FIRE SAFETY TIPS

​Check Your Smoke Alarms

  1. Working smoke alarms reduce the chances of dying in a fire by nearly 50 percent. They are a critical first step for staying safe, but in order to be effective, they have to be working properly.
  2. For the best protection, install smoke alarms on every level of your home, outside every sleeping area and in each bedroom.
  3. Use Daylight Savings Time as a reminder to check your smoke alarms. Replace conventional batteries at least once a year, even if alarms are wired directly into your home’s electrical system.
  4. Consider installing a smoke alarm that has a 10-year battery.
  5. Smoke alarms expire after 10 years. So if your alarm is more than 10 years old, you should install a new one.

In an Emergency, Leave Home Immediately

1.    ​In the event of a fire, leave your home immediately. Once you’re out of the house, stay out.
2.   Wait to call 911 until after you are out of the home

Create and Practice a Fire Escape Plan

1.  Create and practice a home fire escape plan with two ways out of every room.
2.  As part of your plan, designate one person to get infants and small children out safely. Have a back-up plan for young children just in case the primary person is overcome by smoke.
3.  Smoke is toxic. Teach children to “get low and go” if there is smoke when they are leaving the home.
Practice feeling the door, doorknob and cracks around the door with the back of your hand to see if they are too hot. Help your children practice this step.
4.  Choose a place to meet outside that is a safe distance away from your home.

Stay Focused Around the Kitchen

1.  Use common sense in the kitchen. Limit distractions when cooking and don’t leave a hot oven or stovetop unattended.
2.   Keep anything that can catch fire, such as dish towels or wooden spoons, away from your stovetop.
3.  Have a fire extinguisher in the kitchen in case of emergency, and make sure you know how it works. You might be surprised that most people don’t know how to use one.
Remember we here at Silverton Fire want all of you to be safe. Need help? Call on us and we will be there to help: 970-387-5023