Having fire safety plan more important now

Feb. 18, 2013  PLYMOUTH VOICE.

OPINION

Create a fire safety plan and practice it with your family

In 2012 Plymouth Township officials made consequential changes in the Plymouth Community Fire Department. Understanding the new risks and having a fire safety plan is more important now than ever before.

These changes can very likely bring about slower response times and create greater exposure to chance of injury or loss for the Plymouth Township’s 28,000 residents spread out over 16 square miles. The township, considered to be a principal railroad intersection, is divided by two major expressways.

Major staff downsizing to only 11 full-time firefighters, closing of the fire station that served the township’s largest subdivision and elimination of the fire department’s aerial-ladder truck are factors that are necessitating a new reliance on Northville Township Fire Department and HVA Ambulance Company of Ann Arbor for back up.

Fire safety is always important and a fire safety plan can save lives, especially in a community like today’s Plymouth Township.

Fire Safety Tips from the Plymouth Townships website:

“If you must escape from a second-story window, be sure you have a safe way to reach the ground”

Every year, more than 4,000 Americans die in home fires, that’s 12 people a day, dying in their own homes. Tens of thousands more suffer pain and even disfigurement from fire injuries. It could happen to you and your family. People can survive even large fires in their homes if they get out quickly. To be among the survivors, there are things you can do.

Play It Safe: Install Smoke Detectors

The majority of fatal home fires happen at night, while people are asleep. So every home needs smoke detectors to wake people up before they are trapped or overcome by smoke. With smoke detectors, your risk of dying in a home fire is cut in half! You need smoke detectors outside each sleeping area and on each additional level of your home – including the basement. Smoke detectors are inexpensive. Follow the installation instructions carefully, and test your detector every week, following the manufacturer’s directions.

Make an Escape Plan

When a fire occurs, there’s no time for planning. So sit down with your family today, and make a step-by-step plan for escaping a fire.

Know Two Ways Outs

Draw a diagram of your home. Plan two ways out of every room, especially bedrooms.

In a Two-Story House

Make sure everyone can unlock all locks and open all windows and doors quickly. If you must escape from a second-story window, be sure you have a safe way to reach the ground. Make special arrangements for small children and people with disabilities.

Get Out Fast!

In case of a fire, don’t stop for anything. Do not try to take possessions or pets. Just get out! Call the fire department from a neighbor’s phone after you are out.

In an Apartment

Be sure you can unlock all locks quickly, even in the dark. Use stairways to leave the building. Never use an elevator during a fire; it may stop between floors or even take you to the floor where the fire is burning!

Choose a Meeting Place

Everyone should gather at one meeting place outside, preferably at the front, where the fire department will arrive. Each family member should know how to call the fire department from a neighbor’s home.

Don’t Go Back, No Matter What

Make sure everyone in your family knows that once they’re out, they must not go back for any reason. If people are trapped, fire fighters have the best chance of rescuing them.

Practice Your Plan

At least twice a year, have a fire drill in your home. Appoint someone as the monitor, to sound the alarm and make sure everyone participates. Remember, a fire drill is not a race. Get out quickly but carefully!

Start from Bedrooms

Because the majority of fatal fires occur at night when people are sleeping, start the drill by going to your bedroom, closing the door, and waiting for the monitor to sound the alarm.

Prepare

Make your exit drill as realistic as possible. Practice both escape routes. Pretend that certain exits are blocked by fire, that there are no lights, and that the hallways are filling with smoke.

Crawl Low Under Smoke

Smoke contains deadly gases and is hot, so it will fill the room from the top down. If you encounter smoke using your primary exit, use your alternate route instead. If you must exit through smoke, the best air will be several inches off the floor. Get down on your hands and knees, and crawl quickly to the exit.

Test Every Door

Before opening a door, make sure there’s no fire on the other side. Kneeling or crouching at the door, reach up high and use the back of your hand to touch the door, the door knob, and the space between the door and the frame. If any of these feels hot, use your second way out. If everything feels cool, brace your shoulder against the door, and open it carefully. Be ready to slam it shut if heat or smoke rushes in. As you leave, close all doors behind you. They can slow down the spread of fire and smoke.

If You Are Trapped

Close doors between you and the fire. Stuff the cracks around doors, and cover vents to keep smoke out. Wait at a window and signal for help with a flashlight, if you have one, or by waving a sheet or other light-colored cloth. If there’s a phone in the room where you’re trapped, call the fire department, and tell them exactly where you are.

Delay Is Deadly

If a fire does break out, you need early warning from smoke detectors, and you need to know how to get out without delay. Exit drills make sure that your family can get out quickly when there is no time for mistakes