Fire Safety Tips

Burning Ban: A declared ban on open air burning within a specified area, usually due to sustained high fire danger.

• Buy and carefully maintain a quality smoke alarm.
• Learn what causes fire and inspect your home to eliminate or control fire hazards.
• Install at least 5-pound A-B-C type fire extinguishers in the home and teach family members how to use them.
• Establish a well-planned escape route with your family.  Hold practice fire drills until family members are thoroughly familiar with plan.
• If you have an older home, have the wiring checked by a qualified electrician to make sure it meets current building codes.
• Know how to shut off the electrical and gas supplies.
• Have your chimney and fireplace cleaned and inspected yearly for creosote build-up, cracks, crumbling bricks or mortar, and any obstructions.
• Use large house numbers.  If your house is set back from your street or road, post your address at the entrance of your driveway.
• Keep storage areas clean and tidy.
• Keep curtains, towels, and potholders away from hot surfaces.
• Store solvents and flammable cleaners away from heat sources. Never keep gasoline in the house.
• Inspect extension cords for frayed or exposed wires or loose plugs.
• Keep an eye on your cooking and stay in the kitchen.
• Wear short or close-fitting sleeves when cooking.

• Place smoke alarms on every level of your home, outside each sleeping area, and in every bedroom.
• Alarms should never be disconnected.
• Smoke alarm batteries should never be removed for other uses.
• Test your smoke alarm at least once a month—push the test button or blow smoke into the alarm.
• Clean your alarm at a minimum of once a year—vacuum out dust and any cobwebs that have accumulated.
• Replace the battery twice a year (e.g., when you change your clocks in the spring and fall).
• Replace your smoke alarm after ten years.

• If you smell smoke or the smoke alarm goes off, activate the nearest pull-station, and call the fire department at once.
• Don’t waste time dressing or looking for valuables or pets—as much as they may mean to you, your life is more important.
• NEVER use an elevator during a fire.

During a Home or High-Rise Fire

• Before you open the door, feel the door by using the back of your hand.  If the door is hot or warm, do not open the door.  If the door is cool, open it just a little to check the hallway.  If you see smoke, do not leave.  If there is no smoke in the hallway, leave and close the door.  Go directly to the stairs to leave.
• NEVER use the elevator.
• Once outside, go to your family meeting place.  Check to see if everyone is safe. Once you’re out, stay out!
• Call 9-1-1 or the appropriate emergency contact from a neighbor’s house, cellular phone, or other safe location.

If You Cannot Escape

• Use wet towels or tape to seal the door and any room supply vent.
• If you have a balcony and there is no fire below it, go out.  If there is fire below, go to the window.  Do not open the window but stay near the window.  If there is no fire below, go to the window and open it. Stay near the open window.
• Hang a blanket or a towel out of the window to let people know that you are there and need help.
• Be calm and wait for someone to rescue you.

During a Cooking Fire

• Slide a pan lid over flames to smother a grease or oil fire, then turn off the heat and leave the lid in place until the pan cools.  Never carry the pan outside.
• Extinguish other food fires with baking soda.  Never use water or flour on cooking fires.
• Keep the oven door shut and turn off the heat to smother an oven or broiler fire.

Heating related fires are often the result of a lack of maintenance or simple acts of carelessness.  Following the guidelines below will help to ensure that you reduce the possibility of experiencing a heating related fire.

To prevent fires, keep furnishings and other combustibles 36 inches from all heating sources.  A heating source too close to combustibles is the leading cause of fires due to home heating. Store matches and other fire-starting appliances out of the reach of children.

Proper maintenance and an annual inspection of heat pumps, furnaces, space heaters, wood and coal stoves, fireplaces, chimneys, and chimney connections by qualified specialists can prevent fires and save lives.

Be Prepared!

• Review the owner’s manual for operating and safety features.
• Have heating systems inspected and serviced at least once a year.
• Follow manufacturer’s instructions for installation, venting, fueling, maintenance and repair.
• Make sure chimneys and vents are checked for blockages, corrosion, and loose connections.
• Open flues completely when fireplaces are in use.
• Use proper fuel in space heaters.
• Never burn charcoal or barbecue grill inside a home or enclosed space.
• Never use portable fuel-burning camping equipment inside a home, garage, vehicle, or tent.
• Never leave a car, mower, or other such item running in an attached garage, even with the garage door open.
• Never operate unvented fuel-burning appliances in any room where people are sleeping.
• Never use the kitchen range for heating a house.
• Never run a gas-powered generator in a garage, basement, or near any overhang on the home; keep it at a distance.

• Space Heaters:  When using portable heaters, do not place them where it is possible for small children or pets to fall against them or to receive a contact burn.  Avoid the use of extension cords with electric heaters.  Always turn off space heaters before leaving the room or going to bed.
• Fuel Burning Appliances:  When taking a heater out of storage in the fall, install batteries and inspect the shut-off mechanism and wick for proper operation.  Fill the tank with fresh fuel.  Let the heater cool down before refueling.  Adding fuel to a hot heater can start a dangerous fire.
• Wood Burning Appliances and Fireplaces:  Do not burn trash in the wood stove or fireplace.  Burn only well-seasoned hardwoods.  Be sure the fire you build fits your fireplace or stove, don’t overload it. Be sure wood stoves are installed at least 36 inches away from the wall.  Keep combustible materials well away from the fireplace, stove, and chimney.  Keep the area around them clean.  Always use a fireplace screen to prevent sparks from leaving the fireplace and starting a fire.
• Chimneys:  Creosote accumulation is the leading cause of chimney fires.  A chimney that is dirty, blocked or is in disrepair can inhibit proper venting of smoke up the flue and can also cause a chimney fire.  Nearly all residential fires originating in the chimney are preventable. An annual chimney inspection by a qualified chimney sweep can prevent fire or carbon monoxide poisoning.
• Ashes:  Keep wood stoves and fireplaces free of excess ash build-up.  Excessive ash buildup prevents good circulation of air needed for combustion.  When removing ashes, use a metal container with a tight-fitting cover.  Always place ashes in an outside location away from structures.  Ashes that seem cool may contain a smoldering charcoal that can start a fire.

You can’t see it, smell it, or taste it, but carbon monoxide (CO) is a poisonous gas that can cause sudden illness and death.  It is called the “silent killer” because it can take your life without warning.  Most people that die in home fires die at night while asleep—they don’t wake up because CO puts them in a deeper sleep, and they are unable to respond and escape.

When air containing CO is inhaled, it displaces oxygen in the bloodstream and reduces the blood’s ability to carry oxygen to vital organs such as the heart and brain.  In addition to flu-like symptoms, it can cause vomiting, loss of consciousness, brain damage and death.  Unborn babies, infants, senior citizens, and people with heart and breathing problems are at especially high risk.

What are the symptoms of CO poisoning? Symptoms are flu-like, including headache, fatigue, nausea, dizziness, and confusion.  Prolonged exposure can result in vomiting, blackouts, and, eventually, brain damage and death.  The amount of CO inhaled and how long you are exposed to it determines the effect.

Where does CO come from?  CO is a product of incomplete combustion.  Any fuel-burning device has the potential to produce dangerous levels of CO gas.  Examples of common devices that may emit CO include fuel-fired furnaces (not electric); gas water heaters; fireplaces and wood stoves; gas stoves; non-electric space heaters; gas dryers; charcoal grills; lawnmowers, snow blowers, etc.; automobiles; and gas-powered generators.

What can be done to prevent CO poisoning?  Since carbon monoxide is colorless, odorless, and tasteless, the best way to alert your family is to install a carbon monoxide alarm to warn of the gas’s build-up.

Where should CO alarms be installed?  CO is almost identical in weight to normal air and thus mixes freely with air.  For this reason, alarms may be installed at any level in a room.  If the CO alarm is being ceiling mounted, it should be installed away from existing smoke alarms in order to be able to distinguish between the CO alarm and the smoke alarm in an emergency.  Every home should be equipped with at least one CO alarm near the sleeping area. For maximum protection, additional alarms should be located on each level of your home.

What should i do if the CO alarm sounds?  THE BEST INITIAL TREATMENT FOR CO EXPOSURE IS FRESH AIR.  Stay calm.  Most situations resulting in the activation of a CO alarm are not life threatening and do not require calling the fire department.  To determine if emergency services should be called, ask everyone in the house: “Do you feel ill?  Do you have flu-like symptoms of headache, nausea, or dizziness?”  If the answer to these questions by anyone in the house is “yes,” evacuate the house and have someone call the fire department.  Failure to get out immediately may result in prolonged exposure, worsening effects from the CO.  If the answer to the questions above by everyone is “no,” the likelihood of a serious exposure is much less, and you may not need to call the fire department.  Instead, turn off all fuel-burning devices, ventilate the area, and attempt resetting the alarm.  If the alarm will not reset or resounds, call a qualified technician to inspect and service or repair your fuel-burning device.  If at any time during this process someone begins to feel ill with the symptoms described above, evacuate everyone from the building to a safe location and call the fire department.

Natural gas is an important source of energy for many household and businesses.  It is used to fuel stoves, water heaters, dryers, furnaces, and other appliances.  However, if not used carefully, natural gas can be dangerous.

Learn the Signs of a Leak

Natural gas leaks are rare, but there are signs that indicate a leak has occurred.

• Smell: A strong odor, like rotten eggs.  Natural gas has no scent, so a strong odorant is added to help you detect possible leaks.
• Sight: Bubbles in standing water, dirt or debris blowing into the air, or vegetation that appears dead around the pipeline area.
• Sound: A roaring, hissing, or whistling sound.

If You Suspect a Gas Leak

• Evacuate everyone from your home immediately and leave the door open.
• Move away from the premises and call your utility from a safe location such as a neighbor’s house.

Gas Appliance Safety

• Don’t use or do anything that could create a spark, such as light a match, turn appliances or lights on or off, use a telephone or cell phone, ring a doorbell, or start a car.
• Do not use a gas range (oven or burner) to heat your home – pro-longed use of an open oven in a closed house or apartment can lead to a build-up of carbon monoxide, an odorless, poisonous gas.
• Never use a gas grill to cook or heat in the house or any enclosed space like the garage or basement.  This practice can lead to carbon monoxide poisoning.
• Keep the area around natural gas appliances clean and unblocked.
• Keep cleaning products, gasoline, paints, and other combustible materials away from natural gas appliances.
• If the pilot light goes out, make sure all knobs are turned off and wait a few minutes before reigniting.  Light the match first and hold it to the pilot light before turning on the gas.  If you have difficulty re-igniting the pilot light , turn the gas valve off and call a professional to help.