One time in Chicago the factory next door to our house caught on fire...my dad went running around our house, waking everyone up, and telling us to run downstairs and go outside, because that fire was really blazing...
Instead of listening to my dad, I ran into the kitchen to see the fire out of the kitchen windows...
Well, when I saw the whole factory on fire, I just froze in place...could not talk, could not move at all...my dad had to slap me hard, across the face to get me back to myself...
I just froze like a statue, I could not believe I was so full of panic....good thing my dad had more composure than I did...
When I read of a family member staying in a house and dying in the fire, I wonder why they didn't run outside. I'll bet that's what happens - panic freezes you in place. I've never experienced that so I didn't know.