October 7-13, 2018 is Fire Prevention Week™! This is a perfect time to discuss fire safety with our family, and help ensure our home and children are prepared in the case of an emergency. In this interview Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Public Information Officer, Lieutenant Kirsten Miller emphasizes the importance of preventing fires and shares with us what to do in the event of a fire.
This year’s theme is Look. Listen. Learn. Be aware – fire can happen anywhere™. Can you explain its meaning?
The main thing to remember is to always be aware because a fire can happen anywhere, at any time. That’s why everyone should take some precautions in order to prevent a fire, and stay safe in case of one. Look around your home and take care of items that can potentially cause a fire. Listen for the sound of the smoke alarm and escape quickly. Last, but not least, learn two ways out of every room making sure all doors and windows open easily and are clutter-free.
What are some typical causes of fires at home?
Cooking is the main cause of U.S. home fires, causing approximately 47% of all home fires every year (NFPA.org). Leaving cooking unattended is the leading cause of home cooking fires. Removing clutter from the cooking area is a must. Keeping towels, oven mitts, wooden utensils, food packaging, and papers away from the stovetop, being alert and staying in the kitchen supervising what you’re cooking are some of the simple steps you can take to minimize the risk of having a home cooking fire. Remember to always use a timer if you need to leave your kitchen to remind you that you’re cooking.
Heating is the second-leading cause of U.S. home fires, accounting for 15% of all reported home fires each year (NFPA.org). Heating equipment and chimneys should be cleaned and inspected each year by a qualified professional. Heat your home safely by keeping anything that can burn away from any heating equipment, and turn space heaters off when you leave the room or go to sleep.
Other fires are caused by electrical distribution of home appliances or lighting equipment, such as wiring, lighting, cords and plugs.
Candle fires are reported to U.S. fire departments approximately 24 times a day (NFPA.org). To use candles safely, keep anything that can burn away from candles, and blow out all candles when you leave the room or go to sleep. The best option is to use battery-operated, flameless candles.
Smoking materials, including cigarettes, e-cigarettes, pipes and cigars, are major causes of U.S. home fires. Most smoking-related deaths result from fires that started in living rooms, family rooms, dens and bedrooms (NFPA.org). To reduce the risk of smoking-related fires, use only fire-safe cigarettes and smoke them outside. Before you throw away butts and ashes, make sure they are out by immersing them in water or sand. Use e-cigarettes with caution and never leave them unattended while charging. Keep cigarettes and lighters out of sight and reach of children at all times.
Even a small fire can be dangerous and deadly. Always have a fire extinguisher within easy reach and call 9-1-1 immediately.
What are top 10 fire safety tips?
- Stay in the kitchen when you are cooking food. If you must leave, even for a short time, turn off the stove.
- Keep fixed and portable space heaters at least three feet from anything that can burn. Turn off heaters when you leave the room or go to sleep.
- Ask smokers to smoke outside. Have sturdy, deep ashtrays for smokers.
- Keep matches and lighters up high, out of the reach of children, preferably in a cabinet with a child lock.
- Inspect and replace electrical cords that are cracked, damaged, have broken plugs, or have loose connections.
- Keep candles at least one foot from anything that can burn. Blow out candles when you leave the room or go to sleep.
- Make a home fire escape plan and practice it at least twice a year.
- Install smoke alarms on every level of your home, inside bedrooms and outside sleeping areas. Interconnect smoke alarms throughout the home. When one sounds, they all sound.
- Test smoke alarms at least once a month and replace conventional batteries once a year or when the alarm “chirps” to tell you the battery is low. Replace any smoke alarm that is more than 10 years old.
- Install residential fire sprinklers if you are building or remodeling your home. Sprinklers can contain and may even extinguish a fire in less time than it would take the fire department to arrive.
(NFPA.org)
What are the things that families can practice at home to prepare/prevent?
Teach children if they see matches or a lighter to leave them alone and to tell an adult if they find these materials left lying around. It’s important to educate kids about the dangers of fires and to establish specific ground rules to help ensure that your entire family stays safe. In a fire, seconds count once the smoke alarm sounds. Teaching children how to use that time wisely for the whole family to escape safely takes planning and practice. Families should develop a home escape plan which includes: two ways out of every room (a door and a window); a path from each exit to the outside; and an outside meeting place (a tree, light pole or mailbox) within a safe distance in front of your home where everyone will meet. The escape plan should be practiced with everyone in the home twice a year.
Any additional Halloween fire safety tip to share?
The trick-or-treaters of today now have the modern challenge of safety to consider. Visit Miami-Dade Fire Rescue for some tips to keep your little villagers safe on Halloween. MDFR has an entire section on YouTube that deals entirely with safety for kids and parents, including Halloween Safety for Kids.
There are many great online educational tools for kids out there that parents can use to teach their children about fire safety. Sparky.org and SparkySchoolhouse.org are great for parents and educators to help children learn the importance of fire prevention and fire safety through fun games and activities sorted by age.
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