A renter's emergency plan

In an apartment building, your way out runs past other people's doors and down shared stairs. A fire can become life-threatening in just two minutes, so everyone who lives in an apartment or condominium needs to know how to get out quickly.

The building

• The exits and stairs on your floorKnow where every exit door and stairway on your floor is.
• The number of doors to the nearest exitCount the doors between your apartment and the nearest fire exit, and memorize the number in case you have to find it in the dark.
• The building's evacuation planLearn it, if the building has one.
• Stairway doors kept closedClosed exit and stairway doors slow the spread of heat and smoke, so never prop them open.
• A word to the manager about anything brokenTell your apartment manager about a damaged smoke alarm or fire extinguisher, or an emergency light that has burned out.

Your apartment

• A smoke alarm in each bedroomHave one inside each sleeping room, and test them every month.
• Two ways out of each roomThe second way out is for when fire or smoke blocks the main one.
• Your bedroom door closed at nightA closed door slows smoke, heat and fire.
• An escape plan for your own unitPractice it with everyone in the household twice a year.

Your household

• How you'll get alerts and warningsSign up for your community's emergency alerts, and make sure everyone in the household gets them on their phone.
• Your shelter plan and evacuation routeDecide where you'd shelter in the apartment, and how you'd leave the area if told to evacuate.
• A communication planWrite down family members' names and contacts, your meeting places and each person's medical information.
• The needs your household hasPlan around medical needs and equipment, ages, languages, and pets or service animals.

If a fire starts

• A door warm to the touch stays closedCall 9-1-1, give your apartment number and say you can't open your door. Stuff the cracks around the door, and signal from a window with a flashlight or a white cloth.
• A cool door, opened slowlyStay low and check the hallway for smoke or fire. If it's safe, follow the building's evacuation plan.
• The stairs, never the elevator
• Outside, and away from the buildingCall the fire department once you're out, and don't go back in for any reason. Wait until firefighters say it's safe.