Fires / Wildfires » Fire Preparedness » House Fires
Fire Tips: Simple changes that could save your life
An average of three children a day - approximately 1,100 children under the age of 15 - die each year in house fires. Ninety percent of fire deaths involving children occur in homes without smoke detectors. Smoke detectors are relatively inexpensive. The Faribault Fire Department recommends that you install smoke detectors on every level of your home, including one in every bedroom and one outside sleeping areas.
- Bedroom doors should be kept closed while sleeping. The doors and
walls of your home provide an excellent fire and smoke barrier to
protect you in the event of a fire. When possible remember to close
doors to prevent fire and smoke from entering the room.
- Smoke
detectors become ineffective after ten years. If your smoke detectors
are ten years old or older, it is time to have them replaced.
- Although
nearly 92 percent of American homes have smoke alarms, nearly one-third
don't work because of worn or missing batteries. The Faribault Fire
Department recommends that you replace batteries in battery operated
smoke alarms twice a year. A good way to remember this is during daylight
savings time. When you change your clock remember to change the batteries
in your smoke detector.
- Working
smoke alarms cut the risk of dying in a home fire nearly in half.
Many people with hearing difficulties are left unprotected in their
homes because they are unable to hear the smoke alarm. Special smoke
alarms are available that use a visual strobe to alert a person with
difficulty hearing. If you can not hear your smoke alarm, contact
the Faribault Fire Department for more information on strobe smoke
alarms. 334-8773.
- Keep
a working flashlight near your bed, in the kitchen, basement, and
family room and use it to signal for help in the event of a fire.
- Always
remember to keep matches and lighters stored in a safe place. Many
children have a curiosity about fire and can easily start a fire when
they find these items. Talk to your children about the danger of playing
with fire.
- Never
store gasoline containers inside your home. Escaping vapors are heavier
than air and easily find ignition sources such as pilot lights.
- Children
should know what to do during a fire and how to get help in an emergency.
Children may not know what to do if a smoke alarm goes off in your
home. Sound the alarm in your home and explain to them what you expect
them to do in a fire. Every family should take time to talk to young
children about an Exit Drill In The Home. Exit drills are simple plans
of escape from fire. Children have a natural response of hiding when
they are scared. In a fire, hiding is the worst thing they can do.
If you teach them what to do, crawling low under the smoke and to
go to a designated meeting place outside the home, children will have
an excellent chance of surviving a fire. Children also should be taught
what to do if the parents become trapped in the home.
- Fire
and Building Codes are designed to protect you in the event of a fire.
In your building or home, take time to learn where fire exits are.
A fire escape may be a window. There should always be two ways out
of a building.
- Smoke
alarms are a family's best defense against fire. Many families become
frustrated from false alarms. Many of these false alarms can be eliminated
by proper placement. Proper placement is on the ceiling, however,
if a wall must be used, install the detector(s) at a minimum distance
of 4" and a maximum distance of 12" from the ceiling. Keep
smoke detectors away from cooking vapors to prevent false or nuisance
alarms.
- When
you clean your home remember that your smoke detector gathers dust
and cobwebs. These can make the smoke detector falsely activate or
not activate at all. While vacuuming your home, take the time to use
your extension to vacuum around the opening of your smoke detector.
- Know
how to escape a fire. Plan your escape paths from each room in your
home. Identify two escape paths from each room in your home. If smoke
is in your first path, use your second option. If heat, flames, or
smoke block both escape paths, stay in the room with your door closed.
If there is a telephone in the room, call 9-1-1 and give your location.
Signal for help!
- Don't
keep emergency personnel in the dark when you need help. In Faribault,
many address numbers are in poorly lighted areas. Trees and other
landscaping make it difficult to read an address. Tonight take the
time to look at your house numbers. Could emergency personnel find
you home easily? Seconds count during every emergency so help us find
you in an emergency.
- Place
your address by your phone. Babysitters, guests, or young children
may need to call for help in your home. They usually do not know your
address and may not know your phone number. Make it easier for them
in an emergency. Place your address and phone number on or by your
phone. If you need a 9-1-1 sticker for your phone you may pick one
up for free at the Faribault Fire Department.
- Does
everyone in your family know what to do if your clothes start on fire?
Stop, Drop, and Roll. If somebody else has their clothes start on
fire, help them, have them Stop, Drop, and Roll and use a blanket
to smother the flames. Never leave children unsupervised around open
flames.
- Careless
cigarette smoking starts many home fires. Are ashtrays large enough
so that a forgotten cigarette will fall in? Ashes should be discarded
in metal wastebaskets only, ideally outside the home. Do not smoke
in bed. Remember careless smoking is still a major cause of home fires.
- The
Faribault Fire Department recommends that you have one U.L. listed
all purpose fire extinguisher in your home, car, and boat. Having
a fire extinguisher available in the event of fire can save your property
from needless fire loss.
- Do you
know how to use a fire extinguisher? Remembering the acronym PASS
may help. P = Pull the Pin. A = Aim at the base of the fire. S = Squeeze
the trigger. And S = Sweep the extinguishing agent back and forth
at the base of the fire.
- Practice
fire safety in your kitchen. Does everyone in your home know to "Put
a Lid on It" on grease fires?
- The
Faribault Fire Department wants to remind you to check that your portable
heaters in your home be kept away from people, curtains, and furniture.
Keep portable heaters a safer distance from flammable materials.
- Knowing how and when to use a fire extinguisher is very important because it can save property. Knowing when not to fight a fire is just as important. You should never fight a fire if you will have to breathe the smoke. Smoke contains many poisonous chemicals that due harm to your body. It never makes sense to put you life at risk to fight a fire involving property that can be replaced.
Types of Fire Extinguishers
Class B: Extinguish flammable liquids, greases, or gases by removing oxygen, preventing the vapors from reaching the ignition source or inhibiting the chemical chain reaction. Foam, carbon dioxide, ordinary (BC rated) dry chemical, multi-purpose dry chemical, and halon extinguishers may be used to fight Class B fires.
- What would you do if your home caught fire? Would you know where
to do if smoke or flames blocked your escape? There is no time to
think about these questions in a real fire. It's hot, smoky, and so
dark that you may not be able to see your own hands. Know ahead of
time what to do if there's a fire. Develop an escape plan with two
ways out of every room. You'll need a second way in case smoke or
flames block your primary exit. And make sure every exit is accessible,
including windows. Getting out is your first priority in a fire. And
once out, stay out!
- Real fires are hot, smoky and dark. You may have only a very few minutes to safely escape from a fire. If you're ever in a fire, don't spend time getting dressed or trying to gather valuables. Just get out and stay out. Then call the fire department from a neighbor's telephone.
Last update: 2007-07-03 07:05
Author: Source: Faribault Firefighters
Revision: 1.0
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