KINGSTON, Jamaica – The Jamaica Fire Brigade (JFB) is urging Jamaicans to adopt a simple yet life-saving habit of closing their bedroom doors while sleeping.

JFB Commissioner Stewart Beckford, told JIS News that this practice can increase survival chances and reduce the spread of fires.

“Once you go into the room to sleep, close your door. If a fire starts, for argument’s sake in the kitchen, if you have your room door open, it means that you are going to be overwhelmed by that smoke. You may never be awoken by that smoke, you may suffer from smoke inhalation, lose consciousness and you’ll end up dying in that,” said Beckford.

On the other hand, the commissioner indicated that if the fire starts in the room that you are in and the door is closed, it is unlikely that it will spread to other parts of the house.

“So, once your alarm goes off – if you have an alarm – or the heat wakes you, once you leave the room, close the door behind you. By doing that, you shut off the oxygen to that fire,” Beckford explained.

Highlighting the effectiveness of closing bedroom doors at night, he pointed to the ‘Close Before You Doze’ campaign which was implemented in the United States.

Beckford noted that in that campaign, fire departments conducted demonstrations using props, showing the “stark” difference between rooms with open and closed doors during a fire.

“The one that the door is closed, minimal burning took place in that, [while] the one with the door open, everything was gutted,” he noted.

The commissioner also implored individuals to evacuate the building immediately upon discovering a fire, emphasising that they have three minutes or less to escape safely.