If you’re like me, you have probably done this a few times when you were cooking over the stove: “I put my hand on the stove.” This is an example of where we get excited and think we’re making progress. My attention is trained on the stove. I’m focused on my movements, trying to get the flames to come to life. The fire seems to be roaring, ready to jump start my cooking again. And then it happens: just for the second, the fire dies down, and I move my hand off the stove to put it out.
This is where most of us go wrong: We get excited, we turn away, we try to focus on something else… and we’re right back where we started! The fire seems to have died down again. Instead of moving on, I continue to look around for fire. I should’ve realized that the fire was already dead.
Don’t let excitement ruin a great moment: But don’t do it without caution. Here are some tips that can help make your experience with fire safety a little easier. First, keep in mind that while it’s OK to stop briefly, to look around, and to look for fire, you should stay focused on the fire. This means that if you’re standing next to a drywall or flammable item, don’t touch it.
Second, take a few deep breaths to calm your body down: Think about how you want to escape from the scene of the fire. Imagine what you would do if you weren’t afraid of fire! Lastly, it’s OK to say “put out the fire!” Once you calm down, remember that if you’re able to escape safely, that you’ve gained valuable time that will help you complete other tasks.
Now, here’s the tricky part: After you’ve figured out how to escape safely, you still need to know how to get your hands, AND your feet, out of the way of the fire! You know how the fire is going to spread, and you also know how much of a fire is going to cover your body. You should have some sort of idea as to what the fire is going to do! Otherwise, you’ll be toast!
Here are some helpful tips: to get your hands, feet, and body out of the way of the fire. First, focus on putting one foot in front of the other. Keep your feet on top of the stove, and don’t look down.
With your hands, don’t touch them, either. Keep your body low to the ground, and you should be able to get out alive!