Fire Marshal: Education and Information

The National Fire Prevention Clearinghouse has developed a 3-step approach to answer a child's questions regarding fire. If you have further questions you may contact our office or the National Fire Prevention Clearinghouse at (800) 603-3100.

Step One: Teach Your Child About Fire

• "What Is Fire?" Fire is a natural energy source which provides heat, light and energy. Fire is a tool that we use in our everyday lives to produce heat, cook food and heat our homes.
• Fire is a useful tool, for use by adults. Fire can be dangerous, it is not a toy or a plaything.
• Fire can easily get out of control.
• Only adults can safely use fire and must follow special fire safety rules.

Step Two: Control Your Child's Access to Fire

• Create a safe home environment.
• Keep all matches and lighters out of the reach of young children. A two-year-old child can operate a lighter or strike a match.
• Never - not even for a moment - leave a stove, lighted candle or fire in a fireplace unattended.
• Teach your children that matches or lighters are too dangerous to even touch. Teach your children not to touch lighters or matches they may find, but to tell you where they are.
• Remember to praise your children for following your instructions.

Step Three: Set A Good Example

• Children learn by watching and imitating adults. Set a good example for them.
• Point out the safety precautions you use for cooking, heating, fire safety.
• Post emergency numbers by the telephone and teach children how and when to use them. Emphasize the importance of getting out, then call for help from another location. Items such as toys and pets can always be replaced, but a child cannot.

Every home should have a Fire Escape Plan and family members should practice their plan together at least once a year. This may sound silly but, time and time again, it has proven to save lives.

Below are a few recommendations and tips to remember:

Plan Ahead

• Install smoke detectors and change their batteries twice a year. (Remember to spring forward, fall back)
• Make a Fire Escape Plan (it's too late to make a plan once a fire has begun).
• Close bedroom doors when sleeping (it takes approximately 10 to 15 minutes for a fire to burn down a wood door).

A Fire Escape Plan

A fire escape plan should be written down and posted in your house with a copy given to each person. When creating your Fire Escape Plan remember to include the following:

Everyone should know 2 ways out.

That would include each room and the house. If a way out includes windows, everyone should practice opening the window. Any window not in working order should be fixed. Let every family member know that it is O.K. to break the window if necessary and show them how to safely break glass (use a blanket or towel to lay over the frame to help prevent cuts when you climb out).

All family members should understand smoke and its dangers.

Most fires in the home release very toxic smoke. It is therefore very important to teach everyone that smoke rises and they should crawl when the room is filled with smoke. In addition, test all doors before opening them. Feel the door to see if it or the door knob is hot. If it is then use the second escape route out of the room.

A very important addition to a Fire Escape Plan should be the Meeting Location Place.

Once out of the house, all family members should gather at one central meeting place. When a fire breaks out things can get confusing very fast. If each family member knows where to go after exiting the house this will help to identify if a family member may still be inside the home. Please note, do not attempt to return to the home to save a pet. Many people have died doing so.

Remember to provide for family members who may require special assistance in exiting the home in the event of a fire.

This may include disabled family members, infants and young children. Small children usually go to closets or under beds when they are afraid. Make sure they understand not to hide. Get the children out before you exit since they may become scared and decide not to follow you.

This may seem like a lot to remember, which is why it is very important to implement your Fire Escape Plan and practice it often.

Understanding why children set fires is the beginning to understanding firesetting behavior. Parental involvement and activism is key to getting help to children and possibly saving not only property and lives but also the intervention of a firesetter at a young age may stave off a future of adult firesetting tendancies.

Interesting Facts

Curiosity Firesetters usually are 2-7 years old who find fire facinating and begin to play with it to find out how it feels, how it burns and what it does. At this age they usually do not understand how dangerous fire is.

Though curiosity is normal, parents and others need to take it very seriously when they discover that a child is playing with fire.

Problem Firesetters can be very young but are usually around the ages of 5-17 years old. These children usually light fires because of emotional or mental problems rather than out of curiosity. Their problems may be minor or severe. Chronic behaviors such as cruelty to animals, extreme mood changes, bad relationships with other children are some traits data on juvenile firesetters has revealed.

What Can You Do?

• Teach your children about fire and fire safety
• Control your child's access to fire

• Never leave any cooking unattended
• Keep pan handles turned toward center of stove
• Wear short sleeves when cooking
• In case of grease fire, NEVER pick up the pan. Slide a lid or cookie sheet over it, turn off the heat and wait for it to cool.
  

• Do not overload electrical circuits
• Diming lights or fading lights may mean real trouble
• Use only proper size fuses and breakers
• Do not use extension cords for heating devices or appliances
• Never run electrical cords under rugs
• Keep dust from accumulating on and under appliances including TV's
• When in doubt hire an electrician or seek professional advice
  

• Clean or change filters regularly (this also helps lower your bill)
• Check exhaust vents
• If oiling is in your manual, do it
• Check the air intake
• Replace carpeting around the furnace with sheet metal or other fireproof material
• Check the thermostat
• Do not use the furnace area for a closet
• Check the flue assembly
• Never attempt to repair gas lines. If you smell gas, get out immediately and call a professional
  

• Mobile Homes or Manufactured Homes should have at least one working smoke detector. A good place is in a hallway near the bedrooms. However, the more smoke detectors, the better.
• Check the detector at least once a month and replace the batteries twice a year (Remember spring forward, fall back)
• The Fire Code requires all rental properties to have smoke detectors installed
  

• Follow all manufacturer's instructions
• Keep the heater at least 36 inches away from anything combustible
• Turn off all space heaters when leaving your home or going to bed
• Do not use a space heater to dry wet clothing
• Never use a kitchen stove for a space heater

• Keep the temperature at approximately 120-125 degrees
• Check it once a year
• Check the flue if it is a gas heater
• Check the wiring if it is an electric heater
• Check the relief valve for corrosion
• Never close or cover a floor or wall vent in a gas water heater compartment
  

• Get out quickly. Fires can spread very fast.
• Stay low and crawl to avoid smoke. Most house fires have very toxic smoke
• Call 9-1-1 from a neighbor’s phone
• Never reenter a burning structure
  

1. Most fires start small and can be brought under control easily within the first 2 minutes.
2. The fire extinguisher must be UL labeled. The higher rating number on an A or B extinguisher, the more fire it can put out.
3. If the fire starts to spread or enters your escape path, get out and call 911.
4. Recharge extinguishers after each use.
5. Pull the pin. (some extinguishers may require releasing a lock latch, pressing a puncture lever or other motion)
6. Aim low, pointing the extinguisher nozzle or horn at the base of the fire.
7. Squeeze the handle. This releases the extinguishing agent.
8. Sweep from side to side at the base of the fire until it is out. Watch the fire in case it relights.

Fire Extinguishers Video

• When you're sleeping you can't smell smoke
• Most people die within the first 5 minutes of a fire
• In a fire, the heat at floor level is 90 degrees, at head height it is 600 degrees and at ceiling height it is 800 degrees. Heat over 150 degrees will knock you unconscious and kill you
• A fire burning in a house for 1 minute will grow to 3 times its original size. In 4 minutes it will grow to 11 times its size and in 6 minutes it will reach 50 times its original size
• It is estimated that at least half of all smoke detectors currently installed in home throughout the United States do not work because of missing or dead batteries
  

• Properly installed and maintained smoke detectors can increase your chance of surviving a fire by 50 percent
• Every level of your home should have at least one smoke detector (Note: You can never have too many!)
• Sleep with your bedroom door closed
• Test your smoke detectors at least once a month
• Keep spare batteries on hand
• Practice your Fire Escape Plan and know two ways to get out of the house
• Keep lighters and matches out of reach of children
  

• Only buy appliances that have labels stating they've been tested by an independent lab
• Keep all heat producing appliances -- heaters, irons, etc. -- at least 3 feet away from furniture, curtains, clothing, etc.
• Unplug small appliances when they are not being used
• Make sure there is adequate air space around all electronic items such as computers, stereos, etc.

• Only use cords that have a marked rating label
• Replace cracked or frayed cords
• Keep cords away from traffic areas and where children can get to them
• Don't run cords under carpets or across doorways
• Cord should never be used as permanent wiring
  

• Have a qualified electrician replace old electrical outlets with new approved ones
• Never alter a plug to fit an outlet
• If you have small children, install plastic safety covers in unused outlets

• If a fuse blows out, find out why it blew before you replace it
• When replacing a fuse, make sure that it is sized correctly and matches the circuit
• Hair dryers, curling irons and other electrical appliances draw a lot of electrical current, don't plug more that one of them into the same outlet

GFCI's are inexpensive and can be found at your local hardware store. Most if not all newer homes, mobile homes and manufactured homes have these installed. However, some older homes may not have them. Therefore, we strongly encourage an electrician to install them. This is easy to do: They should be placed at the beginning of the circuit in the kitchen where there are outlets on counters and on islands, in bathrooms outdoor plugs, garages and basements, or anyplace there may be water close by.

• Keep lamps away from things that can burn
• Place lamps on level surfaces
• Use only bulbs that match the lamp's recommended wattage
  

• All outdoor electrical fixtures should be weatherproof
• Use GFCI outlets
• Holiday lights should be plugged into permanently installed GFCI outlets
• Use only extension cords rated for outdoor use

• Never touch a power line
• Keep ladders and other metal objects away from power lines
• Call 911 to report downed power lines
  

• Don't wear long sleeves when cooking
• Make sure the barbecue is completely out before leaving
• Turn off the gas supply when not being used
  

• Build your fire downwind from your camp site
• Purchase a tent that is flame retardant
• Only use flashlights when inside a tent. Never use an open flame

• Let an engine cool down before refueling
• Store gasoline in an approved a safety can and in an outdoor shed. Never store gasoline in your house

• When staying at a hotel, familiarize yourself and your family with the emergency exits. Most hotels have a map on the back of the door that you should read and share with your family.
• If there is a fire in the hotel never get on an elevator. Take the stairs. Stay low to the ground and close to the wall in the hall.
• When you get to the stairs, proceed down and hold on to the rail. This will help if others behind you begin to panic and start pushing.
• Pack a flashlight. You never know.

• If you are or have a smoker in the house, provide a lot of large ashtrays and empty them often
• Don't smoke in bed
• Make sure you have smoke detectors on every level of your house

• Have your furnace checked once a year by a qualified serviceman
• Keep dust and trash away from the furnace area
• Keep children away from space heaters
• Make sure space heaters shut off when they tip over
• Do not use space heaters around explosive or combustible materials, like those found in a garage
• Keep curtains and blankets away from heaters.
• Have your chimneys inspected and cleaned by a professional yearly
• Have the flue of your wood burning stove checked once a year by a professional
• Keep a fire extinguisher handy
• Do not burn building materials including plywood, treated lumber and paneling. These release toxic gases when burned
• Keep the draft open wide when burning
• Install a spark shield around the chimney
• If you want to keep the door open to your wood-burning stove, always use a fireplace screen or glass door
• Clean the ashes out of your wood-burning stove or fireplace regularly

Lights & Candles

• Throw away sets of lights that have frayed cords or loose sockets
• Don't overload circuits
• Don't run extension cords under carpets
• Never use electric lights on metal Christmas trees

Christmas Trees

• Don't buy a tree that is shedding needles
• Cut the tree trunk at an angle
• Place the tree in a deep stand that won't tip
• Keep the tree away from fireplaces, exits and heat sources
• Check the water level daily