Tulsa Firefighters With Tips To Stay Safe During Earthquakes

In the past 24 hours, more than two dozen earthquakes rattled Oklahoma - including a 4.8 quake near Fairview. And with more quakes being felt across the state, many are wondering how you should protect yourself.

The technical rescue experts at the Tulsa Fire Department highlighted the safest places to go at work and home if we get a dangerous earthquake.

1/6/2016 Related Story: Multiple Earthquakes, Including Magnitude 4.8, 4.3, Rock Oklahoma

The Tulsa Fire Department is ready to respond to any emergency in the city; and when it comes to earthquakes, they have the tools necessary to save anyone that may be trapped.

Every year, the city’s technical rescue team at Tulsa’s Station 4 takes a two-week course on structural collapse - training to get people out of buildings, and Captain Justin Flake had some suggestions on how to stay safe during an earthquake.

"Obviously, in any earthquake situation, we're worried about your personal safety, so what we would want you to do is get to the interior of your home, find something stable - like a desk or something or a table - and go ahead and get underneath that desk or get underneath that table. We want you to hold on the best you can and ride out the storm until it’s over; till you're sure the earthquake is finished," he said.

Flake said you should always think about taking cover somewhere in the center of your home or office for protection.

"In the interior of your home, find a door frame...you can hold on to that door frame; it's a lot more stable, and, again, that's another good place if you don't have a desk or a table underneath you can ride out that storm until the earthquake is over," Flake said.

Flake also said if you’re in a tall office building or a condo, it’s better to stay away from the stairwell and to not try and get outside.

“Again, the main thing is get away from the outside walls, get away from windows, get away from anything that could fall on you. Get to the interior of your home," he said.

If you feel an earthquake while you're in the car, Flake said stop and don't pull over underneath a bridge.

The firefighters want to remind everyone to always have a plan for these types of situations and use some of the things you saw in the earthquake drill for tornado season.