fireprevention

1. Check your smoke detector batteries. This should be done at least every 6 months. An easy way to remember this is to change your smoke detector batteries every time you change your clock for daylight savings time. Statistics show that out of 10 homes with smoke detectors that had fires, 3 of those homes had smoke detectors that did not work. This was mainly caused by missing, dead or disconnected baterries.

2. Practice home fire drills. Try to educate yourselves as well as others in your family in what to do in case of a fire. This should include crawling on the floor, knowing all possible exits and having a safe meeting place outside. This meeting place should be a safe distance from your home. According to an NFPA survey, 26% of Americans said they had never thought about practicing a home fire escape plan. In fact, 3% said they didn't even believe that practice was necessary. In past years it was found that a person is fatally injured every 170 minutes. Practicing home fire drills could help reduce this statistic.

Don't play with mathces or lighters. Children that play with matches or lighters start hundreds of fires every year. Try to keep lighters and matches out of reach of your children. In addition to this, instruct your children that if they come upon a lighter or matches do not touch them. Tell them to find an adult and let them know. Children should not be tought to fear these items. They should be taught, rather, what the intended use is and gain a respect for the danger they present.

Never leave candles unattended. Unattended candles are more dangerous than most people think. If you are leaving the room or leaving your house remember to blow out any candles that may be burning. Candle fires have tripled in the past 10 years. it was estimated that in 1999, around 15,000 fires were started by candles. These fires resulted in approximately 100 deaths, 1,400 injuries and property loss of over $250 million.