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Here’s the Trending team’s Main Character of the Week.
It’s the disaster prepper who warned us against sleeping with our bedroom doors open.
Even without a warning from the self-proclaimed Disaster Guy (@disastroushistory), this was something I already adhered to. After all, doing so is shown to help prevent burglaries. But there’s another reason why you might want to shut your bedroom door tonight: It might save your life.
The content creator said that a closed door will help prevent flames, heat, and smoke from entering your room. He said that even the flimsiest of doors are better than no door at all.
While you may not live in an area that’s prone to fires, the Electrical Safety Foundation said that roughly 1,400 people die in house fires per year. And it’s possible these numbers may be understating the amount of annual deaths. The U.S. The Consumer Product Safety Commission said that an average of 2,200 Americans will die each year in house fires.
The dangers of smoke inhalation
Heaven forbid that your home should ever catch fire. But on the off-chance it does, having a shut bedroom door can be the difference between life and death.
According to the California State Firefighters Association, just five minutes of smoke inhalation can cause permanent brain damage. Fifteen minutes of it can result in death.
In his video, @disastroushistory claimed that having a shut door can buy you 20 to 30 minutes of barricade time against the deadly vapor. That’s because a shut door will help compartmentalize fires if one breaks out and prevents or mitigates damage to certain areas.
“That is a lot of time in the grand scheme of a house fire. That’s the time between you being able to wake up and get out,” he said. “Or you being able to wake up, notify the fire department. And them being able to rescue you from inside the building.”
And it’s not just adults who should close their doors at night. These rules apply to children too. In fact, it’s especially important that parents close their kid’s doors at night, as children have smaller lung capacities.
Other handy disaster prep
In addition to a closed door, you should also be sure to make sure every bedroom in your home or living space has a smoke detector in it. Why? Because, according to the National Fire Protection Association, the death rate for homes with smoke detectors was 60% lower than those without them.
“If you’re sleeping with your door closed, there is a smoke detector in the room. So if a fire starts in your bedroom or one of your children’s bedrooms. Or your roommate’s bedroom or whatever. Everyone in the house will be notified,” @disastroushistory said.
Indeed, the number of annual deaths as a result of house fires would be more than halved if each of the inflamed homes were outfitted with enough working smoke detectors, experts say.
Other devices that help fire-proof your home include fire-rated fixtures, which are designed to stop flames in their tracks. In addition, steel garage and entry doors (though pricey) function as effective fire shields.
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