By Teri Mizuhara

Are you traveling this holiday season and staying in a motel or hotel? If you or someone you know will be on the road, take our five minute quiz to find out how savvy you are about fire safety.

Hotels and motels can become our home away from home and we often take it for granted that we are completely safe because we see sprinkler heads, exits routes posted on the back of each room door and exit signs in the hallways but we need to be proactive to keep ourselves and our loved ones safe in these places.

The quiz:

· How many motels-hotels are in the United States? According to 2011 statistics, there are over 51,000 which account for 4.8 million rooms.

· How many motels-hotels report fires annually? a) 1 in 12 b) 1 in 150 or c) 1 in 1250? The answer is (a) statistically, one out of every 12 hotels-motels reports a fire every year.

· Do you know what a motel-hotel smoke alarm sounds like? If not, ask the clerk what the alarm sounds like.

· Why should you count the number of doors from your room to the nearest emergency exit? So in the event you have to escape during a fire, you will know which way to turn when leaving your room and how many doors you must pass before exiting the building. Never use the elevator as they can become inoperable during a fire.

· Where should you keep your room key? Make a habit of keeping your room key and a flashlight on your night stand so you can grab them and go if you have exit the building.

· Why would you review the exit listed in your motel-hotel room? ometimes the closest emergency exit is not the one you are aware of.

· Why bother noting where the fire alarm pull stations are outside your room? In case you need to report a fire and are able to get to the pull station.

· How do you determine if there is fire on the other side of your room door? Touch the door with the back of your hand to test the temperature. 1) If the door is cool, get down on your hands and knees, brace your shoulder against the door and carefully open it slowly. If there are flames on the other side be prepared to close the door immediately. If there are no flames, proceed with caution, and quickly move to the nearest exit making sure to stay low under the smoke where the air is cooler and safer to breathe. 2) If the door is hot, do not open it. Call 9-1-1 and tell the dispatcher what city you are in, then tell them the name and address of the hotel-motel where you are then tell them the room number. Place wet towels/blankets in the cracks of the door of your room to prevent smoke from entering. Wait at the window and use a flashlight or light colored cloth to signal where you are.

Teri Mizuhara works for the El Dorado-Amador unit of CalFire.