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Fire Safety 2012 | Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | A Newspaper in Education Section | www.milwaukeemarketplace.com/specialsections 2 by Maryann Bouche alarmed don’t be : Learn the new guideLines, Laws for safety Taking care of family and friends includes keeping them safe. You want the people you care about to be protected from dangers like house fires. One way you can make abig difference is to check that your home has enough smoke detectors and that the alarms are working. Kids your age can help out by pressing the test button each month to make sure each detector works properly. When you or your parent presses the button, it should make a loud, piercing beep. If it doesn’t, take care of the problem right away. The smoke detector may need anew battery, or the detector itself may need to be replaced. It’s true: Beeps save lives Almost two-thirds of home fire deaths happen in homes where there was no working smoke detector. Glenn Linzmeier, fire chief for the Blooming Grove (Wis.) Fire Department, remembers a blaze that destroyed a home and firefighters found a melted smoke detector in the rubble. It didn’t have a battery inside, which meant it wasn’t able to send its warning when the fire was still small. The homeowner, who was not injured This timeline shows how quickly — within 5minutes —asmall fire can become a lifethreatening blaze. because he was not home when the fire started, said he had removed the battery just a couple of weeks before and forgot to replace it. “It’s important for all of us to be responsible to be sure others are safe,” Linzmeier noted. “You need to follow through because otherwise something bad can happen.” It’s a good idea to change the batteries at least once a year because then you’ll know the batteries are fresh. If you have smoke alarms with lithium “long-life” batteries, these batteries last 10 years and are not meant to be replaced; instead you replace the entire device after 10 years. All smoke detectors, whether battery operated or hardwired into the home’s electrical system, should be replaced every 10 years to be sure they will operate properly. Fight the invisible danger Do you know what carbon monoxide is? This invisible, odorless and tasteless gas is created when fuels like gasoline, wood, coal, natural gas, propane, oil or methane aren’t burning properly. It’s a poison you don’t know you’re breathing and that’s why it’s called a silent killer. In 2011, a law was passed that requires homes to have carbon monoxide alarms on every floor of the house, except for attics and garages. The law applies to homes that have any fuel-burning appliance such as a furnace, fireplace, heater, oven, stove, clothes 10 seconds It’s 12:53 a.m. You and your family are sound asleep. Ten seconds ago, a small fire started in your living room. In the next five minutes, your life may change forever. Or you may just need to clean up in the morning and air out the house. It will all depend on whether or not you have fire sprinklers in your home. Spread the word Smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors are required in homes today. It’s important to get the word out to be sure every family installs these lifesavers and keeps them working properly. • Many local fire departments have programs to educate the community about using smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors. • Another resource is the Wisconsin Alliance for Fire Safety education trailers and displays that can be brought to community events. Visit wafs.org for contact information. • A new program, called WISAFE, is in the beginning phase working with the Wisconsin Department of Instruction and other state agencies. One idea is to provide safety information to parents during teacher conferences. •You are an important teacher too. Let your family know what you learned about fire safety and do your part to be responsible. After school today, be sure your home has enough smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors and all are working properly. The Wisconsin AlliAnce for fire sAfeTy WAs esTAblished in 1991 To promoTe fire sAfeTy And burn prevenTion, And To supporT burn survivors, including sponsoring The summer cAmp for burn-injured youTh. for more informATion, visiT WAfs.org. meeTs The neW Wisconsin sTAndArds for heAlTh educATion: 7:2:A1, 7:2:b2, 7:3:A1, 7:3:b2 Every 84 seconds, a house burns in the United States. More than 3,000 Americans die in fires every year, 85% of them in home fires. The victims are usually children and seniors. Although the majority of home fires start during the day, most fatal fires start at night. Like this one.
dryer, boiler, water heater, and also residences with attached garages. Parents may not be aware of this new law, so telling them about it is another way to help keep your family safe. “I tell kids to ask the adults: Do we have a carbon monoxide detector? They should tell the adults that carbon monoxide doesn’t have an odor or a taste, that it’s dangerous and can kill people,” Linzmeier said. With a detector on each level of the house, an alarm will sound when there is an unhealthy level of carbon monoxide in the home, alerting you to get outside and to call the fire department. Where are your smoke detectors? Wisconsin also has a law requiring at least one smoke detector on every level of the home, including the basement. Local ordinances may require additional smoke detectors because in most homes, placing just one detector on each floor of the house won’t provide the best protection. “The standards for the number of smoke detectors have changed, and people need to be aware of this,” explained Gary Fedder, retired Greendale (Wis.) Fire Department fire chief. It’s advised that a smoke detector be on every level of the home, plus one should be inside every sleeping area, and outside the sleeping areas. It’s important to 1 minute One minute after the fire starts, the smoke alarm sounds. You awaken. You don’t smell smoke, but you get up to check. It takes almost 30 seconds to reach the stairs and start down. 90 seconds have a smoke detector in each bedroom because often those doors are closed, and fires that start behind a closed door will not be detected right away. For example, fires in bedrooms have started with laptops or from a hot curling iron left on a bed. The door gets closed when the boy or girl leaves for school. A smoke detector in the bedroom will sound while the fire is still small, but if the nearest detector is on the other side of the closed door, it won’t go off until the fire has grown much larger. So check if there is a smoke detector in your bedroom and if not, talk to your parents about installing one. Many fire departments have programs to hand out free batteries or smoke alarms. Call the non-emergency number of your fire department for details. It’s the law… For families living in apartment complexes, if the smoke and carbon monoxide alarms in their units are not working, the renters need to notify the landlord in writing. The property owner has five days to get it rectified, so it’s important to notify the owner immediately in writing, said Susan Phillips- Wheeler, deputy fire chief/fire marshal for the Town of Menasha, Wis. The laws requiring smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors are ways to educate people about how important these devices are for saving lives and protecting property, explained Tina Virgil, state fire marshal, Wisconsin Department of Justice. “We want people to be responsible, and these laws remind people to think about safety and be sure they have safety measures in place,” she said. Meets the New wiscoNsiN staNdards for health educatioN: 7:2:a1, 7:2:B2, 7:3:a1, 7:3:B2 As you descend, you start to smell smoke. You see smoke billowing out of the living room. The curtains in the room are in flames. The temperature at the ceiling is approaching 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit. 2 minutes 2 min. 9 sec. Heat activates the single sprinkler closest to the fire. Within seconds, the flames are controlled and may be extinguished. Smoke in the living room starts to clear. If your home has fire sprinklers. Teachers: Win up to $1500 for your class! The Wisconsin Alliance for Fire Safety encourages teachers of 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th grades to help prevent fires and burn injuries through education. Thanks to grants from the Professional Fire Fighters of Wisconsin Charities Inc. and State Farm Insurance, WAFS will award two $1,500 grand prizes to teachers to be used in their classrooms. Additional $500 grants also will be awarded. To enter, teachers of 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th grades are invited to write a one-page essay that either: • describes how you would use the award money to help increase fire safety in your school or community. • describes how you used this section in your classroom. • describes how your students used the home checklist provided in the Fire Safety section. • explains how you have been incorporating the Fire Safety section into your curriculum throughout the academic year. • or choose atopic unique to your classroom or school. You may also want to enclose a photograph of abulletin board you put up with an accompanying essay. Mail your entry to: WAFS School Incentive Program C/O Jan Heinitz, 12800 N. Lake Shore Drive, Mequon, WI 53097. Essays due Dec. 10, 2012. Your students can be partners with firefighters. Using this section in conjunction with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel will help students learn more about fire safety. We’ve also included Fire Safety Certificates to award to students who complete the home checklist on pages 7-10. Please encourage students to complete this with their parents. Students: You could win prizes by completing the quiz on the back page. See details on the back cover. Also, see page 11 to enter the poster contest. For more information about the Wisconsin Alliance for Fire Safety, visit wafs.org. If not, you start back up the stairs, yelling to warn your family. By the time you reach the top of the stairs, you are blinded by smoke. Fire is not bright. It is hidden by thick, black smoke. Building materials and furnishings give off poisonous gases as they burn. Most people who die in fires don’t die from burns. Smoke and toxic fumes are almost always the killer. Sprinklers can prevent or eliminate almost all smoke from fires. www.milwaukeemarketplace.com/specialsections | A Newspaper in Education Section | Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | Fire Safety 2012 3
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