Fire Prevention Week: Fire Marshal Tips For a Safer Home

Does everyone in your home know what the smoke alarm sounds like? Did you remove the batteries when they started chirping instead of replacing them? If it did sound, would you know what to do?

Rohnert Park Public Safety is teaming up with the nonprofit National Fire Protection Association Oct. 9-15, for Fire Prevention Week to let our community know: “Protect your Family from Fire!” As always, the focus of Fire Prevention Week is to prevent home fires. This year, the campaign is also urging people to protect their homes and families with planning and life-saving technology -- like smoke alarms!

In 2009, fire officials reported more than 360,000 home fires, and 2,565 people died as a result. Nearly all of these deaths could have been prevented by taking a few simple precautions like having working smoke alarms and a home fire escape plan, keeping things that can burn away from the stove and always turning off space heaters before going to bed.

Fire is a dangerous opponent, but by anticipating the hazards, you are much less likely to be one of the nearly 13,000 people injured in home fires each year.”

Smoke alarms are an important part of a home fire escape plan. Working smoke alarms cut the risk of dying in a home fire in half. Unfortunately, many homes have smoke alarms that just don’t work. In fact, roughly two-thirds of home fire deaths happen in homes with no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms. About one in five of smoke alarm failures was due to dead batteries.

Rohnert Park Public Safety Department is urging you to use this week to be sure that your smoke alarms are equipped to help protect your family from fire by putting the following tips into action:

• Smoke alarms should be installed on every level of the home, outside each sleeping area, and inside each bedroom. Larger homes may need additional smoke alarms. Never remove or disable smoke alarms.

• Interconnection of smoke alarms is highly recommended; when one smoke alarm sounds, they all do. (This is particularly important in larger or multi-story homes, where the sound from distant smoke alarms may be reduced to the point that it may not be loud enough to provide proper warning, especially for sleeping individuals.) A licensed electrician can install either hard-wired multiple-station alarms. Wireless alarms, which manufacturers have more recently begun producing, can be installed by the homeowner.

• There are two types of smoke alarm technologies – ionization and photoelectric. An ionization smoke alarm is generally more responsive to flaming fires – like a pan fire or the smoke from cooking. A photoelectric alarm is generally more responsive to smoldering fires – like a cigarette, overheated wiring or something hot like a space heater. Install both types of alarms in your home or combination ionization and photoelectric alarms that take advantage of both technologies.

• Test smoke alarms at least monthly by pushing the test button.  If an alarm “chirps,” warning the battery is low, replace the battery right away.

• All smoke alarms, including alarms that use 10-year batteries and those that are hard-wired alarms, should be replaced when they’re 10 years old (or sooner) if they do not respond properly when tested.

• 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.

• 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.

• Replace or repair damaged or loose electrical cords.

• If you smoke, smoke outside.

• Use deep, wide ashtrays on a sturdy table.

• Blow out all candles when you leave the room or go to bed. Avoid the use of candles in the bedroom and other areas where people may fall asleep.

For more information the Rohnert Park Public Safety Department can be reached at 707-584-2600.