The most common mistake in the first minutes is not panic. It is acting on the first thing you heard.
Before anything else, spend one minute establishing what is actually happening and where. Not what a message said, not what somebody shouted — what your own senses tell you, and what an official source says.
Ask three questions in this order.
- Am I in immediate danger where I am standing right now? Fire, smoke, water, a damaged structure, traffic, something falling.
- Is anybody with me hurt?
- What are the authorities saying?
The first two you answer by looking. The third you answer from your country's official channel, which is on that country's page on this site.
Why one minute matters. People who move immediately move in the direction they were already facing. In a building fire that is often towards the way they came in, which is often where the fire is. A pause of sixty seconds is not hesitation; it is the difference between moving and moving somewhere useful.