So, now that you are well equipped in fighting a fire – you just need to decide, whether you want to fight a fire, or, flee away from it. Remember, in general, timely action helps a lot in containing the damage. Besides, more often than not, general fires (specially Class A fires) don’t spread suddenly – unless, chemical reactions are involved. This means that if you can nip a fire in the bud, you should try to fight and extinguish it.

Still, no material is worth more than human life. So, don’t fight, if any of the following conditions are involved:

1.    You don’t have sufficient/right material to fight the fire. The time spent in fighting could impact your ability to evacuate

2.    You don’t have backup. You should be able to get help, in case, there is a need

3.    Fire seems to be blocking your exit path

4.    You have no idea what is burning For example – Class D fire would need specialized knowledge of the metal under fire, and, how will that metal react with different extinguishing agents – at high temperature

5.    Fire seems to be spreading too fast

6.    There are explosives around

7.    You don’t feel comfortable and confident