Fire Safety Year 'Round
This is the time of year people often think about fire safety. However practicing
fire safety should be a year round event. I’m often asked, “What
should I do to keep my family safe from fire?” There are 3 simple things
to do to get started.
- Smoke Detectors - Smoke detectors provide you with an
early warning to get out of the house. The National Fire Protection Association
has determined
that
most fire deaths (73%) happen in homes without a working smoke
detector. Having one smoke detector in your home will give you a 3-minute
early warning
(the time experts determined that it takes to get out of a house at night)
35% of the time, BUT by adding one detector on each level of your home, the
early warning increases to 89% of the time.
So the first thing to do is install
smoke detectors on each level of your home and one in each bedroom. Next
"Change your Clock—Change Your Batteries."
Even though all detectors make a short beeping sound when the battery is
weak, DON'T
WAIT FOR THE BEEP. The low battery warning is there in case you have a bad
battery. You need to change your batteries in your detectors every 6 months.
Clean your
detectors. Dirt accumulates on your detectors, blocking the censor chamber.
If smoke can't get in the detector, it can't work. Run the hose
from your vacuum cleaner around the outside of the detector once a month.
- Evacuation Plans - Many people think "I know how
to get out of my house." That is just not so. The truth is fire changes your
environment.
When there
is a fire, smoke blocks your view and makes it hard to breath. There also
are different smells and sounds. Plus, during an emergency your heart rate
and
thinking process jump into high gear. Critical problem solving during an
emergency isn’t a good idea. Having a plan allows you to concentrate
on the plan, making it easier to escape from your house. What needs to be
in your plan?
Have a diagram of your home showing primary and secondary routes out of your
house. How you plan on getting smaller children and elderly adults out of
the house?
Have a meeting place outside for everyone to meet. This prevents you from
going back into the fire to "rescue" someone when they are already
out. Once you get out, Stay Out! Your plan should also include listing the
locations
of emergency equipment and information ... Fire extinguishers, Flashlights,
Utility shutoffs, Emergency names & numbers. Finally, try out your plan.
After trying out all aspects of your plan, rework any deficiencies and then
conduct
drills several times a year.
- Candles - Candles are quickly becoming one of
the top causes of home fires. In the last decade, candle fires have tripled.
In 2001 alone, an estimitated
1,800 home fires started by candles resulted in 190 deaths and 1,450 injuries
and estimated property loss over a quarter of a million dollars. Forty-one
percent of those fires started in the bedroom causing 24%
of the fire death caused by candles. So, here is what can you do ...
- Place candles
on stable furniture, in holders that will catch dripping wax.
- Never leave
a candle unattended. If the power goes out, use flashlights for illumination,
not candles.
- Keep candles away from all things that can catch fire.
- Place
candles on higher furniture, where they won’t be knocked over
by children or pets.
- Never place lit candles in windows, where they could ignite blinds
or curtains.
- Don’t allow children or teens to have candles in their
bedrooms.
- Extinguish candles carefully, using a long-handled candle snuffer
or soft, directed breath. Be careful not to splatter wax .
For more information about any of the above issues, you can check the National
Fire Protection Association’s web site or you
can email questions directly to me at briziusd@miftwp.org or call 614-471-8533.
David A. Brizius, Fire Prevention Educator
Mifflin Township Division of Fire
Fire Prevention Bureau
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