A nationwide survey conducted by the Society for Fire Protection Engineers reveals Americans' first reactions to fire could place them in greater danger.

Only 28% of respondents answered that they would evacuate when asked, “If there were a fire in your building, what would be your first action?” This is compared to the 39% of respondents who said they would call the fire department.

“At first glance [calling 911] seems like a sensible response,” said Chris Jelenewicz, SFPE's engineering program manager. “However, people should first exit the building and then call the fire department once in a safe location.”

Other responses included notifying others (24%), fighting the fire (4%), searching for the source of fire (3%), and searching for more information (2%).

“The results of this survey are concerning,” says Jelenewicz. “Delays before deciding to evacuate, time spent searching for the fire, gathering belongings and trying to fight the fire are behaviors that have been observed repeatedly in real fire situations.”

When comparing the results of this survey to research on how humans behave in fire, a study of 335 fire incidents that occurred in the United States found the top three first reactions were: notifying others (15%), fighting the fire (10%) and searching for the fire (10%). Exiting the building was not even among the top five things people do when they know there is a fire.

The survey also revealed that the elderly, who are statistically a high-risk group from fires, generally respond incorrectly. More than half of people 65 years old or older would first call the fire department, compared to 30% who would exit the building first.

The survey also shows that men are much more likely to try to fight the fire than women; 7% of men said that they would fight the fire, compared to less than 1% of women.

“There are significant differences in the way that men and women react to a fire,” said Jelenewicz. “Generally, men are more likely to try and fight a fire. On the other hand, women are more likely to alert others and evacuate the building.”

SFPE commissioned the survey in January and polled more than 1,000 American adults. The findings have a margin of error of plus or minus 3%.