Despite several days of balmy weather recently, winter is on the way and southern Oklahoma residents are urged to take a few simple steps to reduce their risk of being injured or dying in a house fire.
Ardmore Fire Marshal Clyde Ellis said everyone needs to regularly check to make sure their smoke alarms are working properly. More than 3,000 people die in home fires each year, and the majority of them had no working smoke alarms. According to the National Fire Protection Association, between 2003-2006 almost two-thirds of all home fire deaths were in houses with either no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms. When both smoke alarms and fire sprinklers are present in a home, the risk of dying in a fire is reduced by 82 percent, when compared to a residence without either.
Ellis recommended families change the batteries in their smoke alarms when they set their clocks back an hour in the fall.
“If you didn’t install new batteries when the time changed last weekend, now would be a good time to change them,” he said.
He offered some other fire safety tips designed to keep people safe during the winter heating season.
Heating systems and furnaces should be cleaned and serviced once a year by a licensed technician. Chimneys should be kept clean, since the buildup of combustible creosote and carbon deposits can pose a serious fire threat.
“Experts recommend cleaning your chimney every two years in this part of the country,” he said.
Make sure your fireplace has a sturdy screen to prevent sparks from flying into the room. Allow the ashes to cool in a metal container before disposing of them, and keep the container a safe distance from your home.
Do not overload electrical sockets, and make sure that wires are not frayed or exposed.
“If you are having electrical problems of any kind, have it checked out by an electrician as quickly as possible,” he said.
Turn portable heaters off whenever you leave the room and make sure the heaters have emergency kill switches that engage if they are tipped over.
Ellis said every family should make and practice a home fire escape plan. Physically practicing the plan helps to identify any unexpected difficulties anyone may have when trying to escape.
“You need to have a designated meeting area outside after you evacuate,” he said. “Make sure all your windows are operating properly if they are part of your escape route.”
Once everyone is safely outside the house, do not go back inside for any reason, he said.
Other safety tips recommended by the Ardmore Fire Department include:
- Do not use your oven to heat your home.
- Space heaters should not be used as a main source of heat.
- Don’t use a blowtorch for thawing frozen pipes.
- If you are burning fossil fuels such as natural gas or propane, be sure to have a carbon monoxide detector in your home.
- Remove dry leaves, grass and dead vegetation from near the outside of your home.
Ellis said fatal home fires often start during the early-morning hours when everyone is asleep and frequently burn for some time before being discovered. Such fires kill more people from smoke inhalation and carbon monoxide poisoning than from burns.
The Ardmore Fire Department has a number of fire safety handouts that are available upon request.
Steve Biehn
221-6546
