Just because spring is around the corner doesn’t mean we don’t have to beconcerned about house fires. Last weekend after a long winter we turned our clocks forward an hour and welcomed Daylight SavingsTime. This is also a great time of year to test and change the batteriesin our homes’ smoke alarms! Do you have a smoke alarm on every level ofyour home, including the attic and basement? There should be a smokealarm in every bedroom as well. All smoke alarms should be tested once a monthand the batteries changed every six months. You can purchase long-lastingsmoke alarm batteries too, but the alarms still should be tested monthly.
If you have family members with special needs, such as a hearing or visionimpairment, you can install special smoke alarms to accommodate their needswhich notify them with sound or a voice recording or flashing lights. There are dual sensor alarms that can be installed as well to detect bothsmoldering fire and fire with flames (heat) and smoke.
If you have a real fireplace in your home, mom and dad, spring is awonderful time to make sure the fireplace and chimney are clean after a winterof burning logs. Remove all ashes and any burned debris. Take away unusedkindling, matches, “fire starter” substance, newspapers, and logs fromthe fireplace area as well. (Place hazardous materials and matches wherechildren cannot get to them!)
Dirty chimneys are a frequent source of fire. Your local volunteer firedepartment will often clean your chimney for a small fee or recommend a localchimney cleaning service to you. If you clean your chimney now, it willbe ready for next winter when you want to warm up in front of a cozyhearth. The same is true for oil burning or gas furnaces which may needto be cleaned annually. Depending on the type of heating system you have, youmay need to clean the air filters in the heating system or replace themcompletely, or have a service come and clean them so that the heating systemruns efficiently and safely.
Spring is also a great time to clean house and garage and remove trash thathas accumulated over winter. If there are empty boxes, newspapers, pilesof old clothes or rags in your garage that you haven’t touched in a year, agood rule is to donate things that can be used and pitch unusable items beforethey become fodder for a fire. Parents, if you have been doing woodworkingduring the winter and have any accumulation of sawdust, sweep it up and discardit out of doors! Seal and put away the flammable chemicals as well. A high concentration of sawdust, a heat source, and flammable items are all ittakes to produce a damaging house fire!
If you remember learning about spontaneous combustion in school, then youwill remember how amazing the demonstration was–and how rapidly a spontaneousfire can occur in your attic, garage, or basement storage area, especially ifthere are fumes, or flammable substances stored in places where things havebecome dusty. Do you have insulation hanging anywhere that needs to beproperly retained or taped up? Are there used rags hanging on a workbench todry? How about partially filled cans of paint, furniture stain orpaintbrushes you may have neglected to clean? Household cleaners andchemical sprays can be fire starters, too. So carefully storing thingscan prevent a house fire.
Recently, in the news, it was noted that in many American cities and townsour infrastructure is old. Underground gas lines and pipes especially are atrisk of deterioration due to age. If you have natural gas or use propane,you may want to have the fire department or your local gas company visit yourhome once a year to check for any gas leaks. If you smell gas (the odoris like sulphur or rotten eggs) and think you have a gas leak, do not turn onor off any electrical switches or lights, have everyone in the house leave yourhome, and go to a safe place away from the house. Once you are out and awayfrom the house, call 911 immediately and tell them you believe there may be agas leak in your home.
Does your family have a plan to escape from your home in case of a fire orother emergency? In an emergency, every minute–every second–isimportant! Getting out of your home safely is important. Make sure eachperson in your household knows what to do in case of fire. Have adesignated place away from your home to meet if you get separated. Make surechildren know where that place is and make sure your children know the safestroute from your house to that place.
Childsafetyblog.org wants to keep all kids safe from house fires thisspring!