The cause of death during the majority of house fires is due to smoke inhalation. After that, I assume, most deaths come as a result of being burnt until you resemble toast.

After reading an anno on another idea i was thinking of ways to use a mattress as a survival bubble for use in the event of a fire. If you wake up to a fire that is blocking all exits, climb into the mattress and wait for rescue.

1) Air-bed mattress made from fire-proof (at least for a certain amount of time) material. in the event of fire, crawl inside mattress and seal the opening after you.

2) Compressed gas container in mattress to provide breathable air and expand cavity while waiting for rescue (air canister is held in refrigerated box to prevent overheating - also keeps the interior of the mattress as cool as possible).

3) Rip cord inside mattress sets of loud alarm to alert neighbours of fire, or alarm system linked to local fire station.

After you pull the cord, sit tight and wait to be rescued.
-- sambwiches, Apr 07 2003

Smoke Hood http://www.evac-u8.com/evac-u8/index.htm
Much more convenient than a mattress. [DrCurry, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 21 2004]

Smoke Hood With Compressed Ait http://www.webworld...om/lifeair/EEBA.htm
[DrCurry, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 21 2004]

Self-evacuating beds http://www.halfbake...20Evacuating_20Beds
These mattresses on these beds would make an ideal combination. [oneoffdave, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 05 2004]

A crispy outside and a soft, melty inside - you'd resemble a toasted sambwich
-- FloridaManatee, Apr 07 2003


//would you buy this instead of fitting your house with fire alarms?//

Not a chance. There are too many pros and too few cons to fitting smoke alarms to go without. If you don't have smoke alarms, you may not have enough time to get into your survival bubble.
-- sambwiches, Apr 07 2003


You could build this into the headboard and pull it down over the bed, like when you meade tents as a kid. These could be similar to the fireshelters used by wildland fire-fighters when they get overrun or surrounded by fire.
-- oneoffdave, Apr 08 2003


How would the firemen rescue you in a room ablaze? Would you just wait for the fire to be extinquished?
-- kevindimie, Apr 08 2003


You could have scuba tanks next to a full bathtub.
-- FarmerJohn, Apr 08 2003


If there is smoke in the room, you need to get out fast. Climbing inside a mattress is sheer insanity, and recklessly endangers the lives of the firemen who then have to enter the burning building to rescue you. Big, fat fishbone.

Just buy a smoke-hood like everyone else, and put it under your pillow, along with a flashlight.
-- DrCurry, Apr 08 2003


ermm...gun vault....[dag] ............................ .........................a vault

especially for guns..........

in your house.....

a vault?

containing guns??

I. Am. Scared.
-- squeak, Apr 08 2003


Ironic choice of safe haven, given that the leading cause of fires in homes is burning mattresses. (set off by careless smokers)
-- roby, Apr 08 2003


Once you crawl into the mattress and seal it is it quiet in there? I’m afraid I may get in the habit of doing this every morning when the alarm clock goes off. Also this might have the side effect of providing a good hiding place from the wife and kids ... “nope nobody in the bedroom, just an air mattress with no one on it… I wonder where he could be?”
-- maniacr, Apr 08 2003


lol [maniacr] :) . To address the various objections to the idea... (forgive me for spelling errors. I'm quite, quite drunk :) )

This is the only situation in which the mattress would be used:-

You wake up in your bed to discover a house fire. Your planned exits have been blocked by the fire and smoke. You are forced to return to your bedroom (which does not offer a viable escape route). You are trapped, waiting for the fire service to arrive.

Lacking an escape route, you open the mattress (which, as I have said, is made from a fire resistant material), and crawl inside.

Inside the mattress you are supplied with a clean air supply, whatever refigeration is available with current technology and an alarm by which to alert the authorities/neighbours.

This is not intended as a method by which to ride out the fire. It is a temporary measure to stave off asphyxiation until the fire service arrives, when a ladder can be extended to your window.

I haven't yet checked the links for the fire hoods, but I think I have a fair idea of what they are. This is probably a 'full-body' fire hood, I assume.
-- sambwiches, Apr 08 2003


Asbestos is just so comfy...
-- RayfordSteele, Apr 08 2003


Good idea, but the matress must have strong springs if one sleeps on the second floor, or worse a high rise building. If you fall down with the building, the strong springs would have to resist the impact of the fall.
-- imaginarium, Apr 08 2003


I was just thinking of the wildland fireshelters as a starting point. You'd need to make them airtight, not only to prevent the oxygen being used up but to prevent all the nasty combustion products getting in. Some kind of indicator would have to be provided outside the house so that the fire-fighters would know one of these systems was in use so they could go and drag the bed out rather than the usual search pattern.
-- oneoffdave, Apr 09 2003


You forgot to include two bottles of Guinness and an opener for that survival kit. Saaaay... I'm going to practice surviving right now.
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh draught
-- thumbwax, Apr 09 2003


Yeah, the mattress would be airtight. If smoke can enter, its all pretty pointless.

If the building collapses you're gonna have bigger problems than hitting the ground. I think the roof landing on top of you will finish you off anyway :)
-- sambwiches, Apr 09 2003


If I bought this, I'd sort of hope to wake up to find my house engulfed in flames just to justify the investment.
-- Parvenu, Apr 10 2003



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