Fire Awareness Week

Here in Troy, our fire department hosted their annual Open House. It is pretty cool, because we have six different fire stations throughout the city, and each station hosts their own unique Open House.

It is a great time learn about fire safety, about how the department works, and to meet some amazing firefighters and take pride in their excellent work.

I always enjoy heading out and watching the different demonstrations. One of my favorites is watching the a team of firefighters tear open a car, simulating the extraction of automobile accident victims. The car is opened like a can of tuna in just a few minutes.

One of the other very interesting displays is the fire safety house, which is basically a mobile home where kids (and adults, for that matter) can experience how to get out of a smoke-filled room. I am always surprised at how fast smoke fills up in the room, and how visibility quickly drops to zero.

All this is a great start to Fire Prevention Week (October 3-9), something the fire departments across the country hold in conjunction with the National Fire Protection Association.

Side Note: Fire Prevention Week was established to commemorate the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. The tragedy killed more than 250 people, left 100,000 homeless, destroyed more than 17,400 structures and burned more than 2,000 acres. The fire began on October 8, and did most of its damage on October 9, 1871.

This year, the NFPA and fire departments all over the country are going to educate people about the importance of smoke alarms and encourage everyone to update and maintain their home smoke alarm protection. For a couple of bucks at a hardware store, we all can get one of the cheapest life insurance policies available -- a smoke detector.

According to the NFPA:

• Smoke alarms cut the risk of dying in a reported fire in half.
• Most homes (96%) have at least one smoke alarm (according to a 2008 telephone survey.)
• Overall, three-quarters of all U.S. homes have at least one working smoke alarm.
• Each year, nearly 3,000 people die in U.S. home fires.
• In 2003-2006, roughly two-thirds of home fire deaths resulted from home fires in homes with no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms.
  - No smoke alarms were present in 40% of the home fire deaths.
  - In 23% of the home fire deaths, smoke alarms were present but did not sound.
• In more than half of the reported home fires in which the smoke alarms were present but did not operate even though the fire was large enough, batteries were missing or disconnected. Nuisance alarms were the leading reason for disconnected alarms.
• More than half of the smoke alarms found in reported fires and two-thirds of the alarms found in homes with fire deaths were powered by battery only.
• Most homes still have smoke alarms powered by battery only. In a 2007 American Housing Survey (AHS), 67% of the respondents who reported having smoke alarms said they were powered by battery only.
• In a 2008 telephone survey, only 12% knew that smoke alarms should be replaced every 10 years.
• In fires considered large enough to activate a smoke alarm, hard-wired alarms operated 91% of the time; battery-powered smoke alarms operated 75% of the time.
• Interconnected smoke alarms on all floors increase safety.
  - In a U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) survey of households with any fires, interconnected smoke alarms were more likely to operate and alert occupants to a fire. (This includes fires in which the fire department was not called.)

 

 

Jason Channell, The House Sleuth

(888) 699-8710

Learn more: Indoor Air Quality and Environment

Learn more: Maintaining Your House