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C00002 00002	ESCAPING FROM FIRES
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ESCAPING FROM FIRES

	A major cause of smoke inhalation death is carbon monoxide
poisoning.  The CO binds to haemoglobin so it can't carry oxygen,
and it is very insidous, as shown by the accidents in which several
people running the engine of a stalled car to keep warm all die
without any of them noticing.  I would like comments on the following
method of escape which has not been proposed in print to my knowledge
or properly tested.

	Put a large plastic bag over your head filled with air and
tie it around your neck.  An experiment indicates that you then
have at least five minutes of walking before even becoming
uncomfortable from your exhaled CO2.  If you need more time than
that to escape maybe you can find a place where it can be refilled
with fresh air.

	If it works, safety rules could require that suitable plastic
bags be available.  Failing that, a traveler can carry one as I do for
laundry, and many hotel laundry bags are suitable.  Dry cleaning
bags now almost always have holes in them because of the opposite
danger.

	Experimenters to determine how far one can go with a bag of given
size are solicited.