In 2017, four people were killed in an apartment fire in Des Moines on Polk Boulevard. Des Moines Fire Marshal Jonathan Lund says some of the people rescued did something that greatly increased their chances of making it out alive.
"One of the things we saw was apartments that had their door closed, were relatively untouched by fire damage," he said. "We were able to perform rescues at that incident through an apartment that had a closed door and they were on the same floor as the fire."
According to firefighters, the simple step of keeping doors closed, especially while you sleep, could be the difference between life and death.
"Fire needs fuel to consume and it needs oxygen or air," Lund said. "And if you can compartmentalize your house by closing doors sleeping with your door closed, you limit the amount of fresh air that the fire has available."