PREVENTION

Fire Safety
A message from the Durham Fire Department
Serving the Community Since 1927

Residential Sprinkler Safety
Residential Fire Sprinkler Systems are becoming far more common and are one of the best life-saving devices today. Please visit the National Fire Protection Association web site to dispell any misconceptions about residential fire sprinklers and learn more about them.

Baby Sitter Safety
When entrusted with the care of children, your efforts to prevent fires and what to do in case of an emergency are an important part of your job.

While meeting with the adults it is important to find out what they expect from you as well as you finding out what plans they have in case of an emergency. Find out where there outside meeting place is located. Tour the house to be familiar with the location of doors and windows in case you need to use them.

If you have to cook for the children make sure you are familiar with the stove or microwave prior to using. When using the stove make sure pot handles are turned in towards the center of the stove. Never leave the room while you are cooking.

In case of a fire, your first job is to get yourself and the children out. Once out stay out. Do not reenter for anything; once everyone is at meeting place, all go to the neighbor’s house to call the fire department. Make sure you give the fire department the exact address of the fire and report if all occupants are out of the building or location of anyone still inside the building.

Smoke Detector Safety
Having a working smoke detector can increase your chances of surviving a fire in your home by more than 50%. Now that most homes now have smoke detectors the problem is many are not working.

According to the National Fire Protection Association, the primary reason why smoke detectors fail is dead or missing batteries.

Test your smoke detector every week. If the batteries are getting low the detector will emit a random chirp. Inevitably the chirping will start at the most inopportune time so it’s a good an idea to keep a spare battery on hand. Smoke detector batteries need to be replaced annually so once a year, perhaps when you turn the clocks back from daylight savings time, you should change your smoke detector battery.

A dirty smoke detector may not work or may continually give false alarms. A smoke detector that cries wolf too often can be dangerous. A smoke detector sounding should be an unusual event that everyone in the house reacts to immediately. Vacuum the smoke detectors regularly. Routine vacuuming will keep dust and insects from causing false alarms.

When should you replace your smoke detector? We in the fire service have been promoting smoke detectors for a long time. One piece of the puzzle we have recently discovered is that after about 10 years the failure rate of smoke detectors is significant. I guess after working for more than 80,000 hours I would be tired too. Smoke detectors should be replaced every ten years.

How many smoke detectors should you have? Generally more is better. When smoke detectors were expensive we said every home should have at least one smoke detector. Now with smoke detectors become more affordable we recommend at least one detector on every level of your home, one detector outside the bedrooms, one detector in every bedroom and a detector above stairwells. Detectors should be ceiling mounted at least 4-6 inches away from the walls or any corner. Avoid putting smoke detectors near vents, cooking equipment and steamy showers.