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Listed below are files you can download and learn from.
Electrical fires
Escape Planning
Winter Storms
Flood Hazards
This holiday season, give the best gifts of all: home fire safety ideas from the National
Fire Protection Association
November 30, 2004--Peace of mind makes a great gift. So if you are looking for practical holiday presents, consider
items that will protect your loved ones from fire this season.
Here are some suggestions from the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA).
- Smoke alarms - one of the best fire-safety items for the home. Seventy percent of all home fire fatalities
occur in homes where there are no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms. Consider smoke alarms for everyone on your list.
Smoke alarms for people who are deaf or hard of hearing include strobe lights, high decibels and/or vibration. All smoke alarms
should be replaced after 10 years.
- Flashlights - Prevent fires by using flashlights instead of candles during power outages.
- Sturdy candleholders to prevent tip-over when candles are lit. Lantern-style candle holders can reduce
the likelihood of something coming in contact with a candle flame.
- A secure fireplace screen to keep embers out of the room.
- Long fireplace matches to prevent burns.
- Gift certificates for clean-up services to remove fire-prone clutter from basements, attics or yards;
or for chimney sweeps to prevent creosote build-up that can cause chimney fires.
- A bathrobe with tight-fitting sleeves that cannot touch stove burners while a person is cooking.
- Down or synthetic comforters, flannel sheets or flannel pajamas to keep a loved one warm, and to reduce
the need for space heaters, particularly at night. Generally, space heaters (fixed and portable) are involved in two-thirds
of home heating fire deaths.
- Large, deep, non-tip ashtrays. If family members or friends have a smoking habit, using appropriate ashtrays
can prevent smoking materials from igniting materials nearby.
- Portable fire extinguishers, with safety tips on how to use them. Make sure the recipient reads and understands
the instructions before having to use them.
- Fireproof oven mitts for stove or barbecue.
- Large house numbers so firefighters can locate a home at night quickly during an emergency.
- Carbon monoxide detectors. While this item won’t help keep your loved ones safe from fire,
it’s something you should consider for home safety. Often called the silent killer, carbon monoxide is a colorless,
odorless gas formed when fuels—such as natural gas, oil and wood—burn incompletely.
- Stocking stuffers: Download loads of fire safety information—including home escape grids—from
NFPA’s Web site, at www.nfpa.org, or for children, try NFPA’s www.sparky.org. And don’t forget batteries for smoke alarms and flashlights!
Facts & figures to
consider for seasonal safety:
- Generally, December, January and February are the deadliest months for fires.
- The top 10 days for home fires in recent years were all between December 24 and January 6.
- Cooking and heating are the leading causes of home fires in the months of December through February.
- Candle fires have nearly tripled in the past decade. Nearly twice as many home candle fires occur in
December than any other month, perhaps because of holiday decorations and rituals.
CARBON MONOXIDE
Never use generators, grills, camp stoves, or other gasoline, propane, natural gas, or charcoal-burning
devices inside your home, basement, garage, or camper—or even outside near an open window.
Install a carbon monoxide
detector in your house, and check its battery every time you check your smoke detector batteries.
Carbon monoxide (CO) is an odorless, colorless gas that can cause sudden illness and death if you breathe
it. When power outages occur during emergencies such as hurricanes or winter storms, you may try to use alternative
sources of fuel or electricity for heating, cooling, or cooking. CO from these sources can build up in your home, garage,
or camper and poison the people and animals inside.
If you are too hot or too cold, or you need to prepare food, don't put yourself and your family at risk—look
to friends or a community shelter for help. If you must use an alternative source of fuel or electricity, be sure to use it
only outside and away from open windows.
Every year, more than 500 people die from accidental CO poisoning. CO is found in combustion fumes, such
as those produced by small gasoline engines, stoves, generators, lanterns, and gas ranges, or by burning charcoal and wood.
CO from these sources can build up in enclosed or partially enclosed spaces.
People and animals in these spaces can be poisoned and can die from breathing CO in an enclosed or partially enclosed space.
How to Recognize CO Poisoning
Exposure to CO can cause loss of consciousness and death. The most common symptoms of CO poisoning are
headache, dizziness, weakness, nausea, vomiting, chest pain, and confusion. People who are sleeping or who have been drinking
alcohol can die from CO poisoning before ever having symptoms. If you think you may have CO poisoning, consult a health care
professional right away.
Important Tips
- Never use a gas range or oven to heat a home.
- Never use a charcoal grill, hibachi, lantern, or portable camping stove inside a home, tent, or camper.
- Never run a generator, pressure washer, or any gasoline-powered engine inside a basement, garage, or other enclosed structure,
even if the doors or windows are open, unless the equipment is professionally installed and vented. Keep vents and flues free
of debris, especially if winds are high. Flying debris can block ventilation lines.
- Never run a motor vehicle, generator, pressure washer, or any gasoline-powered engine outside an open window or door where
exhaust can vent into an enclosed area.
- Never leave the motor running in a vehicle parked in an enclosed or partially enclosed space, such as a garage.
For more information on carbon monoxide poisoning
Each year in America, carbon monoxide poisoning claims approximately 165 lives and sends another 10,000 people to hospital
emergency rooms for treatment. USFA would like you to know that there are simple steps you can take to protect yourself from
deadly carbon monoxide fumes. Please read and follow the safety tips contained in the factsheets on this page.
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