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Be warm and safe this winter!
| Posted on November 14, 2011 at 8:45 AM |
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Did you know that heating equipment is a leading cause of home fire deaths? With a few simple safety tips and precautions you can prevent most heating fires from happening.
- Keep anything that can burn at least three feet away from heating equipment, like the furnace, fireplace, wood stove, or portable space heater.
- Have a three-foot "Kid-free zone" around open fires and space heaters.
- Never use your oven to heat your home.
- Have a qualified professional install stationary space heating equipment, water heaters or central heating equipment according to the local codes and manufacturer's instructions.
- Have heating equipment and chimneys cleaned and inspected every year by a qualified professional.
- Remember to turn portable heaters off when leaving the room or going to bed.
- Always use the right kind of fuel, specified by the manufacturer, for fuel burning space heaters.
- Make sure the fireplace has a sturdy screen to stop sparks from flying into the room. Ashes should be cool before putting them in a metal container. Keep the container a safe distance away from your home.
- Test your smoke alarms monthly.
FACT:
Half of homes heating fires are reported during the months of December, January and February.
Electrical Safety
| Posted on October 31, 2011 at 9:25 AM |
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Flipping a light switch. Plugging in a coffeemaker. Charging a laptop computer. These are second nature for most of us. Electricity makes our lives easier. However, we need to be cautious and keep safety in mind.
SAFETY TIPS:
- Have all electrical work done by a qualified electrician.
- When you are buying or remodeling a home, have it inspected by a qualified electrician.
- Only plug one heat-producing appliance (such as a coffee maker,toaster, space heater, etc.) into a receptacle outlet at a time.
- Major appliances (refrigerators, dryers, washers, stoves, airconditioners, etc.) should be plugged directly into a wall receptacle outlet. Extrension cords and plug strips should not be used.
- Arc fault circuit interrupters (AFCIs) are a kind of circuit breaker that shuts off electricity when a dangerous condition occurs. Consider having them installed in your home. Use a qualified electrician.
- Use ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCIs) to reduce the risk of shock. GFCIs shut off an electrical circuit when it becomes a shock hazard. They should be installed inside the home in bathrooms, kitchens, garages and basements. All outdoor receptacles should be GFCI protected.
- Test AFCIs and GFCIs once a month to make sure they are working properly.
- Check electrical cords to make sure they are not running across doorways or under carpets. Extension cords are intended for temporary use. Have a qualified electrician add more receptacle outlets so you don’t have to use extension cords.
- Use light bulbs that match the recommended wattage on the lamp or fixture. There should be a sticker that indicates the maximum wattage light bulb to use.
Important Reminder
Call a qualified electrician or your landlord if you have:
• Frequent problems with blowing fuses or tripping circuit breakers
• A tingling feeling when you touch an electrical appliance
• A burning or rubbery smell coming form an appliance
• Discolored or warm wall outlets
• Flickering or dimming lights
• Sparks from an outlet
Practice Fire Safety - watch what you heat.
| Posted on October 24, 2011 at 11:45 AM |
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Cooking brings family and friends together, provides an outlet for creativity and can be relaxing. But did you know that cooking fires are the number one cause of home fires and home injuries? By following a few safety tips you can prevent these fires.
Cook with Caution:
- Be on alert! If you are sleepy or have consumed alcohol don’t use the stove or stovetop.
- Stay in the kitchen while you are frying, grilling, or broiling food. If you leave the kitchen for even a short period of time, turn off the stove.
- If you are simmering, baking, roasting, or boiling food, check it regularly, remain in the home while food is cooking, and use a timer to remind you that you are cooking.
- Keep anything that can catch fire — oven mitts, wooden utensils, food packaging, towels or curtains — away from your stovetop.
IF YOU HAVE A COOKING FIRE...
- Just get out! When you leave, close the door behind you to help contain the fire.
- Call 9-1-1 or the local emergency numbers after you leave.
- If you try to fight the fire, be sure others are getting out and you have a clear way out.
- Keep a lid nearby when you’re cooking to smother small grease fires. Smother the fire by sliding the lid over the pan and turn off the stovetop. Leave the pan covered until it is completely cooled.
- For an oven fire turn off the heat and keep the door closed.
Cooking and Kids
Have a “kid-free zone” of at least 3 feet around the stove and areas where hot food or drink is prepared or carried.
FACTS:
- The leading cause of fires in the kitchen is unattended cooking.
- Most cooking fires in the home involve the stovetop.
Plan an escape, Escape with a plan!
| Posted on October 17, 2011 at 8:30 AM |
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Plan Ahead! IF a fire breaks out in your home, you may have only a few minutes to get out safely once the smoke alarm sounds. Everyone needs to KNOW what to do and where to go if there is a fire.
SAFETY TIPS
- MAKE a home escape plan. Draw a map of your home showing all doors and windows. Discuss the plan with everyone in your home.
- KNOW at least two ways out of every room, if possible. Make sure all doors and windows leading outside open easily.
- HAVE an outside meeting place (like a tree, light pole or mailbox) a safe distance from the home where everyone should meet.
- PRACTICE your home fire drill at night and during the day with everyone in your home, twice a year.
- PRACTICE using different ways out.
- TEACH children how to escape on their own in case you can’t help them.
- Close doors behind you as you leave.
IF THE ALARM SOUNDS...
**If the smoke alarm sounds, GET OUT AND STAY OUT.
**Never go back inside for people or pets.
**If you have to escape through smoke, GET LOW AND GO
under the smoke to your way out.
**CALL the fire department from outside your home.
Install. Inspect. Protect.
| Posted on October 10, 2011 at 1:05 PM |
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Smoke alarms are an important part of a home fire escape plan. When there is a fire, smoke spreads fast. Working smoke alarms give you early warning so you can get outside quickly.
FACTS
- Roughly two thirds of home fire deaths happen in homes with no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms.
- Working smoke alarms cut the risk of dying in reported home fires in half.
SAFETY TIPS
- INSTALL smoke alarms inside every bedroom, outside each sleeping area and on every level of the home, including the basement.
- Larger homes may need ADDITIONAL smoke alarms to provide enough protection.
- For the best protection, INTERCONNECT all smoke alarms so when one sounds they all sound.
- An IONIZATION smoke alarm is generally more responsive to flaming fires and a PHOTOELECTRIC smoke alarm is generally more responsive to smoldering fires. For the best protection, both types of alarms or a combination alarm (photoelectric and ionization) are recommended.
- INSTALL smoke alarms following manufacturer’s instructions high on a wall or on a ceiling.
- REPLACE batteries in all smoke alarms at least once a year. If an alarm “chirps,” warning the battery is low, replace the battery right away.
- REPLACE all smoke alarms when they are 10 years old or sooner if they do not respond properly when tested.
- FIRE WARNING EQUIPMENT is available to awaken people who are deaf or hard of hearing. This equipment uses strobe lights and vibration equipment (pillow or bed shakers) for people who are deaf and mixed-low-frequency signals for people who are hard of hearing. Some of this equipment is activated by the sound of the smoke alarm.
AND DON'T FORGET...
All smoke alarms should be tested at least once a month using the test button.
