Dos and Don'ts

We are experiencing one of the driest periods in state history. It's important that every resident prepare their home and their family for the possibility of a major fire. This fire season make sure your fire alarms are working properly and are being updated every 7 years. Unexpectedly a fire might show itself up in your house. Without a warning, without a sign. An unfortunate event as such occurred to an elderly couple, around their 90's, who were both sound asleep when they were pulled away from their home, as it was engulfed in flames. Unfortunately both died after being taken to the hospital. Later to discover that their fire alarm wasn't functioning at the time. We all might not be ready to flee the flames and face the losses, but we should all be prepared with what to do incase of a home fire in our house. For the next month we will be sharing information about fire safety and how to be prepared when an incident as such becomes a reality.

• Do keep a smoke alarm on every level of your home. Half of home fire deaths happen between 11 pm and 7 am. Stay safe with smoke alarms outside of every bedroom and each separate sleeping area.

• Don't forget to test your smoke alarms every month. The risk of dying in a home fire is cut in half in homes with working smoke alarms. If your alarm doesn't sound when tested then it’s time to replace it.

• Do address your needs. If you require eyeglasses, hearing aid, cane or wheelchair, ensure they are next to your bed to quickly grab if necessary. If there is a fire, you may have less than three minutes to get out of your home. Be ready to act immediately.

• Don’t assume you’ll hear the dire alarm if it sounds. If you test the alarm and can’t hear it, consider getting a strobe light that will flash or a bed shaker that will shake when the smoke alarm sounds.

• Do make a fire escape plan that shows at least two ways out of every room. Identify a meeting place in the front of your home, to verify that everyone is safe and help firefighters ensure everyone exited safely.

•Don't stop to call 911 until you’re safely outside and away from danger. Stay outside until the fire department says it's safe to go back inside.