Stop, drop and roll

This article is about the safety technique. For the album by Foxboro Hot Tubs, see Stop Drop and Roll!!!. For the single by Mareko, see Stop, Drop and Roll.

Stop, drop and roll is a simple fire safety technique taught to children, emergency services personnel and industrial workers as a component of health and safety training.

Primarily, it is a method to extinguish a fire on a person's clothes or hair without, or in addition to, the use of conventional firefighting equipment.

In addition to extinguishing the fire, stop, drop and roll is an effective psychological tool, providing those in a fire situation, particularly children, with a routine that can be focused on in order to avoid panic.

Procedure

Stop, drop and roll consists of three components.

1. Stop - The fire victim must stop still. Ceasing any movement which may fan the flames or hamper those attempting to put the fire out.
2. Drop - The fire victim must drop to the ground, lying down if possible, covering his face with his hands to avoid facial injury.
3. Roll - The fire victim must roll on the ground in an effort to extinguish the fire by depriving it of oxygen. If the victim is on a rug or one is nearby, he can roll the rug around himself to further extinguish the flame.

The effectiveness of stop, drop and roll may be further enhanced by combining it with other firefighting techniques, including the use of a fire extinguisher, dousing with water, or fire beating one's skin.

In popular culture

The phrase is frequently used, in popular culture, to indicate an emergency or critical situation. Examples include:

• A Centric cable TV station promotional clip for the American comedy-drama Girlfriends, which features a scene wherein the law office of William Jerrowme Dent (played by Reggie Hayes) is ablaze, and Dent yells, "Stop, drop, and roll!", before performing those actions.
• In the first quarter of the 2000 comedy film, Next Friday, one of the characters yells the phrase to indicate a critical moment that is unrelated to fire.

External links

• Alisa Ann Ruch Burn Foundation
• Are you Prepared?
• Fire Safety guidelines Columbia University
• Info-Scotland Blaze Awareness for children 8 years +