Saving lives from home fires: Tips and strategy from the Red Cross
The American Red Cross of Long Island is rolling out Fire Prevention Week, Oct. 6-12, to bring awareness that home fires cause more deaths than all natural disasters combined.
According to the Red Cross, seven lives a day are lost to home fires. But having smoke alarms installed and updated regularly cuts this horrific number in half.
“Fire now travels faster through homes, largely due to popular open-concept layouts and synthetic materials,” said Jose Dominguez, CEO of the Red Cross chapter on Long Island. “The sooner an alarm alerts you to a fire, the sooner you can get out. This is critical because fire experts say you may have less than two minutes to escape a burning home before it’s too late.”
The Red Cross Long Island chapter recommends tips for creating a home fire escape plan and practicing a two-minute drill.
• Everyone in your household should know two ways to escape from each room in your home.
• Smoke is dangerous. Get low and go!
• Decide where to meet once you get outside. Select a meeting spot at a safe distance away from your home, such as a neighbor’s home or landmark like a specific tree in your front yard, where everyone knows to meet.
• Get out and stay out. Never go back inside for people, pets or things.
• If a fire starts, you may have less than two minutes to get to safety. Time your fire drill and find out: What’s your escape time?
• While practicing your escape plan, teach children what a smoke alarm sounds like.
• Talk about fire safety and what to do in an emergency.
For smoke alarms, the Red Cross recommends:
• Place smoke alarms on each level of your home, including inside and outside bedrooms and sleeping areas.
• In addition to testing your alarms once a month, change the batteries at least once a year, if your model requires it.
• Also check the manufacturer’s date of your smoke alarms. If they’re 10 years or older, they need to be replaced because the sensor becomes less sensitive over time. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions.
Visit redcross.org/fire for more information, including a home fire escape plan to create and practice with your household. You can also download the free Emergency app — search “American Red Cross” in app stores.
The Red Cross says if you need assistance, visit www.redcross.org/li for a free smoke alarm installation.
Since October 2014, the Red Cross Home Fire Campaign, the organization says, has, while working with community partners, saved at least 2,169 lives by educating families about fire safety, helping them create escape plans and installing free smoke alarms in high-risk areas across the country. To learn more about the campaign visit redcross.org/homefires.