In fire safety planning, what does the RACE acronym stand for?

• A. Rescue, Alarm, Contain/Confine, Extinguish/Evacuate
• B. Remove, Alert, Contain, Evacuate
• C. Rescue, Alert, Contain, Evacuate
• D. React, Alarm, Contain, Extinguish

Answer: (A)

This mnemonic guides how to respond to a fire to keep people safe and limit damage. First, Rescue means help anyone in immediate danger, but only if you can do so without putting yourself at risk. Next, Alarm is about sounding the fire alarm or notifying building occupants and responders so people know to evacuate and help can be summoned. Then Contain/Confine focuses on keeping the fire from spreading—close doors, cut off ignition sources if safe, and reduce airflow to the area. Finally, Extinguish/Evacuate covers what to do with the fire itself: if the fire is small, you may use an appropriate extinguisher only if you’ve been trained and it’s safe to do so; otherwise, evacuate the area immediately and let trained personnel handle the fire.

So the sequence emphasizes protecting people first, alerting others, limiting spread, and then dealing with the fire either by extinguishing it if feasible or evacuating if it’s not safe to attempt.