Content

• To step
• Part 1 of 3: Positioning yourself
• Part 2 of 3: Making the collision as small as possible
• Part 3 of 3: Safe landing
• Tips
• Warnings

Whether you accidentally fall off a balcony or try to escape a fire by jumping out of a window, the thought of falling from several floors is quite scary. While there is no certainty that you will survive, there are ways to minimize the force of impact and reduce your chances of serious injury.

To step

Part 1 of 3: Positioning yourself

1. Think fast. Falling out of a window is incredibly fast, especially if it's only from the first floor. The first thing to do is to stay calm and think quickly. You only have a few seconds to increase your chances of survival, so acting super fast is crucial.
2. Keep your feet down. The best way to survive is to avoid hitting your head. People who land on their heads almost always die, even if it was only from a few floors. While landing on your feet can sometimes injure your pelvis, it's a much safer choice than with your head down.
   • Keep your legs and feet pressed together so that both your feet are touching the ground at the same time.
   • If you fall head first out of a window, you should quickly change position so that your feet hit the ground first. A fall from a first floor window only takes a few seconds so you need to act quickly.
3. Lower your body. If you are trying to escape from a window and you can avoid jumping, it is best to hold on to the windowsill or ledge, lower yourself an arm's length and drop from there. This shortens the distance between you and the ground and therefore reduces the shock.
   • Before you fall, push your feet and hands off a bit to make sure you are clear of the wall.

Part 2 of 3: Making the collision as small as possible

1. Slow your fall. The severity of the injury from a fall is closely related to the speed of the impact. This explains why a long fall is more dangerous than a short one. Slowing down your fall may not be possible from a first floor window as it only takes a few seconds, but if you fall from a greater distance you will need to lie flat to increase your area and slow yourself down.
   • If you're lying flat to get more resistance, make sure to position yourself to land feet first before landing.
2. Choose a landing site. If you can choose where to land on, you should always choose the softest option. Survivors have fallen into the snow, trees, or something that absorbs your fall better than asphalt. So if you fall on the edge of asphalt and grass, try to land on the grass to minimize your collision.
3. Relax your body. Staying calm and relaxed may be the last thing on your mind when you're falling, but tightening your muscles increases your risk of injury. When you stay relaxed, your muscles, joints and ligaments move in a natural and ideal way that helps you avoid serious damage.
   • One way to stay relatively calm is to focus on what your next steps are to survive and avoid injury. This will keep you from panicking about anything that could happen to you.

Part 3 of 3: Safe landing

1. Bend your knees. Just before you fall, bend your knees to the impact and land on the balls of your feet. This reduces the effect on your body and can make the difference between surviving with minimal injury and permanent damage to your spine or pelvis.
   • After your head, your pelvis is the other body part you don't want to damage in a fall. The pelvis is a ring-like structure of three bones at the base of the spine. It is surrounded by blood vessels, nerves and organs, so injury there can cause significant damage, including paralysis.
   • Do not bend your knees too far. You only want a slight bend so that your knees aren't locked.
2. Extend your knees after hitting the floor. You want to land softly on the balls of your feet. This will lift you up a bit, giving your body a little shock and giving you more force to spring. Your legs will be less injured, so hopefully you won't break bones or sustain serious ligament damage.
3. Draw in your body. You should position your body so that you roll forward after impact, instead of immediately jumping up or collapsing. Contract your abs to draw your knees to your chest, pull in your chin, and remember to retract your arms as you get ready to roll.
4. Roll forward. Once you've pulled your body into a ball, roll over your shoulder at a 45-degree angle instead of straight forward or sideways. Roll onto your back and if you don't feel pain, continue rolling down to your knees and then your feet. Rolling forward releases most of the energy from your fall into the roll and not your legs or spine.
   • If, once you roll onto your shoulder, you think you've broken something or injured your spine, don't move towards your feet or knees. Stay in a comfortable position until help arrives.
   • Avoid jolting your head while rolling.

Tips

• If you think you have suffered serious injuries from your fall, such as broken bones or a damaged spine, do not move until medical attention arrives to help you.
• If you fall into the water, you should still land with your feet first, but then tilt your body back slightly so that your feet are further forward than your head.
• If you are going to jump out of a window, for example to escape a fire, do not try to throw a mattress out first, as it can get stuck in the window and prevent you from escaping. Do not tie sheets together as the knots can come loose.
• Of course, the best way to survive is to avoid falling in the first place. Stay clear of cliffs, steep hills and worn surfaces. Be careful around windows and balconies.

Warnings

• Whether you follow these instructions or not, you can still be seriously injured by falling.