Life Safety Blanket: How to Use a Fire Blanket at Home and at Work

A small fire starts on the stove, or a dupatta brushes a diya and starts to burn. In moments like these, a fire blanket is often quicker and simpler than an extinguisher. Many homes have no extinguisher at all, and an extinguisher has limits of its own, especially once a fire is big or spreading fast.

The Life Safety Blanket is a fire-resistant blanket that its maker describes as low-cost, easy to use and maintenance-free. Like any fire blanket, its main job is to smother a small fire. The maker also describes it as a heat barrier during hot work, an emergency shelter or stretcher, and a protective cover while escaping. Those further uses are the maker’s description; HowToSurvive.in has not tested them independently. It is sold for homes, offices, hospitals, schools and other public places. Below we explain how and when to use it, and what it can and cannot do.

Fire blanket basics: what it is, what size, which standard

A fire blanket is a sheet of fire-resistant fabric, usually woven glass fibre, folded into a pouch with two tapes you pull to release it. It puts out a small fire by cutting off the air. It is meant for the first minute of a small fire, not for a big one.

• Size. Check the pack. Victoria’s fire authority (CFA) in Australia says a household blanket should measure at least 1 m by 1 m. A blanket for a pan can be smaller than one meant to wrap around a person, so choose for the job. We do not list sizes for the Life Safety Blanket here; use what is printed on its pack or what the maker tells you.
• Standards. In India the BIS specification for fire blankets is IS 15381, and the BIS listing shows the 2021 first revision. In Europe it is EN 1869:2019, which covers single-use blankets for small fires and, if large enough, for smothering clothing fires. Do not confuse these with IS 15683, which is the standard for portable fire extinguishers.
• A printed mark is not proof. Ask the seller which standard the blanket was tested to, ask for the test report or certificate, and check it with whoever issued it. The marks printed on the Life Safety Blanket product photo on this page are not independently verified certification claims.
• One use. Fire authorities say a blanket should be used once and then replaced. For the Life Safety Blanket, go by the maker’s instructions; we have not seen test data on using it again after a fire.

1. Putting out a small fire

A fire blanket works by cutting off air to a small fire, such as burning clothing or a small pan fire on the stove. For a pan of hot cooking oil, use the blanket only if its maker’s instructions say it is suitable for oil and fat fires; otherwise use a fitting lid. Fire services differ on this, and the Dutch consumer-product authority found some blankets unreliable on burning oil. It works only if it can cover the fire completely. If the fire is bigger than the blanket, or already spreading, get everyone out and call 101 or 112. For a small fire:

• Find where the fire is coming from. For a pan fire, turn off the gas or stove if you can reach the knob safely. For an electrical appliance, switch off the power at the mains first if you can do so safely.
• Pull the blanket out and hold it up with your hands tucked behind it, so it shields your hands and face. Keep your way out behind you.
• Lay the blanket over the fire, placing it away from you, so that it smothers the flames.
• Make sure it covers the whole pan or burning object, so that no air gets in.
• Leave the blanket in place and do not lift it to check. Let the pan or object cool down completely before you move anything.

If someone’s clothes catch fire, they should stop, drop and roll. You can also wrap the blanket around them to smother the flames.

2. As an emergency shelter or stretcher

When getting out is not possible straight away, for example after a building collapse, an earthquake or a chemical spill, the maker says the Life Safety Blanket can be rigged up as a temporary shelter. It also describes using the blanket to carry an injured person, like a stretcher. To set it up as a shelter:

• Find a safe and stable spot.
• Unfold the blanket and tie or weigh it down so it stays in place.
• Take shelter under it, away from the hazard around you.

3. As a heat barrier during hot work

Welders, people doing gas cutting or soldering, and anyone else working with heat-producing tools can use the blanket’s heat resistance to protect nearby material from sparks. To use it as a heat shield:

• Place the blanket between the heat source and any combustible or flammable material.
• Cover the whole object you want to protect, so that sparks and spatter cannot reach it.

4. As a cover while escaping

The maker also describes the blanket as a protective cover while escaping. This use has not been independently tested here. Your first choice is always a clear, smoke-free way out. If smoke or fire blocks it, go back into a room, shut the door, block the gaps with cloth and call 101 or 112. If you do use the blanket while moving to safety:

• Use it only on a route that is not on fire and not full of heat.
• Hold it in front of or around you as a shield while you move.
• Keep moving carefully but quickly, and keep checking that the way ahead is still clear.

What the Life Safety Blanket has going for it

• Several uses. One product the maker describes for fire, hot work, shelter and carrying an injured person.
• Easy to use. It is simple, and a short practice run at home helps anyone use it calmly in a real fire.
• Low cost. Compared with fixed fire suppression systems, the maker describes it as an affordable option for most homes and shops.
• Little upkeep. The maker describes it as maintenance-free, unlike fire extinguishers, which need regular servicing. Still, check now and then that the pack is intact, dry and within easy reach.
• Fire-resistant material. It is made from fire-resistant material designed to withstand flames and heat.
• Extra uses. The maker describes it as an escape cover, shelter and stretcher as well as a fire blanket. These uses have not been independently tested here.

Where to keep it

A fire blanket is one of the simplest safety tools you can keep at home. Keep it where you can grab it in seconds, near the kitchen door rather than inside a cupboard or above the stove, and read the instructions once before you ever need them. It works alongside a smoke alarm, an extinguisher and a family escape plan, not instead of them. If a fire is too big to cover completely, get out and call 101 or 112. The notes below explain when a blanket is the wrong tool.

When not to use a fire blanket

Leave, shut the door and call 101 or 112 if:

• The fire is bigger than the blanket, or has spread beyond the pan or object. A blanket works only if it covers the fire completely.
• The fire has reached curtains, a cupboard, the wall or the ceiling.
• A pan of burning oil, unless the pack says the blanket suits oil and fat fires. Fire services differ on this, so go by the maker.
• An LPG cylinder, hose or regulator is burning. Do not go near it. (The LPG leak helpline is 1906.)
• You do not feel able to do it. Fire authorities say to use a blanket only if you feel physically and mentally able, and only when your way out stays behind you.

Looking after a fire blanket

• Keep the pack closed and dry, away from the stove’s heat and oil splashes, with the tapes hanging free.
• When you test your smoke alarm, look at the blanket as well. Is the pack intact, and can you reach it quickly?
• Follow any replace-by date on the pack. Do not keep a blanket that is torn, scorched or soaked in oil.
• Read the pack once with everyone at home, domestic help included.

After a fire, the CFA says to leave the blanket over it for at least 15 minutes, or until the heat has gone. Lay it over the fire; do not throw it, because flames can run up the far side towards your hands. Call 101 or 112 even if the fire seems out. For the rest of your kitchen plan, see our seven kitchen fire rules, home fire safety tips and fire extinguisher basics.