With Fire Tragedy in the News, Local and National Safety Tips

As the new year begins, the horrific tragedy of the Christmas Day house fire in Stamford that left five people dead is a grim reminder of how deadly a home can become. Smoke, heat and fire can kill quickly.

The and the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) offer advice and tips for all types of fire safety, but the first line of defense is to have working smoke detectors in the home.

As 2012 is here, one suggestion for a resolution comes from Simsbury Fire Marshal Kevin J. Kowalski: “As we bring in the New Year, let our New Year’s resolution be to be more fire safe. Make sure your smoke, and CO detectors are working. Make sure you have a plan for emergencies in your home, and include overnight visitors in your plan.”

According to the Massachusetts-based National Fire Protection Association — an international nonprofit group that advocates for fire prevention and is a source on public safety — December, January and February are the top months for home fire deaths, and heating equipment is a leading cause of home fire deaths.

NFPA’s 10 tips on staying safe this winter:

• All heaters need space. Keep anything that can burn at least three feet away from heating equipment, like the furnace, fireplace, wood stove, or portable space heater.
• Have a three-foot “kid-free zone” around open fires and space heaters.
• Never use your oven to heat your home.
• Have a qualified professional install stationary space heating equipment, water heaters or central heating equipment according to the local codes and manufacturer’s instructions.
• Have heating equipment and chimneys cleaned and inspected every year by a qualified professional.
• Remember to turn portable heaters off when leaving the room or going to bed.
• Always use the right kind of fuel, specified by the manufacturer, for fuel-burning space heaters.
• Make sure the fireplace has a sturdy screen to stop sparks from flying into the room. Ashes should be cool before putting them in a metal container with a lid. Keep the container a safe distance away from your home.
• Make sure you have working smoke alarms on every level of your home, inside each bedroom and outside each sleeping area. Test monthly.
• Develop and practice a home escape plan that includes two ways out of each room and an outside meeting place.

Learn more at "Put a Freeze on Winter Fires", an online safety campaign produced by the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) and NFPA.

Winter fire safety tips from the Simsbury Volunteer Fire Company:

• A wood-burning stove should be burned hot twice a day for 15 to 30 minutes to reduce the amount of creosote buildup.
• Don’t use excessive amounts of paper to build roaring fires in fireplaces. Overbuilding the fire could ignite creosote in the chimney.
• Never burn charcoal indoors. Burning charcoal can give off lethal amounts of carbon monoxide.
• Keep flammable materials away from your fireplace mantel. A spark from the fireplace could easily ignite these materials.
• Before you go to sleep, be sure your fireplace fire is out. Never close your damper with hot ashes in the fireplace. A closed damper can help rekindle the fire, forcing toxic carbon monoxide into the house.
• If synthetic logs are used, follow the directions on the package. Never break a synthetic log apart to quicken the fire, and never use more than one log at a time. They often burn unevenly, releasing higher levels of carbon monoxide.

Other fire safety tips from the Simsbury Volunteer Fire Company:

• Never discard hot ashes inside or near the home. Place them in a metal container outside and well away from the house.
• If you use an electric heater, be sure not to overload the circuit. Use only extension cords that have the necessary rating to carry the amp load. Choose an extension cord the same size or larger than the appliance electrical cord.
• If windows are used as emergency exits in your home, practice using them in the event of a fire. Be sure that all the windows open easily. Home escape ladders are recommended.
• If there is a fire hydrant near your home you can assist the fire department by keeping the hydrant clear of obstacles so it can be easily located. We ask a three-foot area around the hydrant be kept clear.
• Plan and practice a home escape plan with your family.

Contact the or the Fire Marshal at 860-658-1971 for advice or if you have a question on home fire safety.

Smoke alarms are an important part of a home fire escape plan. When there is a fire, smoke spreads fast. Working smoke alarms give you early warning so you can get outside quickly.

According to National Fire Protection Association roughly two thirds of home fire deaths happen in homes with no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms. Working smoke alarms cut the risk of dying in reported home fires in half.

Smoke alarm safety at home:

• Install smoke alarms inside every bedroom, outside each sleeping area and on every level of the home, including the basement.
• Larger homes may need additional smoke alarms to provide enough protection.
• For the best protection, interconnect all smoke alarms so when one sounds they all sound.
• An ionization smoke alarm is generally more responsive to flaming fires and a photoelectric smoke alarm is generally more responsive to smoldering fires. For the best protection, both types of alarms or a combination alarm (photoelectric and ionization) are recommended.
• Install smoke alarms following manufacturer’s instructions high on a wall or on a ceiling.
• Replace batteries in all smoke alarms at least once a year. If an alarm “chirps,” warning the battery is low, replace the battery right away.
• Replace all smoke alarms when they are 10 years old or sooner if they do not respond properly when tested.
• Fire warning equipment is available to awaken people who are deaf or hard of hearing. This equipment uses strobe lights and vibration equipment (pillow or bed shakers) for people who are deaf and mixed-low-frequency signals for people who are hard of hearing. Some of this equipment is activated by the sound of the smoke alarm.

NFPA’s had this to say about candle safety. Candles may be pretty to look at but they are a cause of home fires — and home fire deaths. Remember, a candle is an open flame, which means that it can easily ignite anything that can burn.

On average, a candle fire in the home is reported to a U.S. fire department every 30 minutes and roughly one-third of home candle fires started in the bedroom.

More than half of all candle fires start when things that can burn are too close to the candle.

NFPA’s candle safety tips:

• Blow out all candles when you leave the room or go to bed. Avoid the use of candles in the bedroom and other areas where people may fall asleep.
• Keep candles at least 12 inches away from anything that can burn.

If you do burn candles, make sure that you...

• Use candle holders that are sturdy, and won’t tip over easily.
• Put candle holders on a sturdy, uncluttered surface.
• Light candles carefully. Keep your hair and any loose clothing away from the flame.
• Don’t burn a candle all the way down — put it out before it gets too close to the holder or container.
• Never use a candle if oxygen is used in the home.
• Have flashlights and battery-powered lighting ready to use during a power outage. Never use candles.

For more educational information go to the National Fire Protection Association web site at www.nfpa.org/education or The Simsbury Volunteer Fire Company's web site at http://www.simsburyfd.org/ and click on 'Public Safety Bulletin'.