Don't Be a Victim: Fire

"All their furniture, all their clothing. They lost everything."

Even worse, people are trapped and killed.

"We found one little girl, he passed her to me, and I brought her downstairs. I did CPR on her, until the ambulance came."

Captain Troy Easley: "Everybody thinks that they are safe or that it won't happen to them. You can never be to safe."

Do you really know how to protect yourself and your family?

Coral Gables Fire Captain Troy Easley says, don't be a victim.

Start with basic tools: A fire extinguisher and smoke detectors.

Captain Troy Easley: "The beep from that smoke detector could save your life, absolutely."

Because it's not the fire that will get you, it's the smoke.

Captain Troy Easley: "A lot of people have the misconception that they think they are just going to wake up and see the fire in the other room and leave. That's not true. Most of the time the smoke will overcome you, and you will unfortunately die."

If you see smoke, go the other way.

Captain Troy Easley: "If you can't find your way to get to the front door without inhaling the smoke, try to find a second way out, whether it be a window or it be a sliding glass door."

If the smoke is everywhere, get on your hands and knees.

Captain Troy Easley: "Get as close to the ground as possible because the smoke is heated up and it tends to rise to the ceiling. You don't want to try and standup and run through it."

JP Hervis: "Before you and your family are surrounded by smoke inside your home, firefighters say you need to have a plan of action."

Captain Troy Easley: "Go through a situation with your children and your family. If there was a fire in your house, what would you do?"

You should simulate what the worst-case scenario would look like.

Captain Troy Easley: "We suggest that when you are practicing these exit drills in the home, that you close your eyes and try and find your way out, and you'll see exactly how difficult it is"

And finally, have a designated meeting spot outside, so you can make sure everyone got out OK.