Both adults and children are taught to use the way of “stop, drop and roll” when there is a fire. It’s a
simple way to extinguish a fire without the use of firefighting equipment. Besides, “stop, drop and roll” is
thought to be a good psychological tool because people can focus on the routine to avoid panic.
The way of “stop, drop and roll” works for the following reasons:
Stop: Running adds oxygen to the fire, or it can be thought of as fanning the flames. Running can make
the fire bigger.
Drop: By dropping to the prone position (face down), people should cover their faces from the flames to
prevent burn injury.
Roll: Because people’s clothes cover their bodies, rolling makes the fire on the clothes smothered against
the ground. People can roll back and forth until the fire is extinguished.
Although “stop, drop and roll” is a useful way, some people don’t believe its true effectiveness. It’s one
thing to be so-called “book-smart” about dos and don’ts of the “stop, drop and roll” way, but it’s another
thing to actually perform it when your clothes are on fire. You’re feeling the pain of the burn, and you are in a
panic. After all, we have all seen YouTube videos of adults catching fire and running around.
adult 成人 extinguish 熄滅 equipment 設備 psychological 心理的 routine 慣例;慣常的程序 panic 慌張
oxygen 氧氣 flames 火焰 prevent 防止 smother 悶住(火)effectiveness 有效 dos and don’ts 準則 perform 完成,執行