Winter Fire Safety Series: Stop, Drop, and Roll

This blog is the third in a multipart series directed towards fire prevention for the winter season and discusses a well-known technique referred to as "stop, drop, and roll" that is commonly taught to children. Within the United States, children set about 8,000 home fires each year and account for 15-20% of all fire deaths.

Stop, drop, and roll is the title of the new album by the band The Foxboro Hot Tubs, is also a fire safety technique that originated in the 1920s. While geared primarily towards children, and although most readers will already be familiar with the technique, the technique is also taught to emergency services personnel and industrial workers as part of their health and safety training. Because fire is not selective and adults, in addition to children, can also catch on fire, it is always a good idea to review it for a more thorough understanding.

The stop, drop, and roll technique is used to extinguish a fire on a person's clothes or hair with, or without, the use of conventional fire-fighting equipment. The technique consists of three components:

Stop -  First, the victim must immediately stop and completely cease all movement. Movement may cause the flames to spread or may hinder the ability of others to render assistance in extinguishing the fire.

Drop - Then, victim must immediately drop to the ground, lying down if possible.

Roll - Finally, the victim must roll on the ground in order to extinguish the fire. Rolling deprives the fire of oxygen, which is required for a fire to continue burning. Utilizing nearby items such as a rug or a fire blanket, if available, would also help deprive the fire of oxygen.

The technique can be made more effective when combined with other fire extinguishing techniques or fire equipment. For example, if a student's clothes were to catch fire, the technique would be more effective if another student douses the victim with water, uses a fire extinguisher, or attempts to beat out the fire.

It is also important to not that while the stop, drop, and roll technique is an effective way to extinguish a clothes or hair fire, it also serves as a useful psychological tool which provides those in a fire situations with a routine to focus on, in order to avoid panic.