“Smoke Alarms: A Sound You Can Live With!” is NFPA’s official theme for Fire Prevention Week (FPW), October 3-9. If you’re wondering why NFPA, the official sponsor of FPW for nearly 90 years, is focusing on smoke alarms when most homes already have at least one, you've come to the right place!

This year's campaign is designed to educate people about the importance of smoke alarms and encourages everyone to take the steps necessary to update and maintain their home smoke alarm protection. 

Safety tips

Children playing with fire cause hundreds of deaths and injuries each year. Preschoolers and kindergartners are most likely to start these fires, typically by playing with matches and lighters, and are most likely to die in them. Safety tips Store matches and lighters out of children's reach and sight, up high, preferably in a locked cabinet. Never use lighters or matches as a source of amusement for children; they may imitate you. If your child expresses curiosity about fire or has been playing with fire, calmly but firmly explain that matches and lighters are tools for adults only. Use only lighters designed with child-resistant features. Remember child-resistant does not mean child proof. Teach young children and school-age children to tell an adult if they see matches or lighters. Never leave matches or lighters in a bedroom or any place where children may go without supervision. If you suspect your child is intentionally setting fires or unduly fascinated with fire, get help. Your local fire department, school, or community counseling agency can put you in touch with trained experts.

http://www.nfpa.org/categoryList.asp?categoryID=296&URL=Research%20&%20Reports/Fact%20sheets/Seasonal%20safety/Christmas%20tree%20fires

Your home should be a safe haven. But do you regularly check for home fire hazards? If not, there is the potential for danger. Fire departments responded to nearly 400,000 home fires in 2006.

 http://www.nfpa.org/assets/files//FPW08/FPW08checklist.pdf

Cooking with Care

• Stay in the kitchen when you are frying, grilling, or broiling food. If you leave the kitchen for even a short period time, turn off the stove.
• Keep anything that can catch fire – potholders, oven mitts, wooden utensils, paper or plastic bags – away form your stovetop.
• Wear short, close fitting or tightly rolled sleeves when cooking. Loose clothing can dangle onto stove burners and catch fire.
• Always keep an oven mitt and lid handy. If a small fire starts in a pan on the stove, put on the oven mitt and smother the flames by carefully sliding the lid over the pan. Turn off the burner. Don’t remove the lid until it is completely cool.

Everyday Electrical Safety

• Keep lamps, light fixtures, and light bulbs away from anything that can burn, such as lamp shades, bedding, curtains, and clothing.
• Replace cracked and damaged electrical cords.
• Use extension cords for temporary wiring only. Consider having additional circuits or receptacles added by a qualified electrician.
• Homes with young children should have tamper-resistant electrical receptacles.
• Call a qualified electrician or landlord if you have recurring problems with blowing fuses or tripping circuit breakers, discolored or warm wall outlets, flickering lights or a burning or rubbery smell coming from an appliance.

Healthy Heating

• Install and maintain carbon monoxide alarms to avoid risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.
• Maintain heating equipment and chimneys by having them cleaned and inspected every year by a qualified professional.
• Keep all things that can burn, such as paper, bedding or furniture, at least 3 feet away form heating equipment.
• Turn portable space heaters off when you go to bed or leave the room.
• An oven should not be used to heat a home.

Strike Out Smoking-materials Fires

• If you smoke, choose fire-safe cigarettes if they are available in your area.
• If you smoke, smoke outside.
• Wherever you smoke, use deep, sturdy ashtrays.
• Never smoke in a home where oxygen is used.
• Keep matches and lighters up high in a locked cabinet, out of the reach of children.

Candle with Caution

• Keep candles at least 12 inches form anything that can burn.
• Use sturdy, safe candleholders.
• Never leave a burning candle unattended. Blow out candles when you leave a room.
• Avoid using candles in bedrooms and sleeping areas.
• Use flashlights for emergency lighting.

Safety 101

• Install smoke alarms in every bedroom, outside each sleeping area and on every level of the home. For the best protection, interconnect all smoke alarms throughout the home. When one sounds, they all sound.
• Test smoke alarms at least once a month using the test button.
• Replace smoke alarms every 10 years.
• Make sure everyone can hear the sound of the smoke alarms.
• Have a home fire escape plan. Know at least two ways out of every room, if possible, and a meeting place outside. Practice your escape plan twice a year.
• When the smoke alarm sounds, get out and stay out.
• If you are building or remodeling your home, consider a residential fire sprinkler system.

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For more information on “Smoke Alarms: A Sound You Can Live With!” visit www.firepreventionweek.org