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Red Cross Marks Fire Prevention Week
Written by
Lesly C. Hallman
, Staff Writer, RedCross.org
Monday, October 04, 2004 — October 3-9 marks National Fire Prevention Week, the perfect opportunity to check smoke alarms at home and work and to develop a fire action plan if the need to escape suddenly should arise.
Each year, the American Red Cross responds immediately to more than 67,000 disasters, most of which are house or apartment fires. According to the National Fire Prevention Association, fire departments responded to 1.6 million fires in the United States in 2003, and nearly 4,000 people were killed by fires, mostly in their homes.
“Having an operating smoke alarm in your home or business is the first line of defense against fires,” said Red Cross spokesman Patrick McCrummen. “Checking the batteries and testing a smoke alarm just twice a year can make the difference between life and death in some cases.”
Red Cross volunteers talk with a family whose home was damaged by a fire. |
In 1920, President Woodrow Wilson issued the first National Fire Prevention Day proclamation, and since 1922, Fire Prevention Week has been observed on the Sunday through Saturday period in which October 9 falls.
Autumn is also an often disastrous time of year due to wildfires, particularly in the western United States. Last fall, wildfires burned nearly 800,000 acres in Southern California, killing 24 people and destroying more than 3,700 homes. Fire officials warn that conditions are ripe for a similar outcome this year if area residents and visitors don’t exercise extreme caution.
The Red Cross suggests these specific steps to follow to prepare for a possible fire:
Make Your Home Fire Safe
- Smoke alarms save lives. Install a smoke alarm outside each sleeping area and on each additional level of your home.
- If people sleep with doors closed, install smoke alarms inside sleeping areas, too.
- Use the test button to check each smoke alarm once a month. When necessary, replace batteries immediately. Replace all batteries at least once a year.
- Vacuum away cobwebs and dust from your smoke alarms monthly.
- Smoke alarms become less sensitive over time. Replace your smoke alarms every ten years.
- Consider having one or more working fire extinguishers in your home. Get training from the fire department in how to use them.
- Consider installing an automatic fire sprinkler system in your home.
Plan Your Escape Routes
- Determine at least two ways to escape from every room of your home.
- Consider escape ladders for sleeping areas on the second or third floor. Learn how to use them and store them near the window.
- Select a location outside your home where everyone would meet after escaping.
- Practice your escape plan at least twice a year.
Escape Safely
- Once you are out, stay out! Call the fire department from a neighbor'
- s home.
- If you see smoke or fire in your first escape route, use your second way out. If you must exit through smoke, crawl low under the smoke to your exit.
`- If you are escaping through a closed door, feel the door before opening it. If it is warm, use your second way out.
- If smoke, heat, or flames block your exit routes, stay in the room with the door closed. Signal for help using a bright-colored cloth at the window. If there is a telephone in the room, call the fire department and tell them where you are.
And remember . . . when a fire, earthquake, tornado, flood, or other emergency happens in your community, you can count on your local American Red Cross chapter to be there to help you and your family. Your Red Cross is not a government agency and depends on contributions of your time, money, and blood. For more information, please contact your local American Red Cross chapter or emergency management office.
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