Home Fire Safety makes good sense year-round

Written by Allen Crabtree , Special to Redcross.org

Thursday, November 10, 2005 — This year the nation’s attention has been focused on the massive destruction and human suffering caused by Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma, but Americans need to remember that personal disasters and residential fires are happening every day in our communities.

This farmhouse was completely destroyed in an early one morning fire on Jan. 29, 2003. There were no smoke alarms in the building. Although the family living in it lost their home, fortunately they were able to escape the blaze and no one was injured. (Photo credit: Allen Crabtree/American Red Cross)

Losing a house to a fire is just as traumatic for the family who calls it “home” as if it had been lost during a large-scale, highly-publicize natural disaster, but there are steps that families can take year-round to minimize the risk of fire in their home, mitigate the tragedy and prevent loss of life.

"Although many residential fires are preventable, fires can ignite quickly and without warning,” said Keith Robertory, American Red Cross Fire Safety Expert. “It is important that every family plan ahead for residential fires – don’t wait until they happen.”

Every home should be equipped with smoke alarms to give early warning of a fire. They are the first line of defense and provide families a chance to escape fire in their home. Even with the early warning that smoke alarms provide, Robertory adds: “You and your household may have little time to decide the best method to escape -- that is why it is so important to plan two routes out of every room and a meeting place just outside your home.”

According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), a residential fire occurred every 77 seconds in the United States during 2004. There were 410,500 residential structure fires resulting in 3,190 fire-related deaths and 14,175 injuries in the home.

Many Home Fire Tragedies are Preventable

Many tragedies can be prevented if families take a few simple precautions, such as having working smoke alarms on every level of their homes and having family fire escape plans in place to help get everyone out of the house safely. NFPA data for 2004 indicates that four of every 10 house fires occur in homes without smoke alarms. Where fires were reported in homes that did have smoke alarms, in one-quarter of homes, the alarms didn’t work due to dead batteries or other problems.

Further, a recent poll conducted by the Red Cross found that 59 percent of the public had not made an emergency plan, which means there is still much to be done to educate the public about these simple preventative measures.

Red Cross Fire Safety Education Efforts

As part of an on-going effort to get the word out to families, the Red Cross has teamed with the Home Depot, the world's largest home improvement retailer, in a three-year partnership designed to educate one million people on disaster. During October – National Fire Safety Month – the Home Depot held a series of free in-store clinics on “Family Fire Safety” in all their locations across the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. These events offered an opportunity for the public to learn about fire safety tips and products and meet community emergency management officials.

The Red Cross also has worked with the United States Fire Administration (USFA), an agency of the Department of Homeland Security, to develop the “Masters of Disaster® Fire Prevention and Safety at Home Activities” booklet for grade levels 6 through 8. This booklet features word games, puzzles and activities to help educate youth and their families to prevent fires and be prepared in the event of a fire. The booklets are available for use during Fire Prevention Week activities in schools.

Despite their best efforts, firefighters lost the battle with the blaze that completely destroyed this farmhouse early one winter morning in January 2003.
(Photo credit: Allen Crabtree/American Red Cross)

The Holiday Season is also Fire Season

December, January and February see significant increases in the number of residential fires. Many winter fires result from alternative home-heating methods, including but not limited to wood stoves and fireplaces. An increasing number of house fires are due to use or misuse of old, faulty or unsafe holiday decorations, such as leaving lights or candles unattended. Power outages caused by winter storms play another role. About one in four fatal home candle fires occurred in homes in which there was no power.

During these winter months, the majority of Red Cross emergency responses are to residential fires. Red Cross volunteers help fire victims find temporary shelter, provide them with vouchers for food and clothing and provide other needed assistance. You can help the Red Cross by taking these simple preventative measures against deadly fires.

Simple Steps to 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. 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.
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.

Safety Tips in the event that a Fire Strikes Your Home

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.

Allen Crabtree is a volunteer from the Southern Maine Chapter of the American Red Cross and lives in Sebago, Maine, where he is a writer, antiquarian book dealer, blueberry farmer, town Selectman, volunteer firefighter and ambulance driver.