Fire Prevention Week Brings Smoke Detector Reminders

Do you have enough smoke detectors in your home? And have you changed the batteries recently?

It's National Fire Prevention Week, and the theme for this year's week is "Smoke Alarms: The Sound You Can Live With." Millburn Fire Marshal Tom Pizzano said the earlier a fire is detected, the greater chance there is for survival and less property damage.

It's important for there to be a smoke alarm on every level of a house and in each bedroom, he said. And the battery needs to be changed regularly. When you change your clocks in the fall and the spring, he said, you should change the batteries in your smoke detectors. Plus know the sounds the detectors make when they need a new battery. "Don't wait," he said. "Change them when they start chirping."

Fire Chief Mike Roberts said most often the department sees people who turn on a self-cleaning oven or have unattended cooking that catches fire. In those instances, the smoke detector alerts the people in the house before the problem gets worse. And if the alarm system is centrally connected to the fire department, he said, firefighters also can get there more quickly.

But homes need more than smoke detectors. They also need carbon monoxide detectors, Pizzano said. There should be one within 10 feet of each bedroom, he said.

Carbon monoxide is colorless, odorless and cannot be detected by the senses, he said. "You can be quickly overcome (by it)," he said. It causes someone to feel sleepy, have flu-like symptoms, feel dizzy and have headaches. Pizzano said if there's a carbon monoxide problem in the house, people should get out and call the fire department.

"It's important to not be complacent when you hear an alarm," Pizzano said. "So often we hear the alarm and just think it's a false alarm. We shouldn't treat it that way."

It's also important to have an escape route. When getting out of the building, it's important to know two ways out of a room, if possible, and two ways out of the house, Pizzano said. When leaving the house, people should alert everyone else inside of the fire and to get them out, he said. "If there's any sign of smoke or fire, stay low," he said.

Once outside, everyone should have a meeting place, he said, and call 911 from a neighbor's house. "Do not go back in the house for anything," Pizzano said.

Fire Prevention Week also kicks off the time Millburn firefighters are in the schools, host preschoolers at the firehouse and open its doors to the community for education.

The Millburn Fire Department hosts its annual open house on Saturday at noon to 3 p.m at headquarters, which is located on Essex Street. Parking is available at the Wachovia Bank across the street or in the downtown municipal lots.

Firefighters will host demonstrations throughout the day including the rescue truck with the Jaws of Life extrication tool, the new fire engine and the 93-foot ladder truck.