Fire Prevention Week Oct. 9 to fifteen — Red Cross Safety Tips

Provided by Red Cross of the National Capital & Greater Chesapeake Region  

This Fire Prevention Week (Oct. 9 to fifteen), the Red Cross of the National Capital & Greater Chesapeake Region urges everybody to follow their two-minute dwelling fireplace escape plan and check their smoke alarms to remain safer from dwelling fires.

Two minutes is the period of time that fireside consultants say you will have to securely escape a house fireplace earlier than it’s too late. These crises account for many of the 60,000-plus disasters that the Red Cross responds to every 12 months throughout the U.S. — the place dwelling fireplace responses are 30% increased throughout chilly months than hotter occasions of 12 months. On common, the Red Cross responds to round 1,300 dwelling fire-related emergencies annually throughout the DMV.

“As the threat of home fires increases with colder temperatures, Fire Prevention Week serves as an important reminder to prepare now,” mentioned Emily Aloto, Interim Disaster Officer for the Red Cross of the National Capital & Greater Chesapeake Region. “Practice your two-minute home fire escape drill and test your smoke alarms monthly to help keep your family safe.”

How to Practice Your Two-Minute Drill

Practice your plan with everybody in your family; additionally, train kids what a smoke alarm seems like and what to do in an emergency. Visit redcross.org/fire for extra info, together with a printable escape plan and security tips for cooking and residential heating — the main causes of dwelling fires, in response to the National Fire Protection Association, which is sponsoring Fire Prevention Week with the theme “Fire Won’t Wait. Plan Your Escape.”

• Include no less than two methods to exit each room in your house in your escape plan.
• Select a gathering spot at a protected distance away from your own home, similar to your neighbor’s dwelling or landmark like a particular tree in your entrance yard, the place everybody is aware of to fulfill.
• Place smoke alarms on every stage of your own home, together with inside and outdoors bedrooms and sleeping areas. Test alarms month-to-month and alter the batteries no less than annually, in case your mannequin requires it.
• Check the producer’s date of your smoke alarms. If they’re 10 years or older, they possible should be changed as a result of parts such batteries can turn out to be much less dependable. Follow your alarm’s producer directions.
• Tailor your escape plan to everybody’s wants in your family. If you or a liked one is deaf or arduous of listening to, set up strobe gentle and bed-shaker alarms to assist provide you with a warning to a fireplace. Visit redcross.org/ASL-disaster-resources for extra info, together with assets in American Sign Language.

Hurricane Ian Response Continues

While dwelling fires proceed to be the nation’s most frequent disaster, Hurricane Ian—together with the sooner wildfires out west and storms in Puerto Rico and Alaska—are clear examples of the growing frequency and depth of local weather disasters. Year after 12 months, the Red Cross is supporting households who’re struggling to manage following tragic, large-scale emergencies. Right now, over 1,500 skilled disaster staff from throughout the U.S. (together with practically 40 from the DMV), are working day and night time to help these impacted by Ian.