Make your home Fire Safe - here are some tips:
- Replace the batteries in your smoke detectors and CO detectors twice a year. We suggest on the days of Daylight Savings Time (Spring) and Easter Standard Time (Fall).
- Have a fire extinguisher in your kitchen - hanging on a wall in visible sight and within 25’ of a potential fire source. (See the manufacture recommendations).
- CO detectors should be place on every living/occupied level/floor of the house/unit/building including the level(s) with a gas or oil-fired furnace/boiler, gas or oil hot water heater, gas stove, range and/or cook top, fireplace, wood burning/pellet stove, the room next to an attached garage, etc. Note: 1) Carbon monoxide is poisonous/highly toxic and odorless byproduct of combustion. 2) Large houses/units/buildings may need more than one detector level/floor.
Working Smoke and Carbon monoxide (CO) Alarms Are a Must:
About three out of five fire deaths happen in homes without working smoke alarms. Smoke alarms are a key part of a home fire escape plan providing early warning to reduce your risk of dying in a fire. The National Fire Protection Association recommends you:
- Replace the batteries in your smoke alarm and carbon monoxide detector twice a year. We suggest on the days of Daylight Savings Time (Spring) and Easter Standard Time (Fall)
- Keep smoke detectors away from the kitchen, at least 10 feet from the stove, to reduce false alarms. Follow the manufacture’s installation guidelines.
- Use special detectors with voices alerts for young children or children/persons with autism.
- Use special detectors with strobe lights and bed shakers for people who are hard of hearing or deaf.
- Replace smoke detectors that are 10 or more years old. Typical life span is 5 to 10 years.
- Replace CO detectors that are 5 or more years old. Typical life expectancy is 3 to 5 years, regardless of the battery type. I., Lithium-Ion.
- [EDITOR'S NOTE: Should these be included or deleted?]
- Install smoke alarms on every level of your home, inside bedrooms and outside sleeping areas on the ceiling or high on the wall
- Test smoke alarms monthly
Make an Escape Plan
A home fire is reported every 88 seconds. Once the smoke alarm sounds, a fire can spread quickly, leaving only a minute or two to escape. That's why it's so important to have a home escape plan.
Start by drawing a map for your home and follow these guidelines from the NFPA:
- Plan two ways to escape from each room
- Make sure all doors and windows leading outside open easily
- Identify secondary routes: a window onto an adjacent roof or a collapsible ladder from a second-floor window
- If you live in a multi-story building, plan to use the stairs – never the elevator
- Designate an outside meeting place a safe distance from the house
Now Practice Your Home Fire Escape Plan
Everyone – including children – need to know your family escape plan. The National Fire Protection Association indicates 71% of Americans have a home fire escape plan but only 47% have practiced it. Practice your fire drill with everyone in the house at night and during the day, twice a year. Remember to:
- Practice getting out with eyes closed, crawling low to the floor and keeping your mouth covered
- Practice closing doors behind you
- Practice how to “stop, drop and roll” if your clothes catch on fire
- Practice testing door handles to see if they are hot before opening them
- Teach children never to hide and how to escape on their own in case you can’t help them
When and How to Use Fire Extinguisher
Always put your safety first; if you are not confident in your ability to use a fire extinguisher, get out and call 9-1-1. The American Red Cross cautions you to evaluate the situation and ensure:
- Everyone has left or is leaving the home
- The fire department has been called
- The fire is small, not spreading, and there is not much smoke
- Your back is to an exit you can use quickly
- You remember the acronym PASS:
Pull the pin.
Aim low at the base of the fire.
Squeeze the handle slowly.
Sweep the nozzle side to side.