Tag: fire safety

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Help your local fire department and make yourself safer

As the winter storms hit the east coast and the snow piles up…I wanted to share a quick idea/tip related to fire safety and preparedness that can make your home and neighborhood safer and also help out your local fire department.

When the fire department responds to an actual fire…seconds count. The quicker they can get water on the fire the better chance they have of putting it out and saving your home and quite possibly your life. In addition…there is limited water on the fire engine. Getting water from the hydrant is not only critical in putting the fire out…but it is also critical to protect the lives of the firefighters fighting the fire.

When you go outside to shovel your walk and/or driveway….take a few extra minutes to shovel out the nearest fire hydrant. This will make it both visible and accessible for the fire department should they need it to hook up to it. Precious seconds could be wasted while they look for the nearest hydrant and then have to get off the engine with a shovel to uncover it.

I started doing this myself shortly after I joined the fire department. I think I was in the department a couple weeks when we had a fire call. This was in the middle of the winter and it had been snowing. I was on the first engine that rolled out the door. Being the “new guy” I was responsible for “hitting the hydrant”. Meaning…it was my job to get off and get the main hose hooked up so we could supply water to the fire fighters going in to fight the fire. As we got closer to the house I could see it was fully involved (on fire). I jumped off, grab the hose and the hydrant bag and went to hook up to the hydrant. Well…as you can guess it was completely covered in snow. I had to race to get a shovel to dig it out to clear enough room to work and get my job done. Thankfully another fire fighter came over to help. This little event gave me the idea that I should take care of this near my home every time in snows.

This is something you can share or rotate with your neighbors. Preparedness and safety begins with you. These are small little steps we can all take that will make it much better for everyone in the long run. As I have said before…one of the greatest asset we have in being better prepared is time. If we take the time to prepare now…the chance of a good outcome in a future emergency/disaster is increased.

Please visit our site at www.1800prepare.com to learn more and get the preparedness kits and supplies you need.

Thank you and stay safe.

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Fire Preparedness/Safety

Winter Fire Safety

Winter months are actually the riskiest as far as home fires are concerned. There is an increased use of alternative heating (from space heaters to fire places), more people cook at home during the holidays, and smokers are inside instead of out in the yard.

Out of the hundreds of useful fire safety tips that can never be repeated enough, here are just a few to help. Keep in mind though that though this article focuses slightly on the winter months, that fire is a year-round threat that should always be taken seriously. This is one area in which an ounce of prevention is worth a TON of cure!

Here are three key areas that need some attention: Prevention, Early Detection, and Rapid Reaction.

Prevention:
1. Never leave cooking unattended, and when you do cook, keep a few items close by such as a lid for any open pans, a box of baking soda to douse small flames that may erupt, and keep your fire extinguisher in an area where you do NOT have to go toward potential fire areas (such as the stove) to access it.
2. Also when cooking, set an audible timer to alert you as to when items might need attention. Most cooking fires occur when people fall asleep with something on the stove or when they “forgot” and left a burner on.
3. Use “light timers” to set a specific use time period for your electric space heaters. “Light timers” can be found at almost any store and are used to turn lights on and off for security purposes when you’re not home.
4. Don’t overload your electrical outlets with space heaters and try not to plug heaters into outlets that are behind curtains or other flammable materials.

Early Detection:
1. Smoke detectors are too inexpensive to not have several. So keep an extra in your winter gear to bring out during the winter months. With smoke detectors, it really is “the more the merrier.”
2. To help hear distant smoke detectors, get an inexpensive “baby monitor” and put the transmitter near the detector and the receiver in your bedroom so you can hear the alarm if you’re asleep.
3. Make sure you know your neighbors and that they have your phone number. It might be a neighbor that sees smoke coming from your house.

Rapid Reaction:
1. Some of the more devastating home fires are in apartment complexes because “homes” are attached to each other. If you live in an apartment and are aware of a fire, the first thing you should do (while calling 911) is to alert your neighbors.
2. Practice home fire drills and use the news as a signal to rehearse. Every time you see a house fire on the news, have your family practice your drill. Include your pets in your planning.
3. Have more than one way out. Many deaths occur when people become trapped in a house. Your natural escape route is out the door, but sometimes it has to be the window. If you live on the second or third floor, a fire escape ladder is an inexpensive investment and a potential life saver.

About the author: Paul Purcell is a security analyst and preparedness consultant with over 20 years risk management experience. He is also the author of “Disaster Prep 101”. More on Paul’s background can be found at www.disasterprep101.com/author.htm.

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Fire Preparedness/Safety

Winter Fire Safety

According to national fire stats about 84% of all fires are residential fires, and most of these occur in the winter months due to the use of alternative heating devices such as space heaters and fireplaces.

Many of these fire safety sources repeat the logical suggestions that each home should have a working smoke detector and families should practice fire drills.

To this, 1800Prepare adds the following suggestions which are excerpted from the book “Disaster Prep 101” (found on our books page).

1.  Smoke detectors are great to have and they’re inexpensive, so have at least 2 per floor, and have one that only comes out in winter.  This extra one is meant to be used near your alternate heating devices during the winter when they’re in use.

2.  Some of these extra smoke detectors might be located far away from your bedrooms.  Since the worst time for a fire to occur is when the family is asleep, use this simple trick.  Go get a “baby monitor.”  They’re inexpensive new, and you might find some deals at yard sales or thrift stores.  Put the monitor’s transmitter near your farthest smoke detector and the receiver in your bedroom.  If the smoke alarm goes off in the middle of the night, you’ll be sure to hear it.

3.  When you practice your family fire drills, take turns to allow each family member to be “it,” the one who discovers the fire and warns the others.  Also, be sure to have some realistic practice by performing your fire drill while blindfolded and crawling on hands and knees (IF all family members are physically capable and you’re not doing anything dangerous like trying to crawl down the stairs.  Safety first, even in drills!)

4.  Make sure you have a working fire extinguisher in each area a fire may occur such as the kitchen, garage, and near your clothes dryer.

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