: At this time, the smoke upstairs was relatively small. When the five people evacuated from upstairs, they actually went straight towards the thick smoke and fire. The more they went down, the thicker the toxic smoke became. They eventually inhaled a large amount of toxic smoke and suffocated to death. In a unit-type residential building, if there is a fire downstairs, remember not to rush downstairs to evacuate, because the competition for escaping from the fire is not to see who can run fast, but to choose the right escape method and escape route. If you run blindly downwards or blindly run upwards, you may fall into the toxic smoke.

Escape misunderstandings:

Escape from a fire and run towards a bright place

Fire experts told reporters that in emergency situations, people have a tendency to seek light and always escape in a bright and bright direction. But in a fire scene, in many cases the circuit may have tripped and lost power, and the bright light you see is probably the light of a fire.

Cui Wei: If there is a fire in your home and you can still escape, you should evacuate immediately and close the door to prevent the spread of fireworks. At the same time, dial 119 to call the police and quickly find the nearest safe exit to escape. If you are close to the roof of the building, you can quickly run to the roof platform to avoid danger if conditions permit. If it is close to the downstairs, then go downstairs to escape and save yourself. If you escape the fire scene, do not go back to retrieve the items. You should actively provide the firefighters with fire scene information and the situation of trapped people. If you can't escape, find a safe place, such as a room with a balcony, close the door to prevent smoke from intruding, and wait for help.

The door was sealed with thick smoke, and we took shelter from the fire and smoke and waited for help.

Also in a fire scene, some people saved themselves by staying calm and waited safely until rescue. At the time of the incident, Ms. Luo on the first floor was preparing to take a rest when she suddenly heard a crackling explosion.

In desperation, Ms. Luo did not choose to open the door and escape, but ran to the bedroom to escape.

Facing the thick smoke and fire, Ms. Luo did not panic. Instead, she closed the door tightly and waited for help. She was eventually rescued safely.

More than 70% of fire victims were concentrated in residences

Reporters reviewed the fire situation across the country in the first nine months of this year: a total of 636,000 fires were reported, and 1,412 people died in the fires. Among them, 218,000 residential fires occurred, accounting for more than 30% of the total; 1,003 people died in residential fires, accounting for 71% of all fire deaths.

Cui Wei: We must adopt the principle of avoiding fire and smoke. First, you must determine where the fire is coming from, where the smoke is coming from, and what the surrounding environment is like, and then decide whether to run or wait for help. Never run out blindly, don't jump off a building, don't take the elevator, and don't return greedy for property. Normally, it is best to install a stand-alone smoke alarm with fire warning function at home, and equip it with emergency escape equipment such as simple fire extinguishing equipment, smoke masks, and multi-functional flashlights. Regularly check whether these emergency equipment are intact and effective, and put them in a place that is easy to remember and easy to access, so as to be truly prepared.