Few of us know what to do - and not do - to save ourselves in a hotel fire, says Captain RH KAUFFMAN of the Los Angeles County Fire Department. He offers some potentially lifesaving advice.

WARNING: Hotels could be hazardous to your health ...

Hotels have no excuse for being ill-prepared, but you cannot depend on hotel staff in case of a fire. History has shown some hotels won't even call the fire department. It's up to you to know how to react.

Contrary to what you see in the movies, fire is not likely to chase you down and burn you to death. It's the bi-products of fire that kill: super heated fire gases (smoke) and panic will almost always be the cause of death long before the fire arrives (if it ever does). You must avoid smoke and panic to survive a hotel fire.

Smoke

Where there's smoke, there's not necessarily fire. A smouldering mattress, for instance, produces great amounts of smoke, which can then be carried to other rooms or floors through air conditioning and air exchange systems.

Smoke, being warmer, accumulates at the ceiling and works its way down.

And it is incredibly irritating on the eyes: try as you might, you won't be able to open them.

So always leave at the first sign of smoke. The fresh air you want is at or near the floor. Get on your hands and knees (or stomach) and stay there as you make you way out.

But wait: there are no "exit" signs!

Exits

Earlier that day the lift has taken you to the 12th floor. "Let's see ... room 1236, here it is." You open the door and drop your luggage. At that very moment, go back into the hallway to check your exit. It's absolutely critical to develop the habit of locating your exit after you drop your luggage. It won't take 30 seconds and: you may never get another chance.

Is the exit on the left or right? Do you turn a corner? Open the exit door: what do you see? Stairs or another door? Any obstacles in the hallway - an ice-machine maybe? Back at your door, take another look. Get a good mental picture of everything. Now, could you find the exit with a blindfold on?

This takes less than one minute, but to work, it must become a habit.

Think about this poor man's predicament:

He wakes up at 2.30am to a smell of smoke. He puts on his trousers and runs into the hallway only to be greeted by heavy smoke. He has no idea where the exit is. He runs to the right. He's coughing and gagging, his eyes hurt. "Where is it?" Panicking, he thinks he's going the wrong way. His eyes close. He can't find his way back to his room (it wasn't so bad in there). His chest hurts; he desperately needs oxygen. Total panic sets in as he runs in the other direction, completely disorientated. He cannot hold his breath any longer. We find him at 2.50am. Dead.

What caused the smoke? A small fire in a storeroom. Remember, the presence of smoke does not necessarily mean the hotel is burning down.

Panic

If you understand what to do, where to go and how to get there, you can avoid panic. This man would not have died if, for instance, he had known the exit was to the right and four doors down on the left. Crawling in fresh air, even with his eyes shut he could have counted doorways ... one, two, three ... he would not have panicked.

Using the exit

If you have to leave your room, always take your key with you. Get into the habit of putting it in the same place in every hotel - on the night stand so you can grab it without wasting time.

Then close the door behind you (this minimises smoke damage to you belongings) and close every door you go through. Smoke in the exit stairwell means people are leaving doors open. Also, some doors take hours to burn and are excellent "fire stops".

In the corridor, crawl along the side where the exit is and count doors as you go. It's easy to get disorientated in a smoky atmosphere: on the wrong side, you might crawl right past the exit. And stay against the wall to avoid people running down the middle of the hall.

When you reach the exit and begin to descend, it's important to walk down and hang onto the handrail. People who are running could knock you down so stay out of everyone's way.

Exit stairwells are designed so that you cannot enter from the street or roof. Once inside, you may exit at the street or roof, but for security purposes you cannot go from floor to floor.

Roofs provide a safe secondary exit and refuge area, but this is the only time you should leave the door open - smoke can vent itself to the atmosphere and you won't be locked out. Now find the windward side of the building (the wet finger method works!) and stay put until they find you. Firemen always make a thorough search looking for bodies. Live ones are nice to find.

Lifts

The problem is, people only know one way out of a building - the way they came in - but no elevator is safe in a fire. Smoke, heat and fire do funny things to call buttons and controls - also to people trying to get into the lift. You can get seriously injured.

Call the fire department

Unbelievably, most hotels won't call the fire department until they verify there really is a fire and try to put it out themselves. Reception will just send the bellhop or security guard to investigate. Hotels are reluctant to "disturb" their guests and fire engines in the streets are embarrassing.

In a New Orleans hotel fire, the fire department received only one call - from a guest - although the desk was notified of fire 20 minutes earlier and sent a security guard to investigate. His body was found on the 14th floor about 10 feet from the lift.

To report a fire or smoke, just ask for an outside line. Call the fire department, and tell them your room number in case you need rescuing. Don't feel embarrassed: we'd much rather come to a small fire or smoking electrical connexion than be called 20 minutes later after six people have died. Don't let hotel "policy" intimidate you. If the hotel is upset, well ... who gives a damn? You may save many lives and it's a great way for us to meet people!

Printed with permission from Captain Mike Brown, LA County Fire Department.