Check Your Smoke Alarms and More during Fire Prevention Week

This week (October 7-13, 2018) marks Fire Prevention Week and the theme this year is “Look. Listen. Learn. Be Aware. Fire can happen anywhere.” During this time, it’s important to review where fires have the most potential of occurring as well as testing your family’s escape plan, and making sure your fire alarms are working properly.

LOOK for places a fire could start

This week is a good time to do an assessment of your home and identify potential fire hazards and address them. Cooking is one of the leading causes of home fires. Leaving cooking unattended is the leading cause of home fires. Here are some tips to keep yourself and your loved ones safe.

·         Remove clutter from cooking areas such as papers, small towels or oven mitts.

·         Always keep a close eye on what you are cooking. You should always stay in the kitchen while you are frying, grilling, boiling or broiling food. If you have to leave the kitchen for something, make sure to set a timer so you do not forget about whatever you might be cooking.

·         Always be alert! Cooking while you are sleepy or under the influence of alcohol or any other substance is incredibly dangerous.

Heating is the second leading cause of U.S. home fire. Issues such as failing to clean heating equipment properly is the leading cause of home heating fires. Below are some additional tips to safely heat your home in the winter months.

·         Have chimneys and heating equipment cleaned and inspected by a qualified professional yearly.

·         Make sure to keep anything that can burn easily at least three feet away from heating equipment such as furnaces, fire places, wood stoves and portable space heaters.

·         Always make sure you turn space heaters odd when you leave the room or go to sleep.

Another big cause of fires is candles. If you use candles in your home, ensure that you blow out all candles when you leave the room or go to bed. Keep candles away from items that can burn and use candle holders that are sturdy and won’t turn over easily. And never burn candles all the way down- put them out before they get too close to the holder or container.

LISTEN for the sound of the smoke alarm

Smoke alarms are the first line of defense in helping alert people of a fire so that they can get out safely. By having smoke alarms in your home, you cut your risk of dying by a fire in half. At minimum, install a smoke alarm on every level of your home, in each bedroom and near all sleeping areas. Test your smoke alarms regularly and replace smoke alarms that are more than 10 years old.

LEARN two ways out of every room

When a fire is happening, you may only have minutes or even seconds to escape safely. Practicing how to safely escape your home will help you immensely when you find yourself in this emergency situation.

Make sure to develop an escape plan with all members of your family. The escape plan should include:

·         Two ways out of every room, usually a door or a window.

·         A path to each exit to an outside area.

·         Most importantly, an outside meeting place a safe distance in front of your home where everyone can meet and be accounted.

Practicing your escape plan twice a year will ensure you are prepared for any fire emergency. For more information on fire safety, visit www.nfpa.org. Remember, if you find yourself in a fire emergency, call 9-1-1 for help immediately and get to safety!