Fire Safety...are you prepared?

We typically reserve October as our fire safety month in the fire service however on the heals of recent events I thought this would be a good time to reiterate some important facts about fire safety.  4 people including 3 children tragically died in a fire early in the morning on Nov 13th.  Fire Officials are unsure of what started the blaze but the fire appears to be a result of faulty wiring.  Another alarming point that came out of this tragedy is that there were no working smoke detectors in this home.  By the time fire crews arrived on scene the blaze was far too advanced for an interior attack to be made.  Its certainly a tragedy but it reminds us of the importance of fire safety.

I was not able to confirm this piece of information but one report stated that there have been something like 40 fire related deaths in the last month!!  That is an unbelievable fact and unfortunately I was unable to confirm its validity.  It does drive home the fact that we cannot reserve the importance of fire safety for 1 month out of the year.  As firefighters are purpose is to serve the tax payers who pay our salaries.  We must promote fire safety all year long and do what we can to ensure the safety of the communities we serve.  I know we all love fighting fires but if we are actually fighting fires then we have failed in fire prevention.  Fire prevention and fire safety are equally as important as training and preparing to fight fires.

What can you do to ensure you are safe in the event of a fire?  

Smoke Detectors:

    Make sure you have working smoke detectors on every floor of your home.  Make sure that those smoke detectors are located in bedrooms or as close to bedrooms as possible.  Be proactive in changing the batteries, don't wait until the detector gets that annoying beep to change the detectors.  A good rule of thumb is to change the batteries when you change your clocks.  

Choose a smoke detector with dual-sensor technology.  These detectors combine the technologies of ionization and photoelectric sensors.  So what does this mean?  Ionization detectors are the detectors we are most familiar with.  These detectors have a small amount of radioactive material between two electrically charged plates.  This creates a flow between the two plates.  When smoke enters the chamber it disrupts the flow and sets off the detector.  These detectors are more responsive to flaming fires.  Photoelectric sensors use a light source aimed into the sensing chamber.  When smoke enters the chamber it reflects light onto the sensor triggering the alarm.  Photoelectric sensors are more responsive to smoldering fires.  The combination of these two technologies provide better protection for your home.

Evacuation Plans:

   Evacuation plans are very important especially if you have children.  Its important to educate your children what to do in case of a fire.  EDITH is an acronym we use.  It stands for Exit Drills In The Home.  Create a plan and practice it.  Designate a meeting place outside of the home and educate your children that once they are out, they should stay out.  The second part of of evacuation plans is to ensure you have two ways out.  Make sure your family knows that if your primary escape route is blocked, they have a secondary means of escape.    

Fire Extinguishers:

   Make sure you have fire extinguishers in the home, especially in the kitchen.  Check them yearly and ensure that they are charged and ready to go.  The last thing you want to do with a grease fire is pour water on it.  Make sure you have an extinguisher handy in case of an emergency.

Fire Places:

    If you have a wood fire place, make sure you have it cleaned yearly to remove the buildup of creosote.  Creosote is the result of incomplete combustion in your fire place and builds up inside your chimney.  Excess creosote is the cause of many chimney fires.

Utilities:

    If your home uses natural gas make sure you check your appliances to ensure the pilot lights are lit.  Periodically check for leaks around the appliances.  If you think you have a leak, call your gas company and have them come out and check it out.  Newer homes are typically equipped with what is called CSST gas lines.  These are flexible, corrugated gas lines that have replaced black pipe gas lines.  If these lines are not properly grounded and bonded they can be susceptible to rupturing if your home is struck by lightning.

These are just a few of tips to help make your home safer in the event of a fire.  Its important to ensure you are prepared for the worst.  Take time to sit down with your children and discuss what to do and what not to do in the event of the fire, it could safe their lives.

Seat Belts

One of my biggest pet peeves in the fire service is firefighters who don't wear their seat belts.  It absolutely drives me crazy when someone fails to take the time to buckle up.  It takes 10 seconds to reach over and put your seat belt on.  People come up with every excuse in the book but none of them justify not buckling up.

Over the past 30 years, vehicle-related crashes have been the 2nd leading cause of firefighter deaths.  The NFPA found that many of the LODDs caused by motor vehicle accidents could have been prevented.  Of the 406 deaths that occurred due to motor vehicle accidents, 76% were known to NOT be wearing their seat belts.  That means 308 of those deaths possibly could have been prevented if the victim had taken time to buckle their seat belt.  Another contributing factor in many of those deaths were excessive speed.  If they would have taken the time to buckle their seat belt and drive a little slower they could very possibly be alive right now!!  I know seat belts won't prevent 100% deaths from vehicle accidents but if it can reduce the number by half isn't that a good thing?  As the years go by, we get better technology, we see all of these NIOSH reports pointing out the contributing factors yet we still drive to fast and we don't wear our seat belts... it is literally insanity.

Sadly, too many firefighters think they are invincible or are naive enough to think "it won't happen to me."  Unfortunately we are not invincible and we are not omniscient.  We can't predict the future so we don't know if it will happen to us or not.  Since we can't predict the future, we need to prepare for the worst case scenario every time.... that means we put our seat belt on EVERY TIME the rig rolls out the door.  If you are a company officer it is YOUR responsibility to ensure your crew is buckled up every time out.  Heck, all of the new trucks out their have buzzers that go off if the seat belt isn't buckled.  Sure there are ways to circumvent the system but if you set the expectation that seat belts will be worn at all times and enforce that expectation then your crew will buckle up every time.

So why don't firefighters wear their seat belts?  I have heard all the excuses, but honestly, none of them pass the smell test in my eyes.  You can't get dressed with your seat belt on?  Then get dressed before you get on the truck.  Seriously it should take you less than 60 seconds to get your gear on.  You can't get your air pack on with your seat belt on?  That's BS too, your seat belt is mounted in the back of your seat and the seat belt does not interfere with you sliding your arms through the straps.  If you can't figure out how to get your pack on, then maybe you should practice that so you know that you can do it.  The seat belt slows you down in getting out of the truck?  Really!?!  It takes 10 seconds to unbuckle your seat belt and get out of the truck.  If you have problems and are always getting tangled up in your seat belt then you need to practice.  None of these excuses are worth risking your life for.  Frankly, the people that don't wear their seat belts are either lazy or just plain ignorant.

If your department doesn't have a seat belt policy then I encourage you to press your chief to get a policy in place.  We need to make sure we are doing everything we can to prevent unnecessary injuries or deaths.  Again, if you are a company officer, make sure your crews are wearing their seat belts.  If you are a firefighter, ensure your own safety and call out the guys who don't wear their seat belts.  The culture has to change.  I had a situation as a company officer where we were heading back to the station after training.  We only had to travel 3 or 4 blocks to get back to the station.  I noticed one of my senior guys didn't buckle up when he got in the truck.  I waited a few minutes to see if he would buckle up or not.  Sure enough, no seat belt.  The engineer released the air brakes and went to put the truck in gear.  At that moment I told him to stop the truck and set the brakes.  I then proceeding to tell the entire crew that this truck was not going to move until everyone was buckled up.  Begrudgingly, the crew buckled up.  I made it a point to make an example of the guy.  I had a couple of rookies in the truck as well and wanted to make sure they knew it was not acceptable to not wear their seat belts.  The whole situation pissed off the senior guy but I got my point across.  As a company officer, I am not in the business of being your friend when safety is involved.  Its my job to make sure you go home safe so I am going to do everything in my power to make sure that happens.  If I upset a few people along the way.... so be it.  As long as I am doing the right thing then I am okay with that.

In this day in age, there is no excuse to not wear your seat belt.  We have the ability to look back at previous accidents and LODDs and learn from them.  We know that seat belts can prevent injuries and deaths in the event of a motor vehicle collision so we need to learn from that.  We need to honor those who died and learn from their mistakes.  Don't let them die in vain.  Oh yeah, one other thing IT'S THE LAW, SO WEAR YOUR SEAT BELT!!!!