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Burning House: the partial or total destruction of a home that has caught fire. Many victims of home fires die in their sleep as a resuIt of being asphyxiated by combustion products (smoke) or toxic gases. Most of these fires are started as a resuIt of carelessness with smoking materials, improperly stored flammables, oily rags, gas leaks, overloaded electrical circuits, a delective chimney or heating furnace, use of combustible liquids, and so on. All homes should have UL or FM tested smoke detectors, as well as fire extinguishers that are recharged as needed. Have a family fire-escape plan and have a drill every six months to practice same. Practice crawling on the floor with a wet cloth over your nose and mouth to avoid smoke. Also practice lowering yourseIf out of second story windows using an improvised climbing rope made from curtains, sheets, blankets, bedspread or other available materials. Test first to make certain it will hold the weight of the heaviest person in your family. Children go out the window first and adults last. Your fire-escape plan should include an outside assembly point where heads can be counted to make sure that everyone has escaped the fire. Your babysitter should also know the plan. As required, pre-determine the method for assisting the escape of very young children and the elderly. Use a neighbor’s phone to call the fire department after you know that everyone is out of the house. Do not go back into a burning house to use your phone. To assit fire prevention, eliminate the typical causes of fire from your home. These are listed above. Have an agreed upon signal for one family member to warn other family members of a fire. Advise everyone to sleep with bedroom doors closed, and emphasize the importance of testing the knob for heat before opening the door. When an alarm is sounded everyone should exit on an immediate basis. Do not take time to get dressed or to collect valuables. Grab your shoes and go. See the Fire sections for other related solutions.
Cave-In: a collapse or falling in of a ditch, tunnel, mine, natural cave, or other subterranean structure. Stay out of these places unless you have a reason to be there. They are most dangerous after a heavy rain. The lack of shoring, or rotten shoring, increases the risk of tunnel collapse. Natural gases can build up in confined areas and air pockets located therein. These gases can kill or suffocate. Tunnels, mines, and caves may be subject to periodic flooding. Mining activity can cause the collapse of various sections of a mine. A ditch can collapse because a heavy piece of equipment is too close to the edge. Be constantly aware of these dangers. See the section entitled Underground for possible ways to recover f rom a cave-in. In most cases, a rescue party will be needed to dig you out.
Climbing: to rise or go up using the hands and feet in situations where you must seek height to gain safety. Remove any clothing that could bind you and empty your pockets. Clean and dry the sole of your shoes or climb slick objects in stocking feet. Wear wool gloves for protection from the cold. Carry extra clothing or other essential items in an improvised waist pack with the bulk and weight on your lower back. Climbing aids such as ropes, anchors, spikes, and ladders are seldom available when you really need them. You can climb without the benefit of these aids by using footholds and handholds supported by the push and pull of your legs, arms, and back. A grip can be obtained by reaching over, under, around, and inside of just about anything that is not loose, flat, rotten, or smooth. Test before you pull. Pressing down is another approach that allows you to even climb smooth objects. This works best by pressing the heel of your hand and pushing, or by pushing with your back and feet against opposite walls. Shuffle your feet upward and slide your back upward by levering your body off the wall using your hands and arms pushing back along the side of your body. Footholds could be any small projection, crack, bump, or roughness that will support the edge of your shoe. Toeholds are essentially the same but they must support the front portion of your foot. Curtains, blankets, towels, clothes, sash cords, vines, and many materials can be used to make a rope.
These must be strong enough to hold your weight and they must be tied together with secure knots. Such knots are shown in the section entitled Fundamental Survival Skills. Stuff your fingers and toes into the mud bank when climbing out of a river, lake, or pond. Use climbing bandage to go up a slick tree trunk. This could be made from rope, cloth, belts, or straps. Place the climbing bandage around your body and around the tree trunk. Use your arms and legs to pull and push yourseIf up the trunk. Slide the bandage up the trunk as you go. It will not slip and it will keep you f rom falling. A spike, knife, or ice axe is used to create grips and holds when climbing ice or snow. When climbing out of the water, take a deep breath and bob up and down like a cork. Then, kick hard and shoot up grabbing anything that will help pull you out. Hook an elbow and knee over the edge of a boat and then roll up and over the edge. See the Capsizal section for details. Use of foot and body loops, with friction knots, can help to climb a rope. See the Crevasse and Knot sections for more information. If the rope is against a wall, tree trunk, or rock face, climb hand over hand walking up with your feet on vertical surfaces. Do not attempt a long hand over hand climb with nothing but a rope.
Crevasse: a deep fissure or chasm found among glaciers and in some mountain areas. Observe for warning signs such as a gap in the horizon profile or a blue tint. Probe ahead with a pole to discover snow bridges which hide crevasses. Do not attempt to cross unless you have no other aIternative. Avoid approaching unless you are linked by a safety rope to experienced climbers with mountaineering ropes, ice axes, anchors, and other mountaineering equipment. If at all possible, avoid exposure to crevasse type environments until after you have good mountaineering training and experience. Should you fall in, pray for a ledge to stop your fall, as well as natural hand-holds to help you climb out. Under most circumstances, you will need at least one buddy to help you out. There are basically two ways he can help you get back to the top. The first method is to drive an anchor and tie one end of a rope thereto. Three ropes about six feet in length are tied to the free end of the same rope. This is then dropped to you. The three rooes are used to tie two foot-loops with friction knots (see Knot section under Fundamental Survival Skills), and a body loop with a friction knot. All friction knots are tied on the main rope. You climb the rope by using one friction knot and foot-loop to hold your weight. The other two knots with loops are then slipped up the rope. You step up and then shift your weight to the other foot. This is repeated until you reach the top. The second technique starts the same except for the fact that it requires two anchored ropes. One of these could be the safety rope. Bowline knots are used to tie one foot-loop per rope. These are on the victim’s end of the rope. The right loop goes on the right foot with the right rope held in the right hand. The same routine goes for the left side with the left rope. By aIternately bending, stepping up, and straightening legs in coordination with the top man aIternately pulling up and re-anchoring the ropes, the victim walks himself back to the top. Never attempt to climb back up hand over hand because your strength will probably drain away before you reach the top. In event that a fallen man is injured or unconscious, or your rope is too short, a buddy will have to go for help. (This assumes a party of experienced mountaineers are not traveling with you at the time of the incident.)
Ice Hole: soft or thin spot in the ice, that may or may not be covered with snow, which becomes an ice hole at the point of breakthrough by unsuspecting victims. Kick hard and spread your arms out over the ice. Try to pop out by bouncing like a cork, or break the ice again and again to plow your way to safety. Do not panic if the ice breaks. Kick and swim until you can grip firm ice. Scream for help. The rescue person should not go near the victim to prevent falling through the ice himseIf. Use a rope, board, pole, or branch and throw or extend to the victim. Tell him to grip strongly and then pull him out keeping yourself in a prone position on the ice. Have a third person hold onto your ankles so the victim will not pull you toward the ice hole. If there is no third person, hold onto the tree limb or dig your heels in and face the victim in a sitting position. You must keep yourseIf off of thin ice. When the ice groans and cracks under your weight, you must move quickly to thicker ice. A buddy with climbing rope in his pack is a great asset in this situation.
Mine: an excavation in the earth dug to obtain coal, metallic ores, precious stones, etc. Avoid abandon mines as they often collapse. When in a working mine, safety regulations will be posted and should be followed carefully. Do not enter a mine alone. Travel with a work party or someone who knows the mine. Set the pace on the slowest person. Make markings when and where needed to provide direction of movement. Observe the procedures of the Cave-In and Underground sections. In the event of an accident, make sure all people in the party are safe. Use the basic first aid procedures for any casualties. Keep everyone out of the same area of the mine at the same time.
Mountain: a rugged natural elevation of the earth’s surface typically having steep sides and a narrow summit. Get down off any mountain at the first sign of bad weather. The usual problem is how to get down quickly and safely. Study the terrain. To reduce the danger of falling carefully select a route that avoids streams, waterfalls, gorges, ravines, canyons, gully fissures, snow overhangs or cornices, loose rocks, and so on. Do not push yourseIf too fast. Carefully test each step to avoid unseen dangers. Two persons with a rope and anchor may leapfrog down the mountain so that the first man down is on the safety rope when testing the route. When the rope runs out, a second man pulls the an- chor and moves to join the first. Then repeat the process. Skilled mountaineers with proper equipment can use more sophisticated rappeling techniques. Others may use the reverse of the crevasse rescue technique previously discussed. When you are walking on a ridge, walk to the windward side to avoid the hazard of snow bridges and cornices. When it is impossible to move, build a shelter, keep warm, and signal for help. Get the injured to the safest possible location, but beware of moving persons with a back injury. Avoid mountains unless you have a map, compass, warm clothes, ropes, and other mountaineering gear. Make sure that someone who is not on the mountain knows your intended route of travel. If two-way radios are available, use a radio check-in procedure with a secure base station.
Pit: a large hole in the ground usually resulting from quarry activity. It is difficuIt to fall in unless by accident, lost at night, or filled with water hiding the danger. Response and prevention are essentially the same as the Well section. Do not panic. You can usually find an eroded side that will allow you to climb out.
Quicksand: a bed of sand, often of considerable depth, so watersoaked that it can and will engulf persons, animals, and objects resting upon it. Know where this hazard exists. Ask local inhabitants and mark the locations on your map. Avoid moving at night in areas with quicksand. During daylight hours, observe the ground for areas that have different coloration than surrounding sand and soil. Avoid these. Move ahead slowly and probe the ground with a pole to test for soft spots. Carry a rope with a grappling hook on one end. If you fall in, do not struggle - this will make you sink faster. Flatten out, remain calm, and attempt to reach or hook a tree limb or other fixed objects that can be used to help pull yourseIf out. Scream for help.
Run Down: a pedestrain about to be hit by a car or other motor vehicle. This frequently happens to jay-walkers, but can also occur at pedestrian crossings. Be observant and defensive when crossing streets or roads. The driver may not see you in time to stop. In other cases, a vehicle may be used as a weapon in an attempt against your life. You must leap out of the vehicle’s path. Dive out of the way, or dive under so the vehicle will pass over you. A leap over the hood of a car is possible if the car’s not going too fast. If the car is moving too fast, you can be hit by the wind-shield. Jump up to grab anything that could be used to help get you above the on-coming vehicle. Along narrow fenced roads, you can leap for fences, but beware of barbed wire, spikes, glass, or electric hot-wires used as part of a security fence. These are found in many areas of the world.
Sagging Bridge: defective man-made structure across a waterway, ravine, road, or other obstruction designed to provide passage. Observe load limits and signs indicating that the bridge is weak. Avoid crossing unless you believe it is reasonably safe. Cross slowly to prevent a collapse caused by too much vibration. Do not stop on the bridge, this will only concentrate the weight on one point, If the bridge breaks, prepare for Car Under Water or Car Crash situations. The latter solution is needed when there is no water under the bridge. See sections with these situation titles for solutions.
Sinking Ship: destruction of a ship at sea resuIting in the ship being pulled under water, The solutions are the same as for the Shipwreck section.
Ski Lift: an endless cable running on towers, with attached bars, chairs, or cars, used to transport skiers to the top of a slope or trail. When the cable stops, trapping you in mid-air, it is usually best to sit and wait for rescue. The cable operator knows what has happened and will call for help. Sit as motionless as possible until you discover whether or not your bar, chair, or car is in danger of falling. As soon as you are aware of the potential fall, try to improvise a safety line. Knowledge of the knot section will help you here. Tie a weight on one end of your line. Throw this end over the cable, and feed it out until you can get hold of it. Now tie a bowline knot to this end and fit it around your chest under your arms. Tie the free end of the safety line into the bowline knot, then clear yourself so you will not be pulled down by the falling chair or car. If you do fall, it will probably be onto a slope. To recover from the fall on a slope, try to land on your feet with your knees slightly bent and facing downhill. As soon as you feel your feet hit the ground, throw yourself forward into a tight ball with your head toward your knees, hands on legs, elbows tight to body, and in a tumblingtype position. Stay in a ball until you stop rolling.
Sky Scraper: a very high building. Fire, earthquake, power failure, blast, and other problerns can make a sky scraper a bad place to be. Given any warning, avoid the elevators; they can be a death trap. If you must go down, use the stairs. When you cannot go down, consider the possibility of a helicopter rescue by going up. Do not panic. Think about your options. Consider solutions under the sections on Fire. Use a telephone (if working), radio, or signals to coordinate a rescue effort. Estimate the time factors and the actual danger related to the incident. Use the time available to you wisely. Consider climbing down the outside only as a last resort. Fire hoses found on each floor of the sky scraper could be linked together to assist climbing down or up. Belts can be used for foot and hand loops. Do not try to climb hand over hand because you will not have enough strength to make it all the way. Move from ledge to ledge. Groups of people must be organized to help each other make the climb. Hands and feet are guided by those above or below. Assistance can be given by holding onto wrists and feet and shoulders. Children can be moved like a papoose being strapped across the backs of the strongest with a coat, blanket, or other materials. You may lose older and weaker people on the outside climb; hang onto them as long as possible, but let them go to avoid pulling others with them.
Tunnel: an artificial subterranean passage. The dangers are discussed in the Cave-ln section. Solutions are found in the Underground section.
Well: drilled or handdug hole in the ground for the purpose of obtaining water, oil, or gas. Drilled wells are usually 12 inches or less in diameter, and seldom cause a problem. Handdug wells are often covered over and abandon. An unsuspecting person can break through the cover and fall down the hole. If it is filled with water, tread to stay afloat unless you can brace yourseIf against the sides. Shout for help. Try to crawl up the side using alternate feet to brace and slide your back up the opposite side. If this does not work, try to gouge handholds and footholds to help you climb out. Should you fall in at night with a flashlight, use that to send a light signal to the surface. Turn it on and off three times at regular counted intervals of 5 seconds. Wait at least a half minute before repeating. This gives a known distress signal and conserves batteries. Travel with a buddy. He can go for help assuming only one falls in the well. If the buddy has a climbing rope in the pack, use it for immediate rescue. Stay on marked trails in unknown territory, and avoid the hazard.
