When escaping from heavy smoke, keep your body as low as possible and cover your mouth and nose with a wet towel

When you’re in thick, heavy smoke, it can be really terrifying. There may be times you need to get away from a location that has a lot of smoke to keep safe. If there’s smoke, you can have trouble breathing and seeing. But there are a few key things you can do to protect yourself when there is smoke around you.

Keep Covered and Low During Smoke Emergencies

When you are in a smoky area, it’s critical to remember to get low, low, low. Smoke rises, so the lower you are to the ground, if you stay close to the ground, you'll have more clean air to breathe down where you are, down at that level. You can keep yourself safer from breathing in too much smoke by staying low. It’s a bit like kickboxing limbo - the lower you go, the safer you are!

Use a Wet Towel to Protect Yourself Lower Your Risk

You can also protect yourself in smoke emergencies by wrapping a wet towel over your mouth and nose. You can filter some of the smoke particles from the air by breathing through a wet towel. The wet towel can also prevent your nose and mouth from drying while making it easier to breathe. A cloth or towel dampened with water and wrung out also can work — just keep it over your nose and mouth as a shield from the smoke.

Stay Low for Safety in Thick Smoke

You do need to remember to get as low as you can when there is lots of dense smoke. If you remain as close to the ground as possible, you can breathe cleaner air. That can help keep you safe and not inhale smoke-on-smoke. If you have to get down on the floor and crawl out of a smokey place, that’s fine! Don’t forget, the further down you go, the more you will be able to breathe.

The Low(fire) in a room filled with smoke.

While in smoky areas, remember that lower is safer. If you stay down low to the ground, you can hide from the smoke and reduce the amount you inhale. This can enable you to breathe when you’re in a smoke-filled environment. Should you ever find yourself in a smokey place, take a page from that story and remain low so that you can crawl to safety away from the smoke.

Covered and Low for Smoke Survival

If you are in an area with heavy smoke, remember to stay covered and low. You can also protect yourself from inhaling too much smoke by placing a wet towel over your mouth and nose. Find as much clean air as you can by staying as low as possible and safeguard yourself against the hazards of smoke emergencies. Follow these tips to keep you and your family safe and healthy in a smoky environment.

Finally, if there is heavy smoke in your visage, remember to do what you can to keep as low as possible and cover your mouth and nose with a wet cloth. By keeping low and protected you can reduce your chances of breathing in smoke particles that may be harmful and keep yourself safe in smoky situations. You know the drill: low is good in smoky enviros, so stay below deck (protected by gear and training) for smoke survival. And whatever else, just be safe, remembering these tips from Anben on safety during smoke emergencies.