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Home My WebLink AboutHuron Expositor, 2004-10-06, Page 9TME HURON tXPO$$TOR. October 0, 2004-4 Marty Bedard Fire Chief & Community Emergency Management Coordinator Municipality of Huron East It's Fire Prevention Week - Test Your Smoke Alarms It's a fact smoke alarms save lives. The majority of fatal home fires happen at night when people are asleep. Smoke alarms give you time to escape. Below are some helpful tips on smoke alarms: Choosing your alarm: • Be sure the smoke alarm you buy bears the label of an independent testing lab. • Some alarms run on household current and include battery backup, which require professional installation. • Some alarms run just on batteries, which you can usually install yourself. • Some alarms use an ionization type smoke -sensing system while others use photoelectric sensors. Both types offer adequate protection. • Some alarms have a silencer or hush button so you can deactivate them if cooking fumes or steam set off a nuisance alarm. These models re -activate automatically atter 8 to 10 minutes. • For people who are deaf or hard of hearing, some alarms flash a strobe like light. Placing your alarms: • Install alarms on every level of your home - including the basement. • Install an alarm outside each sleeping area. Make sure everyone can clearly hear and recognize the sound of all smoke alarms at all times. • Don't install alarms closer than 1 metre (3 feet) from a kitchen or bathroom door. • Don't install alarms in locations where the temperature may be too low or too high. • Mount alarms high on a wall or on the ceiling, because smoke rises. Wall mounting - the top of alarm should be 4 to 8 inches from the ceiling. Ceiling mounting - position alarms at least 4 inches away from the nearest wall. • In a room with a pitched ceiling, mount the alarm at or near the ceiling's high- est point. • Basement alarms should be located near the stairway leading to the floor above. • Don't mount an alarm within 3 feet, of a forced -air supply register. Installing and maintaining your smoke alarms: • When installing smoke alarms, be sure to follow the manufacturer's instruc- tions. • Have a qualified electrician install alarms that are hard -wired into your house wiring. • Never connect an alarm to a circuit that can be tumed off from a wall switch. • Wire alarms together so that d one sounds, they all sound. • Always save and follow the manufacturer's instructions for testing and main- tenance. • TEST ALARMS MONTHLY. • Replace batteries at least once a year. When you set the clocks back in the fall or whenever an alarm "chirps" to tell you the battery is low. • Replace any smoke alarm that is more than 10 years old. • Never paint a smoke alarm. If you follow these smoke alarm tips, your chances of escaping from a fire will greatly improve. Remember it is law for all homes to have a working smoke alarm. For more information on fire safety please call me at 527-0160 or 1-888- 868-7513. SEAFORTH & AREA FIRE ASSOCIATION Invites you to our FIRE HALL OPEN HOUSE In conjunction with Fire Prevention Week WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2004 6:30 — 8:00 PM Seaforth & Area Fire Hall Birch St. Seaforth Door Prizes Available When fire strikes... Get out! Stay out! Practise your home escape plan. Never go back inside a burning building. Afire escape plan could save your family's lives Anyone who has lived through a fire will tell you what a terrifying experience it is. Unfortunately, many peo- ple who experience fire never get a chance to tell their story - to warn others of the dangers of fire. Your fire department wants you to be prepared if a fire strikes your home. Begin your plan by check- ing your smoke alarm to make sure that it is working. The smoke alarm will wake you up if a fire occurs while you are asleep. 1.Draw a floor plan of your home Use a grid to draw a floor plan of your home, fol- lowing the example provided as a guide. You should draw a CASEY VANBAKEL ELECTRICAL & PLUMBING g22-1558 ARCHIE'S SERVICE CENTRE 527.0881 DIVA GRAPHICS EMBROIDERY 527.2055 RALPH WOOD ELECTRIC 527.0448 1 floor plan for each floor of your home. 2.Include all possible emer- gency exits Draw in all walls, doors, windows and stairs. This will show you and your family all possible escape routes at a glance. 3.Include any important fea- tures that could help with your escape Doors and windows are escape exits from your home. Are there any other fea- tures that could help you get out safely? Can you climb out a win- dow onto the roof of a porch or garage? Is there a tree or tel- evision antenna tower that can be safely reached from a win- dow? These features can be extremely useful in an emer- DAVE'S AUTO MAINTENANCE 527-1313 KELLY AUTO SALES & SERVICE 527.1122 HILDEBRAND PAINT & PAPER 527-1880 SEAFORTH AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY 527.1321 gency. 4.Mark two escape routes from each room There is a main exit from every room. If you are unable to use the main exit because of smoke or fire, you must have an alternate exit, usually the window. 5.Remember - some people may need help to escape. Decide in advance who will assist the very young, elderly or physically challenged member's of your housdrold. 6.Choose a place outside where everyone will meet. Everyone must know to go directly to this meeting place so they can be accounted for. No one should go back into a burning building for any rea- son. SUMTHING SPECIAL 527-2435 Desjardins Credit Union 527-0210 ANNA'S DRESS SHOPPE LTD. 527.0489 SILLS HOME HARDWARE •For Smoke Detectors •New Fire Extinguishers & Recharging Depot •Replacement Batteries •Fire Escape Ladders 527-1020 7.Call the fire department from a neighbour's home Include the neighbour's name and the fire department phone number on your plan. Mark the street address of your home on your fire escape plan, 8.Make sure everyone is familiar with the home escape plan Go over the entire plan with everyone. Discuss primary and secondary escape routes from each bedroom. Ensure that all children know the plan. Walk through the escape routes for each room with the entire family. Use this walk- through exercise to check your escape routes, making sure all exits are practical and easy to IRWIN PHYSIOTHERAPY 527-1551 SEAFORTH VETERINARY CLINIC • Dr. Brian Nuhn 527-1760 JANET'S DONUT CAFE 527-2551 CARDNO'S MEN'S WEAR 5270596 use. It is important that all win- dows will open and that no heavy furniture blocks any escape route. If escape ladders or ropes are to be used, make sure that they area accessible and that the appropriate indi- vidual is capable of using them. 9.Practice your escape plan After reviewing the floor plan with the members of your household, have an actual practice to ensure that every- one knows what to do. Practice your escape plan every six months. In a real fire, you must react without hesitation as your escape routes may be quickly blocked by smoke or flames. V11NGENT FARM FoUIr'!.1Fr4T 527-0120 VANDEN HEUVEL STRUCTURES 482-9666 CLINTON WINTHROP GENERAL STORE 527.124T DESIGN CONCRETE SYSTEMS/ PROMAT LTD. 827.0397 '1 LAGER HOUSE Pub and Grill 527-2220 McLAUGHLIN CHEV-OLDS LTD. 527-1140 THE LOOKING GLASS 527-1783 BOX & SMITH FUNERAL CHAPEL 527-1142 SEAFORTH SEWING CENTRE 527.1900 BOX FURNITURE 527-0680 PHARM KEATING'S PHARMACY. 527-1990 ToTal, IMAGE II 527-0780 McKILLOP MUTUAL 527-0400 PROGRESSIVE TURF EQUIPMENT INC. 527-1080 BLUEWATER INTERIORS 527E1728 WHITNEY RIBEY FUNERAL HOME 427.1390