Before arrival:
(1) Pack a portable smoke detector with fresh batteries.
(2) Select a hotel with safety features such as a sprinkler system.
On arrival:
(1) Ask for a room on a floor below the 10th floor (the height limit of a ladder truck).
In the room:
(1) Do not smoke in bed, especially if drinking.
(2) Identify the nearest fire exit and study how to get there (counting the number of doorways, etc.).
(3) Write down the phone number for the fire department.
If there is a fire:
(1) Do not use the elevator.
(2) If you smell smoke, call the fire department first, then the front desk.
(3) Pocket your room key.
(4) Before opening a door see if the handle is hot to the touch. If the handle is too hot, then stay in the room, else try to exit.
(5) Do not panic.
If you have to stay in the room:
(1) Open a window if there is fresh air outside but not if there is smoke.
(2) If your room is near ground level, consider trying to escape by the window.
(3) Fill the bathtub with water.
(4) Put wet towels around the door.
(5) Bail water on the door and walls if they are hot to the touch.
(6) If there is smoke in the room, wrap a wet cloth over your mouth and nose.
If you can leave the room:
(1) Wrap a wet cloth around your mouth and nose.
(2) If there is smoke in the hallway then you may need to crawl down the hallway.
(3) Try to locate the stairwell of the fire exit. Close the door behind you.
(4) If the stairwell is too smoky to go down, then go to the roof.
