Fire Safety Tips

Prevention Tips

Never leave burning candles unattended. Extinguish them when leaving the room.
Make sure your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are clean and working. Batteries should be changed twice a year.
Consider purchasing smoke detectors with flashing strobe lights if you have impaired hearing.
Never smoke in bed or while under the influence of medications or alcohol.
Use large deep ashtrays and empty them often. Make sure ashes are cold before dumping them in the trash.
When plugging in lights and other decorations, be sure to use power strips that have built in fuses. The small single plug extension cords are not heavy enough to carry the electrical load some decorations need.
When you are cooking, wear tops with tight fitting sleeves or roll them up. Consider using a timer to remind you to check pots, etc. when cooking and baking.
Know two ways out of each room and practice fire drills. Once out, stay out.
Keep a phone near by in case you need to dial 911.

Stop, Drop & Roll

If your clothes catch on fire, remember these rules:

Stop - do not run. Running fans the flames.
Drop - drop to the ground wherever you are.
Roll - continue to roll on the ground to smother the flames.
Cool - when the fire is out, cool.

Home Escape Plan

At work or school we all have fire escape plans, but we often forget about them at home. Plan 2 escape routes from each room, if a window is used, make sure it works. Set a meeting place outdoors so you will know everyone is safe. Don't forget to practice your plan to make sure it works.

Flammable Liquids

Oil based paints, gasoline, kerosene, fuel oil and other liquids that burn can be very dangerous. If these liquids get out of their container, a tiny spark may cause an explosion. These things should be kept in the garage or outside. They should never be kept in the house, especially in the basement.

3 Major Causes of Fire

The 3 major causes of fire are men, women and children.

The Fire Triangle

For a fire to occur, 3 things must be present:

Oxygen - there is oxygen in the air all around us.
Fuel - like wood, paper, gasoline, a house, or your clothes.
Heat - like a spark, cigarette, toaster, match or lighter.

Take away any one of those things and a fire can't happen. Fire prevention is keeping things that are hot (heat) away from things that can burn (fuel).

Smoke Kills

More people are killed by smoke than any other fire related reason. If you are caught in smoke, get down low and crawl. The air near the floor has fewer toxic fumes and less heat. If you are trapped, close the doors between you and the smoke. Seal the cracks around the door with any available cloth or rug. Signal for help from the window and stay low until help arrives.

Smoke Detectors

Smoke detectors are one of the greatest life saving inventions of modern times. They are inexpensive and easy to install. No home should be without them, but you must insure that they are operable. Test your smoke detectors once a week and replace batteries twice a year.

Big Fires Start Small

Most major fires begin small. Things like a tiny spark in an oily rag, an ashtray emptied into a wastebasket, or an electric wire with damaged insulation can start a fire. If we take time to correct these items, we could stop many fires from happening. Many home fires start in the kitchen. Ways to help stop kitchen fires include:

Never put pot holders, plastic utensils, or towels near the range where they could catch fire.
Roll up long sleeves while cooking.
Do not reach across the burners while cooking.
Keep things that burn away from things that are hot.