How Prepared Are You If a Home Fire Strikes?

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Some tips in honor of Oct 5-11 Fire Prevention week How Prepared Are

You If a Home Fire Strikes? - Pella Corporation dedicated to helping save lives

through campaign -

 

 

 

Last update: 12:26 p.m. EDT Oct. 3, 2008

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PELLA, Iowa, Oct 03, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- As temperatures drop

and families spend more time indoors, there is an increase in home fires

according to the National Fire Prevention Association (NFPA), with December and

January being the peak months home fires are reported. Taking time now to

prepare your family in the event of a fire and checking smoke detectors are

properly working can help protect loved ones. In 2007, NFPA noted that 3,000

fire fatalities were reported in the U.S., and most of those fatalities -- 80

percent -- occurred in homes.

Before and during Fire Prevention Week, October 5-11, 2008, Pella Corporation

helps educate consumers by providing vital safety information and fire

prevention tips through its Close the door on fire!® campaign.

" Taking a few minutes now to reduce potential fire hazards and plan and

practice a home fire safety escape route can help you protect what's most

important -- your loved ones, " said Kathy Krafka Harkema, Pella fire safety

educator.

Take time to evaluate your fire safety risks near your living space as well.

Garage fires often spread quickly and aggressively. Equipping your garage with a

smoke detector and checking it regularly can help your family escape to safety

quicker in event a fire begins here. Also, with the popularity of fire pits and

fire rings being used for outdoor relaxation, it's essential to properly

extinguish these fires to prevent the risk of the fire spreading into your home

or others in the neighborhood.

Additional fire safety tips featured in Pella's Close the door on fire!

program are:

-- Have a plan! Download an escape grid and draw a floor plan of each level of

your home from http://web.pella.com/SiteCollectionDocuments/FireEscapeGrid.pdf.

Pick a meeting place a safe distance outside your home for everyone to gather in

the event of a fire.

-- Identify two exits! Designate two exits from every room in your home -- a

door and a window. Make sure doors and windows open quickly and easily to help

ensure a quick exit; if not, consider replacing them for safety's sake.

-- Use smoke alarms! Install working smoke alarms in or near every sleeping

area, on every level of your home and in your garage. Test alarms monthly,

change batteries regularly, and replace alarms not permanently wired into your

home's electrical system every 10 years for greater safety.

-- Test the alarm! Sound smoke alarms when household members are awake so

everyone knows what they sound like and what to do in the event of an emergency.

Test the alarm when family members are sleeping, and if they don't awaken

easily, assign someone to awaken sound sleepers in the event of an emergency.

-- Practice! Practice your home fire escape plan with everyone in your home at

least twice a year.

 

source:http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/how-prepared-you-if-home/story.aspx\

?guid=%7BAA2F2426-6E75-42AC-A5A4-099C1BB57553%7D & dist=hppr

 

 

 

 

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