People often debate the value of Daylight Saving Time. But there’s no debating the value of using this biannual change as a reminder to check your smoke alarm and CO detectors.
Even for smoke
alarms that have long-life batteries—or are hard-wired—it’s still important to
make sure the alarm is working. Not every single long-life battery will work
for 10 years, and even hard-wired alarms can fail. So yes, you should still test your smoke alarms at least twice a year — once a month is better, as
recommended by the National Fire Protection Association. Replace smoke alarms
after 10 years.
This is also a good time to check your
CO detectors. Press and hold the Test Button on the front of the alarm until the alarm
sounds (it may take up to 20 seconds). And look on the back, or near the
battery compartment, for the date of manufacture. Most have a lifespan of no more than 7 years.
Once you know your alarms are working, make sure everyone in your home
knows what to do when the alarm goes off. Getting out may be more complicated
than you think, especially if there are young children or people with
disabilities in your home. And anyone may find it hard to respond quickly if
the alarm goes off in the middle of the night. Go to homefiredrill.org to learn
how to plan and practice a home fire drill.
A
campfire casts a warm glow and a sense of adventure—even if it’s in your own
backyard. Cooking dinner outside on a grill can make any meal “our favorite!”
This year, being outside is a special pleasure. As we move outdoors and bring
fire with us, it’s important to bring safety as well.
Pick your spot carefully. Whether it’s a grill or firepit, make sure it’s well away from houses and sheds, vehicles, shrubs and trees including low-hanging branches.
Enforce a “3-Foot Rule” just as you do for the stove. Keep children and pets at least three feet from the fire or grill.
Never use gasoline or kerosene on either a grill or a campfire. If you’re using starter fluid with your grill, never put the fluid on a hot grill. Make sure lighter fluids are stored securely and away from children.
Resist the belief that bigger is better when it comes to campfires! A roaring blaze can more easily get out of control, and can send embers long distances.
Just as you wouldn’t leave the stove unattended, never leave your campfire or grill unattended. Put a campfire out completely before you go to bed. When you’re done with a charcoal grill, let the coals cool completely before moving or storing it.
Store lighters and matches out of sight and reach of children.
Model safe behavior for your children, treating fire with respect. Avoid assigning fire tasks to children too young to understand fire risk or react if something unexpected happens. To learn more about what children understand about fire.
NYS Senator Joe Robach, Marlene Hamman-Whitmore and Rochester Fire Marshal Christine Schryver judge the posters
Talented young artists from schools throughout the area–RCSD Abelard Reynolds School #42, Cobbles Elementary School, East Rochester School, Harris Hill Elementary School, Honeoye Falls Manor School, RCSD Pinnacle School #35, Scribner Road Elementary School, St. Joseph School, and the Charles Finney School–contributed posters to the contest this year.
Congratulations to our 1st Place Winners in each category:
Rishaan Shah, 1st Grade, Scribner Road Elementary School Juliette LaBarr, 4th Grade, The Charles Finney School Alyssa Klawon, 5th Grade, RCSD School #42
Honorable
mentions go to:
Youngju Noh, 3 Grade, Cobbles Elementary Emma Thomas, 1st Grade, St. Joseph School Abdisadik Ali, 5th Grade, RCSD School #42 Antonio Dixon, 5th grade, RCSD School #42 Hyoju Joanne Noh, 1st Grade, Cobbles Elementary School
And congratulations to fifth-grader D’angelo Dixon, the lucky winner of a random drawing of all poster artists, who will get a ride on a firetruck to RCSD Abelard Reynolds School #42, courtesy of the Rochester Fire Department!
Prevention 1st would like to thank this year’s judges for their work in choosing this year’s winners: New York State Senator Joe Robach, Rochester Fire Marshal Christine Schryver, and Memorial Art Gallery Education Director Marlene Hamman-Whitmore.
Posters were judged on
both artistic merit and the impact of its fire safety message. All participants
will receive a certificate and all posters will be displayed at the following locations
around the city and county during March:
Rochester Public Library Children’s Center (winners and honorable mentions)
Having a working smoke
alarm, responding right away when it sounds, and having and practicing a plan
to get out quickly are more crucial today than ever.
Modern homes are more
susceptible to rapid fire spread, according to a study* by UL, a global safety certification company. The average U.S. home size has increased
56% since 1980, and more homes have two stories. The larger the home, the more
air is available to sustain and grow a fire. Newer homes are also more likely
to incorporate open floor plans, taller ceilings, great rooms and two-story
foyers, which can contribute to rapid smoke and fire spread.
Modern building materials
and furnishings are also more likely to include faster-burning synthetic materials
and/or combustible materials.
UL conducted a number of
fire experiments involving rooms made with either modern or “legacy” materials
(contents that might have been found in a mid-20th century house),
recording the time it took for “flashover” (a fire spreading very rapidly across a gap because of intense
heat) to occur. These experiments found that while flashover took 29
minutes or more in legacy rooms, in modern rooms it took less than 5 minutes.
In addition, modern windows and doors fail more rapidly than their legacy
counterparts, which can allow more air in to fuel the fire.
Average fire department
time to residential fires from 2004 to 2009 was approximately 6.4 minutes according
to the National Fire Incident Reporting System.
A working smoke alarm can
reduce your risk of dying in a fire by 50%–if it is working, you
respond to it immediately, and you can get out quickly, even in darkness.
Here’s how to keep yourself and your family safer:
Test your smoke alarms, ideally monthly, even if they have long-life batteries or are hard-wired.
Plan ahead, and know how everyone in your home will get out, especially from bedrooms.
Keep bedroom doors closed; whether modern or legacy they provide a barrier against smoke and heat. Feel the door with the back of your hand. If it’s hot, put down a towel or other material to keep out smoke, and go to a window to exit or signal to firefighters.
If the alarm sounds, don’t waste time looking for the source—get out, then call 9-1-1.
*Kerber, S. Analysis of Changing Residential Fire Dynamics, UL, 2012.
When searching for your
next Airbnb you might check out location, number of bedrooms, and whether it
has a kitchen. But what about fire safety?
A study by Johns Hopkins
Bloomberg School of Public Health analyzed Airbnb listings across 17 countries.
It found that less than half of Airbnb venues that allow smoking are equipped
with smoke detectors, while nearly two-thirds of venues that do not allow
smoking are equipped with smoke detectors.
According to the National
Fire Protection Association, smoking was the leading cause of home fire deaths in
the U.S. for the five year period of 2012-2016. Overall, one of every 31 home
smoking material fires resulted in death.
A working smoke alarm can cut
your risk of dying in a fire by 50%–but it must be working. Test smoke alarms
when you arrive at your Airbnb, and take note of all exits and the pathways to
them. Think about how you will get out if the alarm sounds in the middle of the night. Be sure to
keep pathways free of clutter.
If you smoke, use only
fire-safe cigarettes, use a deep sturdy ashtray, don’t discard cigarettes in
vegetation such as potted plants, and never smoke in bed.
Sheryl Watts, a Safe at Home trainer for Prevention 1st, sees firsthand the positive effect the program has on individuals and their families
Recently she worked with
Christopher, a young man who lives with his parents and was excited every week
about what he was learning. And he loved sharing his knowledge, often saying at
the end of his session with Sheryl: “I can’t wait for Dad to come home so I can
teach him this!”
His excitement rose
highest at the final session, when he was able to perform all the safety
techniques he’d learned without prompting. When Sheryl told him he was
officially graduated and would get a certificate, his reveled in his accomplishment: “I can’t believe I did that!”
Safe at Home trainers all have a fire safety background. Sheryl also works full-time at Lifetime Assistance, where she is in charge of fire safety. Each training starts with an assessment of any fire hazards in the home, and for this Sheryl often teams up with another trainer who has experience as a firefighter.
At the first session she also assesses the current fire safety knowledge of the person being trained. Then in 30-45 minute in-home weekly sessions, Sheryl teaches them about cooking safety, identifying fire hazards, locating and testing smoke alarms, exiting when the alarm goes off, and calling 9-1-1. Each week the previous week’s lessons are also reviewed.
Training may last from 3
weeks to 8 weeks depending on the person’s knowledge at the beginning and how
well they retain new knowledge. At the end of each of Christopher’s sessions,
Sheryl talked about what he had learned with his mother, who worked with him
between weekly sessions.
“Actually practicing the
techniques is important,” explains Sheryl. “Christopher learned how to exit his
bedroom safely if the alarm goes off:
test the door using the back of the hand, take a cell phone and shoes, and
if the door is hot how to block smoke from under the door and go to the window
to signal for help”.
Safe at Home is customized
to the individual. Sheryl has worked with one young woman with autism who
wasn’t very verbal. So they made picture
cards together and then used them as part of learning.
“I’d ask ‘There’s a noise
going off, what could that be?’ And she’d point to the alarm, “ Sheryl
explains. “We’d lay out the cards in a
sequence showing what might make the alarm go off—fire—and what we should do
next—an exit.”
All of Sheryl’s trainees
have one thing in common: “They really want
to learn, and to be safe.”
Seeing the sense of
accomplishment they get from their achievements is very rewarding for Sheryl.
So is their determination to apply what they’ve learned. For example, at the
beginning of his training Christopher could find the smoke alarm but didn’t
know how to test it. Sheryl demonstrated the test button and they discussed how
important it is that the alarm is always working. Now Christopher is looking
forward to testing those alarms–with his father–every month.
You still have to provide other pieces of the safety puzzle.
Even smoke alarms with long-life batteries need testing.
Fire departments and injury prevention organizations like
Prevention 1st are celebrating the upcoming implementation of New
York State’s new smoke alarm requirements.
As of April 1, all smoke alarms sold in New York must have a 10-year, sealed,
non-removable battery, which will undoubtedly prevent a significant number of
fire deaths and serious injuries.
While most fires happen during the day, most fatal fires
occur at night. Having even one working
smoke alarm in your home reduces the chance of dying in a fire by more than
half. It is difficult to find a more
effective, accessible and affordable prevention tool, which is why most states
require them in the first place. Yet
people still die in fires on a regular basis.
Why?
Missing or dead batteries!
Well-meaning people, annoyed by the sound of a dying battery, or by one
that is doing its job around a smoky kitchen or steamy bathroom, take out the
battery. So do people who are in
immediate “need” of a battery for a remote control or other device. Regardless of reason, most people have every
intention of replacing that battery, but just don’t get around to it, with
sometimes tragic consequences.
Ten-year smoke alarms, with long-life batteries that are
sealed into the unit, will make a big difference in improving safety. But there are a few things New Yorkers need
to know before they install their new ones and forget about them for a decade.
Test your smoke alarm regularly. Long-life batteries are just that – but “long life” may not be ten years. Batteries can and do fail, so continue to test them once a month.
Keep it free of dirt and dust. Alarms are sensitive and finely tuned; like any appliance, they work better when clean! Use a vacuum hose or duster to remove damaging dirt.
Be ready to replace it before ten years is up. A 2008 CDC-commissioned study found that after ten years, 78% of smoke alarms with lithium batteries were that were installed through a public outreach program were still operational. That leaves 22% that were not. Keep testing!
Don’t forget the other pieces of the safety puzzle. The time to figure out who is helping children or elderly relatives escape from fire is not the middle of the night with alarms going off and smoke filling your home. Develop an exit plan with your family and practice it at least twice a year!
The new smoke alarms, while slightly more expensive, will be
well worth the cost in lives saved and injuries prevented. But they are not a cure-all, and taking a few
additional steps will help make your home and your family that much safer.
This article also appeared as an
op-ed piece by Prevention 1st president Molly Clifford in the March 23,2019 issue of the
Rochester Democrat & Chronicle.
The cold weather and darkness this month have us turning on lights, heating and appliances. According to the U.S. Fire Administration, that may be why January is the leading month for electrical fires. Today’s electrical demands can overburden the electrical system in a home, especially homes more than 40 years old that have older wiring, electrical systems, and devices.
Protect yourself and your family by making sure all electrical work in your home is done by a qualified electrician and following these tips from USFA:
Always plug major appliances–such as refrigerators, stoves, washers and dryers–directly into a wall outlet. Never use an extension cord with a major appliance.
Unplug small appliances when you’re not using them.
Keep lamps, light fixtures and light bulbs away from anything that can burn.
Use light bulbs that match the recommended wattage on the lamp or fixture.
Check electrical cords on appliances often. Replace cracked, damaged and loose electrical cords.
Don’t overload wall outlets.
Never force a three-prong cord into a two-slot outlet.
Install tamper-resistant electrical outlets if you have young children.
Use power strips that have internal overload protection.
You say you just don’t have time to prevent injuries? If you’ve got less than one minute to devote to safety, use it to:
Wipe up a spill right away. Falls are the leading cause of nonfatal unintentional injuries for every age group, except 10 to 24 year olds—and for them it’s the second leading cause! Wiping up spills is one of several simple ways to prevent falls.
Not leave a child alone near water (yes, even for less than a minute). Kids don’t drown only in pools. Bathtubs, buckets, toilets, and hot tubs can be drowning dangers as well.
Test your smoke alarm to make sure it’s still working, and everyone in your household can hear it. Even alarms that are hard-wired or have long-life batteries need to be checked. You should have at least one working smoke alarm on each floor, and one inside every sleeping area is best. Consider having both ionization and photoelectric alarms, or dual alarms that incorporate both technologies. Ionization smoke alarms respond best to flaming fires, and photoelectric to smoldering fires.
Put away matches or lighters in a high cabinet or locked drawer, out of sight and reach of children. Children playing with fire is a leading cause of fire deaths for children under age 5.
Turn off portable space heaters when you leave the room or go to sleep. Space heaters are involved in 32% of heating fires but cause 82% of associated deaths and 64% of injuries.
Adjust the thermostat on your water heater to keep hot water less than 120°F, to prevent scalds.
Turn off the stove if you have to leave the kitchen while cooking. Unattended equipment is the #1 contributing factor in cooking fire deaths.
Put on your glasses and read the fine print on that medicine bottle. Unintentional poisonings have risen steadily since 1992, and for people 35 to 54 years old, they’re causing more deaths than motor vehicle crashes. Know how much, and how often, you can safely take any medication whether prescription or over-the-counter, as well as possible interactions with other drugs.
Keep the metal mesh screen of your fireplace closed, but leave glass doorsopen while burning a fire. The U.S. Fire Administration says leaving the doors open gives the fire enough air and keeps creosote from building up in the chimney. The screen helps keep embers from getting out of the fireplace. Close the glass doors when the fire is out to keep air from the chimney from getting into the room.
Our 1-minute moves can prevent injuries and take a total of less than 10 minutes. If you can find just a few minutes more, use them to:
Put away household cleaners and medications in a place that’s out of sight and reach of children.
Clear clutter from hallways and exits to prevent tripping.
Install handrails on stairs and adequate lighting at the top and bottom of the stairs. Leading causes of adult injuries include falls from stairs, steps and ladders.
Play Help Mikey Make It Out with your kids. This fun, interactive game at homefiredrill.org teaches life-saving home escape lessons.
Plan and practice your home escape. Working smoke alarms and CO detectors save lives, but does everyone in your home know what to do when they sound–especially in the middle of the night? Does everyone know your meeting place outside, where you can find each other and firefighters can find you? Visit homefiredrill.org.
Check the manufacturers instructions to see if you should replace your CO detector. You need a new detector every two to 10 years, depending on the model. Carbon monoxide kills in minutes, and unlike smoke from a fire it’s colorless, tasteless and odorless. It can be created by open flames, space heaters, water heaters, blocked chimneys or running a car inside a garage (even with the door open). If you have only one carbon monoxide detector, the Consumer Product Safety Commission recommends it be located near the sleeping area, where it can wake you.
