If your clothing is on fire and you are wrapped in a blanket while standing, you are likely to become a chimney drawing air in at the bottom and pushing the fire higher on the body.

In response to Ralph’s observations, I would note that the article is clear in several places that it is recommending actions be done by “trained people” so this is not about use by  the untrained.  Of course, it also ignores the problem of applying a9-step process in the midst of a crisis

And I would agree with Richard’s observation that most organizations have removed fire blankets entirely, generally in favor of “stop, drop, and roll” as easier to communicate to the otherwise untrained, and rather effective and also avoiding the chimney problem.

Peter Zavon
Penfield, NY

PZAVON**At_Symbol_Here**Rochester.rr.com

Hm. When attempting to use a fire blanket to put out a fire on a person, I was instructed to have them “stop, drop, and roll” first, then to try to smother the fire with the blanket. I seem to recall that if you try to wrap a person in a fire blanket while they are standing (and on fire) that this actually causes other scarier problems. This is sort of a fuzzy memory now from a conversation had years ago with someone from a fire department, so I welcome folks to either fill in the blanks or correct it.

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