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Show ?Get Alarmed1 About Fire Risks Utah Safety Council Urges State The Utah Safety Council announced an-nounced National Fire Prevention Week, Oct 2 through 12, and urged parents to "Get Alarmed" and prepare pre-pare for home fires. In 1990 there were 2,178 residential residen-tial fires in Utah; 118 people were injured, 16 people died and 59,148,334 was lost in property damage in those fires alone. Fires are more dangerous than most people believe. Fire is fast, dark and very hot. The smoke, toxic gases and lack of oxygen injure people and hamper escape by affecting affect-ing vision, breathing and judgment. In less than two minutes a person can be overcome by odorless, colorless color-less carbon dioxide fumes that can lull him into a deep sleep from which he may not awaken. Temperatures in a fire can exceed 600 Fahrenheit. It only takes three minutes for a room to "flashover," or get so hot that everything in the room bursts into flames. An entire house can be engulfed in flames in just five minutes. Once a fire has started there is no time to waste. The first step to getting out alive is to install smoke detectors. The chances of dying in a residential fire are cut in half when there is a working work-ing smoke detector present. Smoke detectors arc an inexpensive way to provide early detection and warning of fires. Robert Parenti, director of the Utah Safety Council, offers the following fol-lowing guidelines for the proper use and maintenance of smoke detectors: detec-tors: Place a smoke detector on each level of the home near the stairs. It is important to have more than one smoke detector especially if it is a multi-level home. A smoke detector detec-tor on every level provides three minutes to escape in most situations. situa-tions. Put a detector above the bot- torn step of the basement stairs and the top of all other stairways. Place smoke detectors on ceilings ceil-ings or high walls. Smoke rises, so detectors should be placed as high and as close to the middle of the room as possible. Place the detector away from cooking or furnace fumes, fireplace smoke and dust. This will reduce unwanted alarms. The best location is at least three feet away from an air vent or air conditioning unit since they can inhibit the detector's ability to sense smoke. Test detectors once a month. Testing is a simple process that can be done several ways. Most models have built-in lest buttons. Follow the manufacturer's guidelines for testing and maintaining a smoke detector. de-tector. Clean the detector regularly. Regular cleaning is imperative. Dirt can "confuse" the detector and lead to false alarms or impair its functioning. func-tioning. Replace the batteries at least once a year. Even if the alarm has never sounded, it is important to replace the batteries. In most battery-operated models, a "chirping" noise will sound for approximately 30 days when the battery needs replacing, re-placing, but it is best to replace the batteries annually. The second step to getting out alive is to develop escape routes. When a smoke detector goes off, it is too late to plan an escape. Parenti Par-enti offers the following guidelines for establishing escape plans: Teach children what the smoke detector sounds like. Plan two escape routes out of the building. Parents should spend time with children planning these exits so they can escape if adults are not around. Children will panic if they are not sure what to do and their parents may not be able to get to them in the midst of a fire. Practice the escape routes during fire drills at home. Use the fire drills as an opportunity to test the smoke detector. Try to make the drill spontaneous so that children react instinctively to the alarm. Alternate Al-ternate the exit used so both routes are familiar, and alternate times throughout the day and night. Teach a children to touch doors with the back of their hands before opening them. If hot, use an alternate alter-nate exit. Instruct children to cover their mouths and noses with a towel or cloth before exiting the room. Designate an outside meeting place. It may be a tree, a street light or a neighbor's house. Make sure that all family members particularly particu-larly children know the meeting place and go there immediately after leaving the house. Teach children to never re-enter a burning building. Under no circumstances circum-stances should a child, or an adult, re-enter a burning building. Tell children that it is most important for them to get to the meeting place not to return for a favorite toy. If they cannot find a family member, mem-ber, they should alert firefighters. The Utah Safety Council encourages encour-ages parents to use Fire Prevention Week to educate their families. Many local fire stations are scheduling schedul-ing open houses and fire education activities throughout the week. Children will be able to see a firefighter fire-fighter in full fircfighting gear and will learn the importance of fire prevention. Taking the time to teach children about fires and fire safety could save their lives. For additional information, contact con-tact the Utah Safely Council at 533-5851, or outside the Salt Lake City metro area at 1-800-933-5943. The council is a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to reducing the number of accidents both at work and at home. |