> all fire safety experts Here's the thing, not ALL fire safety experts will tell you the same thing. I just looked up the guidance for my city (Seattle) and

> all fire safety experts Here's the thing, not ALL fire safety experts will tell you the same thing. I just looked up the guidance for my city (Seattle) and it gives what I consider to be sane advice: > Every alarm must be treated as a fire emergency. When you hear the fire alarm or if you encounter smoke or fire, take these steps to ensure a safe evacuation of the building. > 1. Leave your unit as quickly as possible, closing the front door as you go. Pull the fire alarm next to the stairwell as you exit if fire alarm is not sounding. > 2. Use the stairs, not the elevators, to evacuate the building. [Point 3 concerns what to do after evacuation.] > 4. If you encounter smoke or fire outside of your apartment and you are unable to exit using the stairs, stay in your unit. Keep your door and windows closed. Use towels or clothing to block openings around doors or vents where smoke might enter. They also say on their website: > If you hear the building fire alarm, take it seriously. Every second delayed wastes valuable time needed to escape. For this reason, developing and practicing a home escape plan with all residents is so important. If a fire starts in your building you must know how to get out quickly. Don't wait to find out the severity of the situation. Your home escape plan should include two ways to exit out of your apartment and a designated outside meeting place away from the building. These experts are telling me to GTFO immediately, and only shelter in place if and only if I am unable to GTFO. It sounds like in London they give different advice either because their experts are fools, or because their buildings are death traps by Seattle standards... Re-quoting for emphasis: "Every second delayed wastes valuable time needed to escape. [...] Don't wait to find out the severity of the situation. "