If the fire is in your apartment
• Close the door to the room where the fire is and leave the apartment.
• Make sure everyone leaves the apartment with you.
• Choose a pre-determined location outside the building to meet members
of your household.
• Take your keys.
• Close, but do not lock, the apartment door.
• Alert people on your floor by knocking on their doors on your way out.
• Do not take the elevator.
• Use the nearest stairs to leave the building.
• Do not assume the fire has been reported unless you see the fire department
on the scene. When you reach a safe location, call 911.
• Notify the firefighters if anyone is unaccounted for.
If the fire is not in your apartment
• Stay inside your apartment and wait for firefighters unless conditions become
too dangerous.
• If you must leave, feel the door and doorknob for heat. If they are not hot,
open the door slightly and check the hallway for smoke, heat or fire.
• If you can exit safely, follow the instructions above for a fire in your apartment.
• If you cannot exit safely, call 911. Tell them your address, floor and apartment
number, and the number of people with you.
• Seal the door to your apartment with wet towels or sheets, and seal air ducts or
other openings where smoke may enter.
• Open windows slightly unless flames and smoke are coming from below.
• Do not break windows.
• If conditions become life-threatening, open a window and wave a towel or sheet
to attract the attention of firefighters.
• If smoke worsens, get down on the floor and take short breaths through your nose.
• If possible, go to a balcony or terrace away from the source of the fire.
Ways you can exit the building
| Exit location: |
Exit leads to: |
| Main entrance in lobby of building… |
West 19th Street |
| Rear yard door next to laundry room… |
Rear yard with no access to street |
| Basement service entrance south side… |
Upstairs to 19th Street |
| Stairwell A, east side of building… |
Goes from roof to lobby |
| Stairwell B, west side of building… |
Goes from the roof to the basement |