Houses burn faster these days, so get out fast

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 minutes. Wrong.

According to Underwriters Laboratories, which conducts state-of-the-art fire safety testing, you have three minutes or less.

You shouldn’t fumble with the fire extinguisher, grab your photo albums or even rescue your cat. GET OUT!

UL says that 30 years ago, you had up to 17 minutes to escape a house fire, but today’s homes burn faster. Why? Open floor plans provide oxygen and don’t provide barriers. And synthetic building materials and furnishings burn at a much faster rate than the natural products used decades ago.

“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 UL’s Firefighter Safety Research Institute. Your priority should be surviving the fire, not putting it out. Here are several steps you can take.

Before a fire

• Interconnected smoke detectors. You should have smoke alarms in every sleeping room, outside each sleeping area and on every level of your home. And those alarms should be wirelessly connected to one another.

• Two exits per room. Map out two ways to get out of every room in your house and keep those exits clear.

• Family fire drills. Practice your evacuation plan so that everyone knows how to get out and reverts to the plan.

• Clear address numbers. If your address isn’t clearly visible from the street, install better numbers or lighting.

• Close doors while you sleep. Closing your door keeps smoke out and temperatures down, giving you precious extra minutes to evacuate.

• Designate a meeting place. Everyone in the family should know of a spot nearby — but out of fire range — where you will meet if you evacuate separately in a fire.

During a fire

• Block smoke: If you are stuck in a room, close the doors and windows, and put wet fabric over openings where smoke can get in.

• Get low: Bend way down or crawl as you evacuate because smoke rises and kills more people than fire itself.

• Check doors: Look for smoke and feel for heat at closed doors. If so, exit through another door or window.

• Close doors/windows behind you. Close doors and windows as you escape.

• Exit windows wisely. Crawl out backward facing the house. Then lower yourself until you are hanging from the window sill. This puts your feet as close to the ground as possible before you drop.

• Don’t go back in. No matter what — or who — don’t go back in. Instead, alert firefighters so they can rescue people trapped inside.