Practicing Fire safety will keep you and your family prepared and will reduce the risk of having a fire start and in turn will reduce the risk of injury or death. Residential fires are often preventable but when they do occur, being prepared is your best chance. Kitchen fires are the leading cause of fires in residential structures.
Children and seniors are most at risk of losing their life in a fire. With that said, fire does not discriminate. Everyone needs to know how to stay safe and practice fire safety. So, what can you do?
First off, have a plan! You and your family should have an escape plan including a meeting place outside in the event of a fire. Everyone should practice getting out and know the closest way out along with alternatives. Remember to get low and crawl below the smoke. And don’t forget to go over how to get us there with children! 9-1-1.
SMOKE ALARMS SAVE LIVES! We have them for free!
Deaths in residential homes are often attributed to not having working smoke alarms. Do you have smoke alarms in your home? Do you have enough? Do you replace your smoke alarm batteries semi-yearly? Smoke alarms should be in and outside of every sleeping room. In addition there should be at least one alarm on every level in the home regardless if there are bedrooms or not. Batteries should be replaced twice a year. Try doing that as Daylight Savings starts and ends each year. That way you’ll always know you have fresh batteries in your smoke detectors.
Practice safety when using heat sources including kitchen appliances, fire places, grills, and space heaters. Always keep and eye on your food as it cooks. In addition, be sure and follow manufacturers recomendations for maintenance on electrical or other powered appliances or tools to prevent risk of electrical shorts and fires.
