Fire Prevention Week Under Way
October 4, 2021 3:20PM CDT
Lincoln, NE (October 4, 2021) The theme of this year’s National Fire Prevention Week October 3 through 9 is “Learn the Sounds of Fire Safety.” Lincoln Fire and Rescue (LFR) recommends that families know the sounds of their smoke and carbon monoxide (CO) detectors and offer the following tips:
- Install a smoke alarm on every level of the house and inside all sleeping areas. Test the detectors every month and change the batteries every six months.
- Install a CO monitor on every level with fuel burning appliances or attached garages.
- Practice escape from the house with your eyes closed while crawling or staying low and feeling your way out.
- Never open doors that are hot to the touch.
- Teach your family to stop, drop and roll if clothes catch fire.
- Designate a meeting place outside and take attendance. Get out and stay out.
- Remember to escape first, then call 911.
- Make sure everyone in your family knows at least two ways to escape from each room in the house.
Each year in the U.S., about 2,620 people die as a result of home fires and burns. About 450,000 people are treated annually for burn injuries. Lincoln Fire and Rescue offers these home safety tips:
- Keep hot foods and liquids away from the edges of tables and counters.
- Maintain a three-foot “kid-free” zone around the stove or other cooking appliances.
- Never hold a child in your arms while preparing hot food or drinking a hot beverage.
- Use caution when using curling irons, straighteners, lamps and heaters.
- Install tamper-resistant electrical outlets to prevent children from sticking objects into them.
- Never leave a child alone in a room with a lit candle or fireplace or portable heater.
- Set your hot water heater to a temperature no higher than 120 degrees.
- Install anti-scald valves on shower heads and faucets.
Fire Prevention Week was established to commemorate the Great Chicago Fire on October 10, 1871 that killed more than 250 people, left 100,000 homeless, destroyed more than 17,400 structures and burned more than 2,000 acres.
