The Crookston Fire Department held its annual open house to kick off fire prevention week on Saturday, October 5 at the main station. Despite the wet weather several hundred people were estimated to have partaken in the day’s activities including riding the ladder truck, using the fire hose, trying on gear, lunch, door prizes, coloring contest and more.
It was a nice kick-off to Fire Prevention Week, which marks the anniversary of the 1871 Chicago Fire and the four other major fires that consumed all or parts of different Midwest towns and cities from October 8-10. Throughout the week, Crookston Firefighters will provide us with a different fire prevention tip each day.
Today’s Fire Prevention Tip comes from firefighter Shane Heldstab
“This year’s theme is Not every hero wears a cape. Plan your escape. The topic we’ll talk about today is planning your escape at home. It is pretty important to have. When engaging your kids, draw a map of each level of your home showing all the doors and windows. Then go into each of those rooms and find two ways out. Have your kids understand they have two ways out and which way they would choose if the door is hot or the door is cool.”
Heldstab said kids should also learn how to escape on their own in case they are alone. “It’s easy as parents to sit and want to help them out a window or help get them out of a room,” said Heldstab. “Have the kids practice that on their own. If we get in an emergency, it will pay dividends. Once the kids do figure out how to get outside their room both ways a major factor is having a meeting place. Whether it’s across the road, a neighbors house, pick a place you can use twelve months out of the year.”
Today’s homes burn faster than ever because of several factors:
· Newer homes are predominantly built with unprotected lightweight wood construction, which fails faster when it’s exposed to high temperatures causing it to weaken and collapse faster than homes built with dimensional lumber.
· Newer homes tend to be designed with lots of open spaces and high ceilings, creating an ideal environment for the fire to grow and spread quickly.
· Most modern home furnishings include synthetic materials that burn very quickly and at higher temperatures, generating black, toxic smoke and gases that make it extremely difficult to see and breathe in a matter of moments.
When you’re out and about, situational awareness is key! Remember to be aware of your surroundings and plan for how you would escape a building in the event of a fire or other emergency.
· When you’re preparing to enter an occupancy, ask yourself if it looks safe and well-maintained.
· Check to see that doors aren’t locked or blocked from the inside.
· Look for the two closest exits and identify the path you would take to reach them.
· If you hear the fire alarm system sound, take it seriously and exit the building calmly but quickly. This is particularly important in larger occupancies like malls and movie theaters, where it may be too late to escape if you wait to see evidence of fire.
