It can make the difference between life and death: in the event of a fire, it is an advantage to close the door when going to bed instead of leaving it open. That keeps flames and smoke out better than the open room door.
Whether for better ventilation or to better hear the children: There are various reasons why many people leave their room door open or just lean it when going to bed. In some cases this can be very dangerous.
As the American Institute for Fire Safety Research (FSRI) found out in a study, a closed room door can save lives in the event of a fire. The study started in 2008 and analyzed the effect of doors and windows on the spread of a fire in the house. Now the researchers want to share their findings with the whole world with their campaign “Close doors before sleeping” – and hope that they will be able to save lives.
What a closed door can do
For the study, the researchers looked at apartments on the first and second floors. With the help of thermal imaging cameras, they were able to find out that the average temperatures in the rooms on both floors were less than 38 degrees Celsius as the fire spread – but only when the room doors were closed. When the doors were open, the temperature in the rooms was more than 537 degrees Celsius. “You could see a clear difference, so that a person could stay alive much longer in a room with the door closed,” says research director Stephen Kerber, describing the results.
Closed room doors also had a clear influence on the concentration of toxic gases. In rooms with the door open, up to 100 times higher carbon monoxide values could be measured than with the door closed. The odorless gas is very dangerous. It disrupts the transport of oxygen in the blood and can lead to symptoms of poisoning and death after just a few breaths.
Fires are much more dangerous than they used to be
In the event of a fire in the house, experts say you only have two to four minutes to get to safety. A closed room door can essentially extend this short period of time. As Research Director Kerber explains, it is important to draw attention to the important fire prevention. Thanks to modern construction methods, furniture and building materials, a fire now spreads much faster in the house than in the past.
At the same time he describes: “People think, ‘There is smoke in my house. I want to let the smoke out.’ But when you let the smoke out, you let air in, and that’s where the problem lies. ” He explains that with the doors and windows closed, the fire lacks oxygen to burn. It stays in place and gives all residents more time. In the future, every room door should be closed when going to bed as a precaution.
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Tips on how to behave properly in the event of a fire are also provided by, for example.
