National Fire Prevention Week: Red Cross Safety Tips

By Carly Flumer, Volunteer

Alert! Alert! It’s Fire Prevention Week, and the Red Cross is here to bring you the seven best safety tips to prepare for a fire.

1. Install the right number of smoke alarms and make sure to replace the batteries at least once a year.

2. Teach young children what smoke alarms sound like and what to do if they hear one.

3. Make sure that everyone in your family knows how to escape from every room in your house and designate a meeting spot outside.

4. Develop a plan to communicate with your family members to know how and who to contact in case one gets lost.

5. Practice escaping from your home. A plan is best when practiced, especially when it’s been proven that families only have a mere 2 minutes to get out quickly!

• Here are helpful examples of escape plans based your home:
• Single Family Home: https://www.redcross.org/content/dam/redcross/atg/PDFs/Infographics/Single_Family_Home.pdf
• Multi-Family Home: https://www.redcross.org/content/dam/redcross/atg/PDFs/Infographics/Multi_Family_Dwelling.pdf
• Apartment Complex: https://www.redcross.org/content/dam/redcross/atg/PDFs/Infographics/High_Rise_Apartment.pdf

• To print an escape plan that you and your family can fill out (available in English and Spanish), go to: https://www.redcross.org/content/dam/redcross/National/145733-Tier-59-Home-Fire-Escape-Plan-11x8-5-FINAL%20(1).pdf

6. Make sure everyone, especially young children, know how to dial 9-1-1 and speak with the police and/or fire department.

7. Teach each family member the STOP, DROP, and ROLL TECHNIQUE if their clothes should catch on fire.

For more information:

• Watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhKD1CS8pcM
• Download our free Emergency App or text “GETEMERGENCY” TO 90999 and our children's Monster Guard App or text “MONSTER” to 90999
• Visit https://www.redcross.org/get-help/how-to-prepare-for-emergencies/types-of-emergencies/fire.html

Fire Safety Friday

Written by: Susan Kumah, volunteer

While many Americans think Mother Nature is the leading cause of disasters, statistics show that it is in fact homes fires that pose the largest disaster threat. In the US, 1,000 times a day, fire departments are called to home fires. In fact, out of the 70,000 disasters the Red Cross responds every year, home fires make up the majority of cases. Data shows that vulnerable demographics such as low income groups, youth populations, the elderly, and disabled are disproportionately affected by home fires.

How is it possible that there is one fire every 8 minutes in the United States? Don't statistics show that the US possesses the world's leading manufacturers in smoke detection technology? Aren't there many state laws that require working smoke detectors within houses? True and true. While accidents can happen to anybody, accidents do not have to produce devastating outcomes. Prevention takes no more than a couple of minutes every month in order to minimize the risk of home fires. Red Cross recommends installing fire alarms on each level of your home including one outside the kitchen and one outside each bedroom. Even more important to the location of the fire alarm is its efficiency i.e. checking if the device is working.  Working smoke detectors can double the chance of someone surviving a fire, so it is important that these devices are checked every month and replaced every ten years. Also everyone should practice their evacuation plan twice a year.

The American Red Cross will continue to increase its effort to decrease disaster threats caused by home fires. The Home Fire Preparedness Campaign for example, was established to educate communities about how to make their households less prone to home fires. Through community level interventions, volunteers go door-to-door teaching residents how to maintain smoke detectors, fire alarms, and install working detectors. You can get involved in a canvassing activity by signing up through Volunteer Connection.

Young people are also participating in the prevention strategies through the American Red Cross's annual Youth Preparedness week. From January 20 – 24 2014, 1,639 youth volunteers canvassed 375 neighborhoods and distributed 144,657 fire safety and “make a plan” door hangers in Spanish and English. The American Red Cross continues to pass the baton by making young people keenly aware of fire safety. The Pillowcase Project, a fire education program for 3rd - 5th graders, has educated children with information about local hazard preparedness. The Red Cross is currently looking for Pillowcase Project presenters also on Volunteer Connection.

Through these various forms of awareness, individuals throughout the country are lessening their risk of home fires. Visit redcross.org to view our Home Fire Safety Checklist, Escape Plan, and see what Training and Preparedness Education options are available to you.

Hot Tips for Fire Prevention Month

Prevent, Plan, and Practice!

by Lisa Newman, Volunteer Contributor  

Many people know that the American Red Cross responds to a high number of emergencies each year - more than 70,000 annually! But did you know that home fires are the most common disaster Americans face every year? Fire Prevention Week has just ended but we have the remainder of the month (October is Fire Prevention Month!) to prepare our families and homes. 

Fast Facts:

• Every 8 minutes, the Red Cross responds to disaster, the majority of which are home fire.
• Home fires kill more people in the United Sates than all natural disasters combined.
• Only 26% of Americans are prepared with a strategy and rehearsed escape plan.

PREVENT

• Keep items that can catch on fire at least 3 feet away from anything that gets hot, like a stove.
• Avoid smoking in bed.
• Turn portable heaters off when leaving the room or going to sleep.

PLAN

• Install a smoke alarm on every level of your home and outside of sleeping areas.
• Test smoke alarm batteries every month and change them at least once a year.
• Make sure everyone in your family knows at least 2 ways to escape from every room of your home.
• Consider escape ladders for sleeping areas on the 2nd and 3rd floor. Make sure everyone in your home learns how to use them ahead of time by reading the manufacturer's instructions and understanding the steps to use them. Store them near the window where they will be used.

PRACTICE

• Practice your fire escape plan at least twice a year. Designate a meeting spot outside that's a safe distance from your home. Make sure all family members know the meeting spot.
• Have your family practice escaping from your home at different times of the day. Practice crawling low and how to dial 9-1-1. For additional fire preparedness tips and escape planning, click here.
• Teach your family to stop, drop to the ground, and roll if their clothes catch on fire. Practice this with your children.

Simple Safety:

• Never open doors that are warm to the touch.
• If smoke, heat, or flames block your exit routes, stay in the room with the door closed. If possible, place a towel under the door and call the fire department to alert them to your location in the home. Go to the window for help, waving a bright colored cloth or a flashlight. Do no break the window. Instead, open it from the top and bottom. 
• Once you get out of your home, stay out under all circumstance until a fire official gives you permission to go back inside.