American Red Cross Joins 'Team Up for Fire Safety' Campaign
News Release: October 8, 2002
Contact: Janice Osborne, Manager-Media & Community Affairs
(610) 865-4400, ext. 262
The American Red Cross of the Greater Lehigh Valley joins the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) in its Team Up for Fire Safety campaign in recognition of Fire Prevention Week October 6-12, 2002.
The American Red Cross responds to a house or apartment fire on the average of once every three days, said Cordelia Miller, director of emergency services at the local chapter. Hundreds of people in our community are affected by a house fire each year. It doesnt have to be that way. By following some simple, but essential, safety lessons, families can learn how to prevent and respond safely to home fires.
This years Fire Prevention Week campaign touches on three safety lessons: installing and testing smoke alarms, practicing home escape plans, and hunting for home hazards
Tips for installing your smoke alarms correctly
Install smoke alarms Listed (examined and tested to appropriate product safety standards) by a qualified testing laboratory on every level of your home, including the basement (but not unfinished attics). Make sure there is an alarm in or near every sleeping area.
Mount the smoke alarms high on ceilings or walls remember, smoke rises. Ceiling-mounted alarms should be installed at least four inches away from the nearest wall; wall-mounted alarms should be installed four to 12 inches away from the ceiling.
Don't install smoke alarms near windows, outside doors, or ducts where drafts might interfere with their operation.
Don't paint your smoke alarms; paint or other decorations could keep them from working when you most need it.
Keep your smoke alarms working properly
Test your smoke alarms at least once a month by using the alarms' "test button." Never use an open-flame device to test the alarm as you could burn yourself or start a fire. If the smoke alarm manufacturer's instructions permit the use of an aerosol smoke product for testing the smoke alarm, only use one that has been Listed by a third-party product testing agency, and utilize it in accordance with the product instructions.
Replace the batteries in your smoke alarms once a year, or as soon as the alarm "chirps," warning that the battery is low. Helpful hint: schedule battery replacements for the same day you change your clock from daylight to standard time in the fall.
Regularly vacuuming or dusting your smoke alarm following manufacturer's instructions can help keep it working properly.
Replace your smoke alarms once every 10 years.
Never "borrow" a battery from a smoke alarm.
Make sure that everyone in your home can hear and recognize the sound of the alarm and knows how to react immediately.
Practice home fire escape plans
Developing and practicing a home fire escape plan that everyone understands can mean the difference between life and death. Fire can grow and spread through your home very quickly. It's important that you be prepared to react as soon as the smoke alarm sounds. These tips can help you put together and practice an effective home fire escape plan.
Pull together everyone in your household and make a plan. Draw a floor plan of your home, showing two ways out of each room, including windows. Don't forget to mark the location of each smoke alarm.
Test all smoke alarms (Listed by a qualified testing laboratory) monthly to ensure that they work. Replace batteries as needed.
Make sure that everyone understands the escape plan. Are the escape routes clear? Can doors and windows be opened easily?
If windows or doors in your home have security bars, make sure that the bars have quick-release mechanisms so that they can be opened immediately in an emergency. Quick-release mechanisms won't compromise your security but they will increase your chances of safely escaping a home fire.
Practice the escape plan at least twice a year, making sure that everyone is involved from kids to grandparents. If there are infants or family members with mobility limitations, make sure that someone is assigned to assist them.
Agree on an outside meeting place where everyone can meet after they've escaped. Remember to get out first, then call for help. Never go back inside until the fire department gives the OK.
Have everyone memorize the emergency phone number of the fire department. That way any member of the household can call from a cellular phone or a neighbor's home.
Be fully prepared for a real fire: when a smoke alarm sounds, get out immediately. And once you're out, stay out leave the firefighting to the professionals!
If you live in an apartment building, make sure that you're familiar with the building's evacuation plan. In case of a fire, use the stairs, never the elevator.
Tell guests or visitors to your home about your family's fire escape plan. When visiting other people's homes, ask about their escape plan. If they don't have a plan in place, offer to help them make one.
Hunt for home hazards
Never leave cooking food on the stovetop unattended, and keep a close eye on food cooking inside the oven. Keep cooking areas clean and clear of materials that could catch fire, such as pot-holders, towels, rags, drapes and food packaging.
Give space heaters plenty of space. Space heaters should be at least three feet (one meter) away from anything that could burn. Always make sure to turn heaters off when leaving the room or going to bed.
Solid-fueled heating equipment, including chimneys, chimney connectors, fireplaces, and wood or coal stoves should be inspected by a professional every year and cleaned as often as necessary. This also applies to all other types of fueled heating equipment, including central furnaces and space heaters. Lit candles should be monitored constantly by an adult and extinguished when adults leave the room or go to sleep.
Use candleholders that won't tip over easily, are made of non-combustible materials, and are big enough to catch dripping wax safely.
Never leave children alone with burning candles. NFPA warns about allowing children to have candles in their bedrooms. If there are smokers in your home, make sure ashtrays are large and deep and won't tip over. Douse cigarette and cigar butts with water before discarding them.
Keep matches and lighters up high and out of children's sight and reach preferably in a locked cabinet.
Replace or repair any electrical device with a loose, frayed, or broken cord.
Follow the manufacturer's instructions for plugging an appliance into a receptacle outlet (most receptacle outlets contain two receptacles). As an added precaution, avoid plugging more than one high-wattage appliance into a single receptacle.
In homes with small children, receptacle outlets should have plastic safety covers.
To reduce the risk of electrical shock, install GFCIs (ground-fault circuit-interrupters). GFCIs shut off faulty electrical circuits and equipment more quickly than conventional fuses or circuit breakers. The devices are inexpensive and can be hard-wired into your home's electrical system by a professional electrician.
Unwanted electrical arcing, often occurring in damaged wires or cords, can generate high temperatures and cause a fire. AFCIs (arc-fault circuit-interrupters) protect against fire by continuously monitoring the electrical current in a circuit and will shut off a circuit when an unwanted arcing fault is detected. (The National Electrical Codeฎ requires AFCIs in bedrooms of new residential construction.)
Liquids like gasoline, kerosene, and propane are highly flammable. Make sure to store these liquids outside the home in a properly ventilated shed or garage. Store them only in small quantities and in their original containers or in safety containers. Never bring even a small amount of gasoline indoors. The vapors are highly flammable and can be ignited by a tiny spark.
In the hands of an adult who knows how to use it, a portable fire extinguisher can save lives and minimize property damage by putting out a small fire or containing it until the fire department arrives. But never forget that fire spreads rapidly. Your first priority should always be to get out of the house.
For more information on fire safety, visit www.redcrosslv.org or call the American Red Cross at (610) 865-4400.
The American Red Cross of the Greater Lehigh Valley serves more than 660,000 residents in Carbon, Lehigh and Northampton counties. Last year the Red Cross provided health and safety education training and emergency relief services to nearly 20,000 Greater Lehigh Valley residents.
