Thinking about fire safety and prevention can be overwhelming, particularly if you have children. However, there are four quick and easy things that you can do right now during Fire Prevention Week to help prevent and survive a house fire, and they might help put your mind at ease.
Check your smoke alarms.
- Install or update a smoke alarm on every level of your home, inside every bedroom and near sleeping areas
- Test smoke alarms every month
- Replace batteries every 6 months
- Replace smoke alarms every 10 years
Limit fire hazards and distractions in your home.
- Don’t ever leave a hot oven or stove top unattended
- Keep anything that can catch fire (think paper plates, dish towels, or wooden spoons) away from your stove top
- Unplug small appliances when you are not using them
- Never leave a fire unattended in your fireplace or firepit
- Always turn off the propane tank on your grill
- Always store matches and lighters up and away, out of reach and out of sight of young children
- Keep candles at least 12 inches away from anything that can burn and blow them out when you leave the room or go to sleep
Teach your children what to do... and what not to do.
- Teach your kids to never play with matches and lighters
- Create a home fire escape plan with two ways out of every room (a window and a door)
- Practice a home fire drill with your family during the day and at night
- Choose a place to meet outside that is a safe distance from your house
- Do not go back into a house that is on fire for any reason
Talk about the most important things to do if there is ever a fire.
- If there is a fire, leave your home immediately
- If there is a lot of smoke, get low and crawl out of the house as fast as you can -- GET LOW AND GO!
- Call 911 after you are safely from your house
- Stay in the safe location until emergency personnel tell you it is safe to go back inside
About Fire Prevention Week
In 1925, President Calvin Coolidge proclaimed Fire Prevention Week a national observance, making it the longest-running public health observance in the United States. During Fire Prevention Week, firefighters and other emergency personnel provide lifesaving education to the public (specifically focused on children, adults, and teachers) in an effort to drastically decrease casualties caused by fires.
Fire Prevention Week is observed each year during the week of October 9th to commemorate of the Great Chicago Fire, which began on October 8, 1871. The fire caused devastating damage, killing more than 250 people, leaving 100,000 people homeless, destroying more than 17,400 structures, and burning more than 2,000 acres of land.
