25th Annual Fire Prevention Week

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Snohomish County Fire District 7 invites residents to kick-off Fire Prevention Week at its Annual Open House. The 25^th Annual Open House will take place from noon to 4 p.m. on Sunday, October 9 at Fire District 7 Headquarters (8010 180^th St. SE, Snohomish). This free event will include auto extrication demonstrations, puppet shows, tours of the fire safety trailer, fire engine tours and much more! Visitors will also get a chance to meet Topper, the Snohomish County Arson Dog.

So what’s the best way to protect your family from fire? Be ahead of the game, of course. With more than 360,000 home fires reported in the United States in 2009, according to the nonprofit National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), your best defense is a good offense. That’s why Fire District 7 is teaming up with NFPA during October 9-15, 2011, to let our community know: “It’s Fire Prevention Week. Protect your Family from Fire!” This year’s campaign focuses on preventing the leading causes of home fires -- cooking, heating and electrical equipment, as well as candles and smoking materials. Additionally, it urges people to protect their homes and families with life-saving technology and planning.

“In 2009, 2,565 people died in home fires. Nearly all of these deaths could have been prevented by taking a few simple precautions like having working smoke alarms and a home fire escape plan, keeping things that can burn away from the stove and always turning off space heaters before going to bed,” explained Public Educator Autumn Waite. “Fire is a dangerous opponent, but by anticipating the hazards, you are much less likely to be one of the nearly 13,000 people injured in home fires each year.”

Fire District 7 offers the following tips for protecting your home and family from fire: 

• Stay in the kitchen while you are frying, grilling, or      broiling food. If you leave the kitchen for even a short period of time,      turn off the stove.
• Keep anything that can burn at least three feet away      from heating equipment, like the furnace, fireplace, wood stove, or      portable space heater.
• Have a three-foot “kid-free zone” around open fires and      space heaters.
• Replace or repair damaged or loose electrical cords.
• If you smoke, smoke outside.
• Use deep, wide ashtrays on a sturdy table.
• Blow out all candles when you leave the room or go to      bed. Avoid the use of candles in the bedroom and other areas where people      may fall asleep.

“While preventing home fires in our area is always our number one priority, it is not always possible,” Waite continued. “Fire District 7’s residents need to provide the best protection to keep their homes and families safe in the event of a fire. This can be achieved by developing an escape plan which you practice regularly and equipping homes with life-saving technologies like smoke alarms and home fire sprinklers.”

The following tips will help keep your family safe if there is a fire in your home:

• Install smoke alarms inside each bedroom, outside each      sleeping area, and on every level of the home (including the basement).
• Interconnect all smoke alarms in the home so when one      sounds, they all sound.
• Test smoke alarms at least monthly and replace all      smoke alarms when they are 10 years old or sooner if they do not respond      when tested.
• Make sure everyone in your home knows how to respond if      the smoke alarm sounds.
• Pull together everyone in your household and make a      plan. Walk through your home and inspect all possible ways out.       Households with children should consider drawing a floor plan of      your home, marking two ways out of each room, including windows and doors.
• If you are building or remodeling your home, consider      installing home fire sprinklers.