Fire Prevention

• If there is a fire, get outside quickly and stay outside. Then call 9-1-1.
• If you can’t get outside call 9-1-1. Let the fire department know you can’t get outside. Wave a light-colored cloth or a flashlight near the window, but don’t open the window.
• If there is smoke, use your second way out. If you must escape through smoke, get low and go under the smoke.

• Plan your home escape; including two ways out of each room. Share the escape plan with everyone in the family and guests.
• The plan should include two ways out of every room and an outside family meeting place.
• Share the escape plan with everyone in the family and guests.
• Practice your fire drill.
• Make sure children, older adults, and people with disabilities have assistance.
• Make sure your home has bright lighting in stairways to prevent falls.
• Remove clutter to prevent trips and falls to allow for a quick escape.
• Install handrails along the full length of both sides of the stairs.
• If you live in an apartment, know the location of all available exit stairs on your floor in case the nearest one is blocked by fire or smoke and use the stairs to get out, never use the elevator unless directed by the fire department.

• Make sure your home has working smoke alarms.
• Place a smoke alarm on every level including inside each sleeping room and outside each separate sleeping area. Interconnect the alarms so when one sounds, they all sound.
• Install smoke alarms and alert devices to assist family members who are deaf or hard of hearing.
• Alert devices, such as strobe lights, flash when the smoke alarm sounds. Pillow or bed shakers may be useful to wake a person who is sleeping. The shakers are triggered by the sound of the smoke alarm and shake people awake to warn them of a fire.
• Test your alarms at least once a month. Press each test button to make sure it is working.
• Review the Consumer Product Safety Commission, www.cpsc.gov, website for information on recalled smoke alarms.

•  The National Fire Protection Association recommends a multi-purpose extinguisher that is large enough to put out a small fire, yet it's light enough to handle with ease. Use a fire extinguisher when the fire is confined to a small area, such as a garbage can and it isn't growing. To use, remember the word "PASS." Pull the pin, aim low, squeeze the lever slowly and sweep the nozzle from side to side. And you should have a fire extinguisher in your kitchen, along with one on each floor including in the basement and in the garage and/or workshop. 

 Carbon Monoxide (CO) is the “invisible” killer. Carbon monoxide is a colorless and odorless gas. Every year more than 100 people in the United States die from unintentional exposure to carbon monoxide associated with consumer products. What is carbon monoxide? Carbon monoxide is produced by burning fuel.  Therefore, any fuel-burning appliance in your home is a potential CO source.  When cooking or heating appliances are kept in good working order, they produce little CO.  Improperly operating appliances can produce fatal CO concentrations in your home.  Running a car or generator in an attached garage can cause fatal CO poisoning in the home. So can running a generator or burning charcoal in the basement, crawlspace, or living area of the home. 

 Lithium-Ion Battery Fires:  What You Need to Know 

• Never leave cooking unattended
  • Never store cooking oil near the stove where it could overheat and ignite.
  • When cooking with oil, keep a pan lid and a container of baking soda nearby to suffocate the flames if a fire were to start; never put water on a grease fire.
  • Make sure that combustible items, like dishtowels and potholders, are a safe distance away from the cooking surfaces.
  • Ensure that the stove, oven, and all other heating elements are completely off before leaving the room.
• Clean the dryer lint trap after each load and clean out of the dryer vent twice a year.
• Clean the chimney flue at the beginning of each fall.
• Don’t store flammable liquids, like gasoline, cleaning agents, and paints, near a heating source; keep them in cool, ventilated areas.
• Keep candles at least a foot away from anything that could ignite and never leave candles unattended.
• Don’t let anything rest against a light bulb where it can overheat and ignite.
  • Keep stacks of clothes and linens on upper shelves should be kept away from closet light fixtures.
  • Don’t use lampshades that are too big for your lamp and could cause it to tip over, leaving the bulb resting against something flammable.
• Keep lighters, candles and matches out of reach of children.
• Use caution with real Christmas trees and make sure they get plenty of water, and if you opt for a fake tree, make sure it’s flame retardant.
  • Check your strings of Christmas lights to make sure there are no frays or broken bulbs that could have an exposed element.
  • Don’t leave Christmas lights unattended.
• Store piles of firewood well away from the house – if a fire starts nearby, these could easily become kindling.

Do you have a question or concern? Our volunteer fire fighters are here to help.    

Town of Watertown Fire District

Call Today   315-788-9101