WHAT TO DO BEFORE A FIRE

October is National Fire Prevention Month so I thought I would share this important information with my readers, courtesy of FEMA at http://www.fema.gov/hazard/fire/fire_before.shtm

The following are things you can do to protect yourself, your family, and your property in the event of a fire:

Smoke Alarms

• Install smoke alarms. Properly working smoke alarms decrease your chances of dying in a fire by half.
• Place smoke alarms on every level of your residence. Place them outside bedrooms on the ceiling or high on the wall (4 to 12 inches from ceiling), at the top of open stairways, or at the bottom of enclosed stairs and near (but not in) the kitchen.
• Test and clean smoke alarms once a month and replace batteries at least once a year. Replace smoke alarms once every 10 years.

Escaping the Fire

• Review escape routes with your family. Practice escaping from each room.
• Make sure windows are not nailed or painted shut. Make sure security gratings on windows have a fire safety opening feature so they can be easily opened from the inside.
• Consider escape ladders if your residence has more than one level, and ensure that burglar bars and other antitheft mechanisms that block outside window entry are easily opened from the inside.
• Teach family members to stay low to the floor (where the air is safer in a fire) when escaping from a fire.
• Clean out storage areas. Do not let trash, such as old newspapers and magazines, accumulate.

Flammable Items

• Never use gasoline, benzine, naptha, or similar flammable liquids indoors.
• Store flammable liquids in approved containers in well-ventilated storage areas.
• Never smoke near flammable liquids.
• Discard all rags or materials that have been soaked in flammable liquids after you have used them. Safely discard them outdoors in a metal container.
• Insulate chimneys and place spark arresters on top. The chimney should be at least three feet higher than the roof. Remove branches hanging above and around the chimney.

Heating Sources

• Be careful when using alternative heating sources.
• Check with your local fire department on the legality of using kerosene heaters in your community. Be sure to fill kerosene heaters outside, and be sure they have cooled.
• Place heaters at least three feet away from flammable materials. Make sure the floor and nearby walls are properly insulated.
• Use only the type of fuel designated for your unit and follow manufacturer’s instructions.
• Store ashes in a metal container outside and away from your residence.
• Keep open flames away from walls, furniture, drapery, and flammable items.
• Keep a screen in front of the fireplace.
• Have heating units inspected and cleaned annually by a certified specialist.

Matches and Smoking

• Keep matches and lighters up high, away from children, and, if possible, in a locked cabinet.
• Never smoke in bed or when drowsy or medicated. Provide smokers with deep, sturdy ashtrays. Douse cigarette and cigar butts with water before disposal.

Electrical Wiring

• Have the electrical wiring in your residence checked by an electrician.
• Inspect extension cords for frayed or exposed wires or loose plugs.
• Make sure outlets have cover plates and no exposed wiring.
• Make sure wiring does not run under rugs, over nails, or across high-traffic areas.
• Do not overload extension cords or outlets. If you need to plug in two or three appliances, get a UL-approved unit with built-in circuit breakers to prevent sparks and short circuits.
• Make sure insulation does not touch bare electrical wiring.

Other

• Sleep with your door closed.
• Install A-B-C-type fire extinguishers in your residence and teach family members how to use them.
• Consider installing an automatic fire sprinkler system in your residence.
• Ask your local fire department to inspect your residence for fire safety and prevention

Also, in case of a fire, don’t be a hero…call 9-1-1 and wait for the people better trained to deal with the dangers of smoke and fire. Be safe!

Nancy, former EMT, Firefighter, and 9-1-1 Dispatcher,
now author of
LOVE TO THE RESCUE
Available from Red Rose Publishing
and Amazon

 

1st Two Pages of LOVE TO THE RESCUE

        

“Miller! Grab the pike and check those walls,” Josie’s partner yelled. Pete Thayer’s order, muffled by his facemask, rumbled low and gruff. She cringed. Couldn’t he see she’d already grabbed the hooked pole? Irritated, she cursed beneath her helmet. I know what to do.

Training for firefighters in this neck of the woods was thorough. She’d fought many a chimney fire before he showed his handsome face in her town. She ignored him, but stopped to give their record keeper her name and tag number before she headed for the stairs. With all this smoke, he probably didn’t see the pike in her gloved hand. Should I give him the benefit of the doubt? 

Josie trudged up the stairs, her heavy fire boots thudding on the bare treads. The house was mostly wood, inside and out, a tinderbox ready to ignite if they couldn’t snuff out the fire inside the chimney in time. Her helmet weighed a ton and her arms felt cocooned in a bearskin. Her turnout coat and pants held in her body heat and made her climb seem twice as toasty. Gloved fingers slid along the rail as the stairway turned toward the third floor. The hundred–year–old–home’s central chimney meant every wall touching it needed venting to check for spreading cinders. Other firefighters climbed ladders to the roof to fight a frontal assault.

The owner acknowledged the old chimney lacked a ceramic lining. Ancient bricks settle or deteriorate over the decades, leaving air spaces where thick, flammable creosote lodged until just the right moment. The sticky tree sap congealed over time until it finally ignited. Who knows how much of the internal chimney—and adjacent walls—could be next?

Josie stumbled on the last step. She grabbed the banister before falling to her knees. She’d rather Pete Thayer didn’t witness her awkwardness. He’d stick her in the basement next time. Hunched over in a low–ceilinged dirt floor cellar while shoveling hot cinders from a flaming chimney’s clean–out made her terribly claustrophobic.

She reached her assigned area and located the wall on the north side. Smoke seeped into the halls from somewhere. The haze was barely penetrable. The owner stated the house had no fireplaces on this level, so she searched for another heat source near the open hallway. Thick gray smoke hovered near the ceiling. Clenching her fingers, she forced them straight then removed one glove. She swept her fingers along brittle wallpaper and handcrafted wooden door casements. No extreme heat here.

Slipping the glove back on, she entered the first room on her list. The small bedroom contained a single bed, stripped of its coverings. A mesmerizing swirl of smoke drifted in from somewhere. She looked at the windows then back at the bed. Through the smoky vapors, its striped cotton–tick surface rippled and heaved as if someone gently shook its frame. Gripping the top of her helmet, she arched her back and looked up.

"Damn." 

Hope you enjoyed this 'tease'

from my latest romantic suspense

LOVE TO THE RESCUE

available NOW from

      Red Rose Publishing

                     Nancy 

.