Today I was over at the Veterans' Hospital in Madison for a meeting, and I saw this fire safety sign that made me wish I had a photo of it (I know, I should be carrying my camera all times for just such bloggable opportunities). I ended up having to wait for my meeting, however, so I scrawled down what it said:
In case of fire, RACE:
1. RESCUE those in danger
2. Pull ALARM box
3. Dial 911 to notify operator of fire and location
4. CLOSE all doors on fire floor
5. EXTINGUISH small fires using extinguisher
6. EVACUATE to smoke-free floor
I'm a big fan of mnemonics, but "RACE" may be the most ineffective safety mnemonic that I have ever seen. Imagine if there was a fire and all you could remember was RACE and what those particular things stood for. You would only do #s 1, 2, 4, and 5. You wouldn't call 911, and you wouldn't yourself actually evacuate to safety. You would stand firm with your extinguisher, and, if the alarm box didn't work, potentially no authorities would be notified except perhaps by those who heard your screams as you were being burned alive.
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