FIRE SAFTEY 
Mitigation of the Rural
Fire Problem in the United States USFA has partnered with the
National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) in a project to examine what can be
done
to reduce the high death rate from fire in rural America. This project supports
USFA's
goal to reduce fire deaths. Click
here for information
US Fire Administration Smoking & Home Fires Campaign
Philadelphia Firefighters Fire Prevention Music Video: Take it Outside
Six Days, Six Fires, 19 Children
and 9 Adults Killed
Click here for story
Oklahoma ABLE Tech - Messages about
Fire Safety and Prevention for People with
Disabilities (click here)
Test All Your Smoke
Alarms TODAY!
FIRE EXTINGUISHERS:
Do you have a fire
extinguisher in your home? Many of us do. But few of us stop and think about
when and how a fire extinguisher should be used. And when it
shouldn't. The National Fire Protection
Association (NFPA) says that while a portable fire extinguisher can be an
important part of your home's
fire protection program, the first thing you should do upon discovering a fire,
no matter how small, is to
get people out of the house and call the fire department. After evacuating the
home and alerting the fire
department, NFPA recommends the following when using a fire extinguisher:
- If you feel confident
in fighting the fire, use the appropriate fire-fighting equipment.
- Keep near a door that can be used as an escape route. Never let the fire come
between you and your way out.
- Stay low to the floor to avoid breathing heated air, smoke and fumes.
- If the fire is not quickly put out, get out of the home, closing doors behind
you, and do not re-enter.
As always, your
best defense against a fire is to be prepared. Take a moment to look at your
fire extinguisher.
Read the label. Get familiar with how to use it. The time to learn how to use
your fire extinguisher is now, not during a fire.
For more information about fire extinguishers check out: http://www.testyoursmokealarms.com/pfextinguish.htm
In addition, all fire extinguishers in your home
should have a label that says they are approved by
Underwriters Laboratories (or equivalent). If it's not approved, don't use it.
For example, the Consumer
Product Safety Commission recently recalled 136,000 cans of "FIRE
CAP" brand fire and smoke suppressant.
This unapproved product was found not to suppress fires. In fact, it was found
to make fires worse! For more
information about this recall see http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml00/00064.html
SMOKE ALARMS AND FAMILY
TRAGEDY:
TWO DIFFERENT STORIES:
On March 29, eight members of a
when a fire raced through their four-bedroom mobile home. Investigators believe
faulty wiring in a clothes
dryer started the fire, which probably smoldered in some clothes before it
spread. Officials said the home
did not have a working smoke alarm. Just a week earlier, three generations of
an
from tragedy after being alerted to a fire in their home by a smoke alarm. The
Birmingham Evening Mail reported
that all 12 family members escaped from their home unharmed when their smoke
alarm sounded around 1 a.m.
A fire department official is quoted as saying, "There was potential for
disaster in this case. But this proves
smoke alarms save lives."
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Check List Test detectors every month. Change batteries at least once a year.
Don't overload electrical outlets. Check fuses to ensure they're the
correct size.
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