An Emergency Fall Back Position

 

# 9274

 

Tonight most of the country goes off Daylight Savings Time, giving many of us an extra hour this evening – and while I’d far prefer to spend that time sleeping - I’ll be using it instead to change the batteries in my smoke and carbon monoxide detectors as I set my clocks back an hour.

It’s a little thing, I know.  But that is what preparedness is all about.  A bunch of little things that, when combined, provides huge benefits. 

 

Incredibly, there is a house fire in this country about once every 85 seconds.  According to the National Fire Protection Association, in 2013 there were 487,500 were structure fires, causing 2,855 civilian deaths, 14,075 civilian injuries, and $9.5 billion in property damage.

According to a survey conducted for NFPA, while 97% of homeowners report having at least one detector, there are still about 5 million households in the United States without a working smoke detector. Studies indicate:

• Three out of five home fire deaths resulted from fires in properties without working smoke alarms.
• The risk of dying in reported home structure fires is cut in half in homes with working smoke alarms.
• Smoke alarm failures usually result from missing, disconnected, or dead batteries.

This advice from www.fire.ca.gov/

 

 

I also recommend using this twice a year time change as a reminder to inspect your emergency kit, replace any out of date items, and to review your family or business emergency plan.

 

Food items in my emergency pantry that are near (but not exceeding) their expiration date I donate to local food banks, or to neighbors in need.

 

For assistance in building your emergency kit, visit Ready.gov.

Having An Emergency Fall Back Position

 

 

# 5943

 

 

Last weekend dark black smoke began spilling from the home next to mine, and while my neighbors and I waited for the fire department to arrive, noticeably absent was any sound of a smoke detector going off in the burning trailer.

Luckily, the home was empty, and so no one was injured. 

 

But it served as a stark reminder of how quickly a manufactured home can go up in flames, and the importance in any home or business of having working smoke, fire, and CO (Carbon Monoxide) alarms.

 

Tonight most of the country goes off Daylight Savings Time, and preparedness experts urge that everyone use this twice-yearly time change to check their smoke & fire alarms, and to change their batteries if they are more than 1 year old.

 

This from the U.S. Fire Administration and FEMA.

 

Fall Back on Sound Advice: Time to Change Your Clock AND Your Smoke Alarm Batteries

Contact:

USFA Press Office: (301) 447-1853

Emmitsburg, MD. – As our nation moves back to Standard Time beginning this weekend, the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) encourages you to mark the occasion as a time to test your home smoke alarms and replace the batteries if more than one year old.

 

Every day in the United States, needless home fire deaths occur. Working smoke alarms significantly increase your chance of surviving a deadly home fire. A properly installed and maintained smoke alarm is the only thing in your home that can alert you and your family to a fire 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Whether you're awake or asleep, a working smoke alarm is constantly on alert scanning the air for fire and smoke.

 

In addition to changing your smoke alarm batteries this weekend, the USFA recommends following these simple steps to protect your life, your loved ones, and your home:

• Dust or vacuum smoke alarms when you change the batteries.
• Test alarms once a month using the test button.
• Replace the entire alarm if it's more than 10 years old or doesn't work properly when tested.
• Install smoke alarms on every level of your home, including the basement, and both inside and outside of sleeping areas.
• For the best protection, equip your home with a combination of ionization and photoelectric smoke alarms or dual sensor alarms.
• Interconnect all smoke alarms throughout your home so that when one sounds, they all sound. Interconnected alarms are available at most stores that sell smoke alarms.
• Make sure everyone in your home understands the warning of the smoke alarm and knows how to respond.

Finally, prepare and practice an escape plan so that you and your loved ones can get out of your home safely should there be a fire. Plan to meet in a place a safe distance from the fire and where first responders can easily see you.

 

For more information on smoke alarms, fire escape planning, and fire prevention, visit the USFA website at www.usfa.fema.gov/smokealarms.

 

 

I also recommend using this twice a year time change as a reminder to inspect your emergency kit, replace any out of date items, and to review your family or business emergency plan.

 

Food items in my emergency pantry that are near (but not exceeding) their expiration date I donate to local food banks, or to neighbors in need.

 

For assistance in building your emergency kit, visit Ready.gov.

Study: Most Children Sleep Through Fire Alarms

 

 

(Photo Credit CDC PHIL)

# 5385

 

A study today that is sure to send a chill down the spine of parents everywhere appears in the early edition of the journal Fire and Materials. 

It that finds that the majority of children in an Australian community-based test failed to awaken within 30 seconds of a fire alarm going off.

 

The study was conducted by the parents of 123 children (average age just under 9, range 5-15 yrs) who were asked to set off the closest fire alarm to their child’s bedroom 1-3 hours after their child (or children) had fallen asleep.

 

The results appear in:

 

Community-based research on the effectiveness of the home smoke alarm in waking up children

D. Bruck, I. R. Thomas

 

The results showed that 78% of the children slept through the alarm.

 

Those under 10 years of age were less likely to awaken, with 87% failing to wake up.  Those between the ages of 11 and 15 were awakened 56% of the time.

 

Of the 27 children who actually woke up, 61% recognized the fire alarm, and slightly less than half realized they should get out of the house. 

 

Previous studies have suggested that another 5%-10% of children would awaken if the alarm continued for three minutes.

 

Each year more than 800 children die in house fires in the United States (cite Child Fire Casualties).   Additionally, from the CDC’s Fire Deaths and Injuries: Fact Sheet, we learn:

 

 

Deaths from fires and burns are the third leading cause of fatal home injury (Runyan 2004). The United State’s mortality rate from fires ranks eighth among the 25 developed countries for which statistics are available (International Association for the Study of Insurance Economics 2009).

 

Although the number of fatalities and injuries caused by residential fires has declined gradually over the past several decades, many residential fire-related deaths remain preventable and continue to pose a significant public health problem.

Occurrence and Consequences

• On average in the United States in 2009, someone died in a fire every 175 minutes, and someone was injured every 31 minutes (Karter 2010).
• About 85% of all U.S. fire deaths in 2009 occurred in homes (Karter 2010).
• In 2009, fire departments responded to 377,000 home fires in the United States, which claimed the lives of 2,565 people (not including firefighters) and injured another 13,050, not including firefighters (Karter 2010).
• Most victims of fires die from smoke or toxic gases and not from burns (Hall 2001).
• Smoking is the leading cause of fire-related deaths (Ahrens 2010).
• Cooking is the primary cause of residential fires (Ahrens 2010).

 

 

Today’s study highlights the need for conducting fire frequent safety drills in the home, with particular emphasis given to instructing young children on what to do.  The number and location of fire alarms in the home may need revision in order to provide the best warning to the occupants of the house.  

 

And most importantly, parents need to double check that their children are actually arousing, and getting out of the house, should an alarm go off.

 

 

And a reminder. 

 

Today is the first day of Daylight Savings Time across most of the United States.  

 

Twice a year firefighters ask that families take the time to test, and replace the batteries, in their smoke detectors. This second Sunday in March, and the first Sunday in November, are promoted as a good time to do these tasks.