Allied Fire & Safety
Lillington, NC 27546 910.808.7650 877.552.5543 You and your family are fast asleep when the smoke alarm sounds: Do you know what to do? October 8, 2017 -- Consider this scenario: It’s 2 o’clock in the morning. You and your family are fast asleep when you awaken to the smoke alarm sounding and the smell of smoke. What do you do? If you and your family don’t have a plan in place, it could jeopardize your safety, or even prove deadly. In a typical home fire, you may have as little as one to two minutes to escape safely from the time the smoke alarm sounds. That’s why home escape planning is so critical in a fire situation. It ensures that everyone in the household knows how to use that small window of time wisely. This year’s Fire Prevention Week theme, “Every Second Counts: Plan 2 Ways Out!” works to better educate the public about the critical importance of developing a home escape plan and practicing it. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), the official sponsor of the Fire Prevention Week for more than 90 years, is stressing the importance of reinforcing those potentially life-saving messages. Fire Prevention Week is October 8-14, 2017. “Home escape planning is one of the most basic but fundamental elements of home fire safety, and can truly make the difference between life and death in a fire situation,” said Lorraine Carli, NFPA’s vice president of Outreach and Advocacy. In support of Fire Prevention Week, Allied Fire & Safety encourages all households to develop a plan together and practice it. A home escape plan includes working smoke alarms on every level of the home, in every bedroom, and near all sleeping areas. It also includes two ways out of every room, usually a door and a window, with a clear path to an outside meeting place (like a tree, light pole, or mailbox) that’s a safe distance from the home. NFPA and your local Fire Department offer these additional tips and recommendations for developing and practicing a home escape plan:
Leave Fireworks to the Professionals
Everybody has seen fire extinguishers. Many people have them in their car, at home or at work. But not everyone understands them or knows how to work them. Allied Fire & Safety of Lillington would like for you to have a working knowledge of fire extinguishers. It could save your life or those whom you love.
Fire extinguishers are not designed to fight a large or spreading fire. Even against small fires, they are useful only under the right conditions. An extinguisher must be large enough for the fire at hand. It must be available and in working order, fully charged. The operator should be familiar with the extinguisher so it won't be necessary to read directions during an emergency. Buy Extinguishers Carefully A fire extinguisher should be "listed" and "labeled" by an independent testing laboratory such as FM (Factory Mutual) or UL (Underwriters Laboratory). The higher the rating number on an A or B fire extinguisher, the more fire it can put out, but high-rated units are often the heavier models. Make sure you can hold and operate the extinguisher you are buying. Remember that extinguishers need care and must be recharged after every use. Ask the dealer about the extinguisher and how it should be serviced and inspected. A partially used unit might as well be empty. You may need more than one extinguisher in your home. For example, you may want an extinguisher in the kitchen as well as one in the garage or workshop. Each extinguisher should be installed in plain view near an escape route and away from potential fire hazards such as electrical appliances. Let us know if we can help you make that important decision to protect your family and your home by purchasing a fire extinguisher. Allied Fire & Safety 910.808.7650 www.alliedfireandsafetylillington.com |
Categories |