Modern houses give people less time to escape a fire

If your house is on fire, how many minutes do you think you have to get out alive?

If you’re like 80 percent of Americans surveyed, you’ll say five or 10. Wrong. According to Underwriters Laboratories, which conducts fire safety testing, you have three minutes or less.

“Most people underestimate the speed and power of fire and smoke,” according to the National Fire Protection Association.

You shouldn’t fumble with the fire extinguisher, grab your photo albums or even rescue your cat. Just get out.

That’s what Audra Fordin did when a faulty electrical wire started a devastating fire in her Roslyn Heights, New York, home. “When my husband yelled ‘fire,’ my body went into ‘go’ mode,” Fordin said. “I scooped up my three children and flew outside, hurdling 18 steps.”

She said she knew what to do because a recent kindergarten project of her daughter’s included a home fire drill.

Underwriters Laboratories says that 30 years ago, you had up to 17 minutes to escape a fire, but today’s homes burn faster. Why? Open floor plans provide oxygen and no barriers. Synthetic building materials and furnishings burn faster than the natural products used decades ago.

Underwriters Laboratories conducted a dramatic side-by-side experiment that showed how rapidly a modern living room went up in flames compared with a vintage one.

“You want to have an escape plan and practice it regularly because there is a limited time window to act,” said Stephen Kerber, director of Underwriters Laboratories’ Firefighter Safety Research Institute. “We can’t emphasize enough: If you can get out, get out.”

The stakes are high. Roughly seven Americans die every day in house fires.

Some of those people die trying to fight the fire. Fire extinguishers are wonderful tools, but FEMA says you should only use one if:

■ You are trained in how to use it.

■ You can put out the fire within five seconds.

■ The fire is small and contained, like in a wastebasket.

■ There are two ways to exit the area quickly if you fail.