Fire Prevention
|
|
The fire department takes an aggressive, proactive stance towards fire prevention, spreading the message to anyone whenever possible. Contact us at any time to schedule your fire prevention activity or lesson.
Services Provided:
§ School or organization visits and demonstrations ranging from short lectures to full demonstrations with apparatus and equipment.
§ Fire station tours. Climb inside a fire truck or try on some bunker gear.
§ Basic fire extinguisher training for your company or organization.
§ Handouts and teaching aids for your school or organization.
§ Juvenile Firesetter Intervention. An aggressive one-on-one training session or sessions for troubled children.
§ Safe Kids Wisconsin free smoke alarm delivery. In partnership with Oconto County Health and Human Services.
§ Fire Inspections of all public occupancies.
§ Answers to general fire safety questions or ordinances.
§ Fire Prevention Week occurs the first full week of October. Many school visits, fire station tours and demonstrations occur during this time. Please make your reservation early if you plan to hold an activity during this time.
Quick Tips:
NFPA’s Smoke Alarm Tips:
Installation and maintenance tips
- Install smoke alarms on every level of your home, including the basement, making sure that there is an alarm outside every separate sleeping area. New homes are required to have a smoke alarm in every sleeping room and all smoke alarms must be interconnected.
- Hard-wired smoke alarms operate on your household electrical current. They can be interconnected so that every alarm sounds regardless of the fire's location. This is an advantage in early warning, because it gives occupants extra time to escape if they are in one part of the home and a fire breaks out in another part. Alarms that are hard-wired should have battery backups in case of a power outage, and should be installed by a qualified electrician.
- If you sleep with bedroom doors closed, have a qualified electrician install interconnected smoke alarms in each room so that when one alarm sounds, they all sound.
- If you, or someone in your home is deaf or hard of hearing, consider installing an alarm that combines flashing lights, vibration and/or sound.
- Mount smoke alarms high on walls or ceilings (remember, smoke rises). Ceiling mounted alarms should be installed at least four inches away from the nearest wall; wall-mounted alarms should be installed four to 12 inches away from the ceiling.
- If you have ceilings that are pitched, install the alarm near the ceiling's highest point.
- Don't install smoke alarms near windows, doors, or ducts where drafts might interfere with their operation.
- Never paint smoke alarms. Paint, stickers, or other decorations could keep the alarms from working.
A life-saving test: check your smoke alarms regularly
- Test your smoke alarms once a month, following the manufacturer's instructions.
- Replace the batteries in your smoke alarm once a year, or as soon as the alarm "chirps" warning that the battery is low. Hint: schedule battery replacements for the same day you change your clocks from daylight savings time to standard time in the fall.
- Never "borrow" a battery from a smoke alarm. Smoke alarms can't warn you of fire if their batteries are missing or have been disconnected.
- Don't disable smoke alarms even temporarily. If your smoke alarm is sounding "nuisance alarms," try relocating it farther from kitchens or bathrooms, where cooking fumes and steam can cause the alarm to sound.
- Regularly vacuuming or dusting your smoke alarms, following the manufacturer's instructions, can keep them working properly.
- Smoke alarms don't last forever. Replace yours once every 10 years. If you can't remember how old the alarm is, then it's probably time for a new one.
- Consider installing smoke alarms with "long-life" (10-year) batteries.
- Plan regular fire drills to ensure that everyone knows exactly what to do when the smoke alarm sounds. Hold a drill at night to make sure that sleeping family members awaken at the sound of the alarm. Some studies have shown that some children may not awaken to the sound of the smoke alarm. Know what your child will do before a fire occurs.
- If you are building a new home or remodeling your existing home, consider installing an automatic home fire sprinkler system. Sprinklers and smoke alarms together cut your risk of dying in a home fire 82 percent relative to having neither – a savings of thousands of lives a year.
NFPA’s Carbon Monoxide Safety:
Safety tips in the home
- Install CO alarms (listed by an independent testing laboratory) inside your home to provide early warning of accumulating CO.CO alarms should be installed in a central location outside each separate sleeping area. If bedrooms are spaced apart, each area will need a CO alarm.
- Call your local fire department's non-emergency number to find out what number to call if the CO alarm sounds. Post that number by your telephone(s). Make sure everyone in the household knows the difference between the fire emergency and CO emergency numbers (if there is a difference).
- Test CO alarms at least once a month and replace CO alarms according to the manufacturer's instructions.
- CO alarms are not substitutes for smoke alarms. Know the difference between the sound of smoke alarms and CO alarms.
- Have fuel-burning heating equipment (fireplaces, furnaces, water heaters, wood and coal stoves, space or portable heaters) and chimneys inspected by a professional every year before cold weather sets in.
- When purchasing new heating and cooking equipment, select products tested and labeled by an independent testing laboratory.
- When using a fireplace, open the flue for adequate ventilation.
- Never use your oven to heat your home.
- When buying an existing home, have a qualified technician evaluate the integrity of the heating and cooking systems, as well as the sealed spaces between the garage and house.
Safety tips outside the home
- If you need to warm a vehicle, remove it from the garage immediately after starting it. Do not run a vehicle, generator, or other fueled engine or motor indoors, even if garage doors are open. Make sure the exhaust pipe of a running vehicle is not covered with snow.
- During and after a snowstorm, make sure vents for the dryer, furnace, stove, and fireplace are clear of snow build-up.
- Only use barbecue grills – which can produce CO – outside. Never use them in the home, garage or near building openings.
- When camping, remember to use battery-powered lights in tents trailers, and motor homes.
If your CO alarm sounds
- Immediately move to a fresh air location and call for help. Remain at the fresh air location until emergency personnel say it is ok.
