Step 6: Know How to Prevent and Fight Fires
The heat from the fire-ball lasts about 15 seconds and would create fires which are no different from the fires you see in peacetime. They can be put out with water and extinguishers, and if each survivor were able to put out a small fire quickly, mass fires would not take place.
But how can you fight fires in the presence of fallout? From 5 to 15 miles from the centre of the explosion, there will be many survivors. Fallout will not start coming down for about 30 minutes. During this half hour, survivors should inspect their houses and put out all the small fires they can. They must not rely on the fire department to extinguish these fires.
Excerpt from 11 Steps to Survival published by Emergency Planning Canada, 1961
