Most every office building has an exit plan in place that is intended to help you find your way to the nearest exit or down a staircase to safety, and many large companies also have particular locations where you assemble after getting out of the building. Very seldom, however, will you find instructions at work telling you what to do if you can't get out.

If you are trapped inside a burning building, there are several things you can do to get help on the way and to protect yourself until it gets there. In that type of ultimate stress situation, there are also things you might do that will almost guarantee you will not survive. Read on while we explore both sides of this perilous situation.

Really study your building's exit plan; if your building has been remodeled or expanded recently, check with the building's management office to be sure the plan is up to date.

Talk to the head of maintenance and/or the head of security for the building -- these people may be fonts of useful information that will assist you in the event of a fire. Also, talk to other tenants or coworkers who are likely to be in the same situation as you, if tragedy should strike -- the old adage: "two heads are better than one" has been around as long as it has for a reason.

Know where every fire extinguisher is located, learn how to get a fire extinguisher off the wall mount or out of the case, and learn how to use it; if there are different types of fire extinguishers, learn how to use all of them. Even if the building is on fire, a fire extinguisher can keep the fire away from you for at least several precious minutes.

Water can be one of your greatest assets in a fire; know where every water cooler, water fountain, sink (including the janitor's closet), and sprinkler head is located.

You've seen these instructions many times in your life, and hopefully you realized that behind that glass there is a handle that represents your best chance of being rescued. In the event of a fire, the handle, once pulled, will set off local audible alarms (and possibly visual alarms using strobe lights) that may save your life and hundreds of other lives in the building. At a minimum, the alarms will cause someone to grab a phone and call 911 (or your local fire emergency number); quite possibly, that handle will also set off another alarm right at the local fire station or at a central fire department command post. Either way, within minutes, fire crews will be manning their fire trucks and rolling in your direction with all the tools, equipment, and expertise required to control the fire as quickly as possible.

The first thing an emergency response professional will tell you is to "stay calm." Easier said than done? Yes, it truly is, but you must train yourself to realize that panic kills almost as certainly as fire kills. Besides, there is no need to panic; you already have an advantage. You know every stairway, every exit, and the location of every fire extinguisher and source of water. Now is the time to look around, evaluate your immediate situation, and put this knowledge to work.

Move away from the heaviest smoke -- the heaviest smoke will indicate the location of the fire. While you're moving, remember two other things: first, grab a fire extinguisher, just in case you need it later; secondly, get everyone you encounter along the way to move with you and have them grab anything they think might be useful -- you're moving toward the safest place you can find, and once there you'll need all the muscle, brain power, and equipment you can get.

If someone tells you "We're trapped, there's no way out!," try to calm that person down and assure him or her that help is on the way, and if they stay calm, they will be safe. Also, don't start convincing yourself that you are trapped; there still may be a way out. This person has panicked and may have forgotten about an exit or a little-used stairway. Check for yourself! Before opening any door, check for smoke coming from under the door and hold the back of your hand against the surface of the door; if there is smoke or if the door feels hot, don't attempt to open it -- try some other exits.

If the smoke in the air is irritating your lungs, find a wet cloth or something like that to hold over your nose and mouth. Use a piece of your clothing if necessary -- this is not a time to worry about vanity or modesty. You already know where to find water, and while you are wetting that piece of cloth or piece of clothing to protect your lungs, get all your clothing and your hair as wet as possible. Armani suit and new hairstyle or not, this type of situation is not the time to worry about your appearance or your wardrobe. The wetter you are, the less chance you'll be badly burned.

If the smoke is really heavy, get down on the floor, start crawling, and stay near a wall so you don't get disoriented -- the cleanest air will be within 2 inches of the floor.

If you find that you can't exit the floor or the building, find a room with windows as far away from that heaviest smoke as you can get -- this is where you'll make your stand against the fire. The most capable, most experienced, coolest head in the room needs to be in charge at this point. If there is a water cooler nearby, it should be unplugged and dragged into the room -- the more water the better. When everyone is in the room, the door needs to be closed and sealed. Anything that can be found to stuff under the door, to prevent smoke from coming in, needs to be stuffed under (and possibly at the top) of the door and wetted down. If there is a thermostat on the wall, turn it off. If there are any ventilation ducts in the room, they need to be either closed, or if they can't be manually closed, sealed off; use tape, clothing, blankets, whatever works. The ventilation system will be full of smoke, and the object is, as much as possible, to keep the smoke out of your sanctuary.

Once the room is as well sealed as possible from the rest of the building, open the windows; windows that won't open the conventional way will need to be broken out; use a chair, a metal trash can, a paperweight, anything you can find. Protect your face and eyes from flying glass, and as much as possible, get all the glass out of the window frame; when help comes, this will most likely be your exit.

While some fire fighters are bringing the fire under control, other fire rescue personnel will be attempting to locate and get everyone safely out of the building; help them find you by hanging something big and bright outside the window, and also by having someone in the room act as a spotter -- watching for the fire rescue people. If the spotter sees fire rescue people on the ground, everyone in the room needs to start yelling at them and waving their arms until it is certain that they know where you are.

Even then, after you've secured the room, have a source of fresh outside air, and have notified the people on the ground that you are waiting for rescue, don't stop looking for a way out. What's outside that window? Is there a ledge that can safely get a person farther away from the fire? Are you close enough to the ground, so a rope can be improvised from clothing, sheets, tablecloths, or anything else to get everyone safely lowered to the ground? Is there another structure close by -- is there any way to get to it? Don't give up, never give up!

This applies to any fire anywhere! If your clothes catch on fire, Stop, Drop, and Roll! Stop, because running just fans the flames. Drop and roll to snuff out the flames.

If you encounter someone with their clothes on fire and you have no water or fire extinguisher right at hand, wrap something around him or her, something like a coat, a sheet, or a blanket, and then get them on the ground and help them roll until the fire is snuffed out.

All the previous material assumes that the fire is in an office building and that you are several floors above the ground, but how about a fire that erupts in the middle of the night in your home? Rest assured that every bit of information provided for that office building fire, with one exception, applies to a home fire. That exception is calling the fire department first. At home, your first and ONLY objective is to get everyone out of the house safely -- then call the fire department if a neighbor or passer-by has not already notified them.

Just like in the office building, home fire safety starts out with a plan. Make sure everyone in your family knows the best and fastest way out of the house or apartment if there is a fire. Hold fire drills. Make sure that everyone knows that if they see smoke coming under a door, or if a door or door knob is hot to the back of the hand, the door should not be opened. If you do open a door, shut it behind you to slow down the spread of the fire.

Make sure that every window can be opened, and, ideally, every bedroom above the first floor should be equipped with a rope or rope ladder. Every infant, toddler, or disabled person in the house should have someone assigned to help them out if there is a fire. Teach the kids that they should never hide under the bed or in a closet -- when you or the fire rescuers arrive to get them out, they can't easily be found if they are hiding. On your way out, if you can grab a dog, cat, bird, or hamster fine, but if you can't, just get yourself out; the time you spend looking for a pet could easily cost your life. Finally, have a meeting place arranged, so everyone knows everyone else is safe.