Friday, January 7, 2011
TGIF Safety Tip
If your smoke alarm was installed on or before January 7, 2001 you need to replace it. Smoke alarms should be replaced, regardless if they are working, every 10 years.
Test your alarms weekly and have a home fire escape plan!
Have a SAFE weekend!
Bill
Thursday, January 6, 2011
MCFRS Fire Fighters in the News
Last Thursday, I posted an article about our fire fighters at Bethesda Fire Station #6 on the A-Shift who were going on a 28 day health challenge. You can view the article here: Whole Foods & Fire Station 6 A-Shift Partner on 28 Day Health Challenge
ABC7’s Julie Parker saw the post and decided to do a story on the shift and what the challenge entailed. The story was on air last night and I have posted it below. You will definitely see some updates posted here on the blog and may even see an update or two from ABC7.
ABC7’s Julie Parker saw the post and decided to do a story on the shift and what the challenge entailed. The story was on air last night and I have posted it below. You will definitely see some updates posted here on the blog and may even see an update or two from ABC7.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
House Fire You Did Not Hear About
Yesterday, we responded to a fire in a kitchen. Some kids in the home had decided to cook french fries and were heating the cooking oil. At some point, the pan was left unattended and a fire started. As a side note, cooking related fires are the number one cause of fires here in the County as well as across the country.
Certainly the above is a recipe (no pun intended) for a potential large fire, loss of life, and potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars in property loss. No question a fire event that would make the news. So why did you not hear about this fire involving kids yesterday?
Read a part of the report to understand: Fire extinguished by residential sprinkler prior to arrival of Fire Department. Held E722 and RS722 to remove light smoke. No injuries, $2500 in loss.
Not only do home fire sprinklers dramatically reduce the risk of home fire deaths, they also decrease fire damage by as much as two-thirds when compared to homes without sprinklers.* It is like having fire fighters living inside your home (see video above from Fresno, CA Fire Department)!
Sprinklers and smoke alarms together cut your risk of dying in a home fire 82% relative to having neither – a savings of thousands of lives a year (from NFPA).
While all new homes in the County are required to have this vital life safety tool installed, the vast majority of Montgomery County homes do not have sprinklers protecting them. There is a program in the County that will allow you a one time tax credit of up to 50% of your county property tax on dwellings when you retro-fit your home with fire sprinklers.
Go here to learn more: Learn How To Reduce Your Property Tax Bill By 50%
* Homefiresprinkler.org
Certainly the above is a recipe (no pun intended) for a potential large fire, loss of life, and potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars in property loss. No question a fire event that would make the news. So why did you not hear about this fire involving kids yesterday?
Read a part of the report to understand: Fire extinguished by residential sprinkler prior to arrival of Fire Department. Held E722 and RS722 to remove light smoke. No injuries, $2500 in loss.
Sprinklers and smoke alarms together cut your risk of dying in a home fire 82% relative to having neither – a savings of thousands of lives a year (from NFPA).
While all new homes in the County are required to have this vital life safety tool installed, the vast majority of Montgomery County homes do not have sprinklers protecting them. There is a program in the County that will allow you a one time tax credit of up to 50% of your county property tax on dwellings when you retro-fit your home with fire sprinklers.
Go here to learn more: Learn How To Reduce Your Property Tax Bill By 50%
* Homefiresprinkler.org
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
A Tale of Two Fires
This past Friday, MCFRS responded to an apartment fire on Quince Orchard Boulevard in Gaithersburg. A women occupant of the apartment called 911 to report the fire after being awakened by a working smoke alarm in the unit. The woman was treated for smoke inhalation at a local hospital and her injuries were not serious.
A week before, a 71 year old male was tragically killed in a fire in his town house. The home did not have a working smoke alarm. While there were other factors associated with this fire – his electric and gas service had been shut off – the presence of working smoke alarms provide early warning in the event of fire in the home and increase your chances of surviving a fire. Between 2003–06 more than 66 percent of home fire deaths occurred in homes without a working smoke alarm (from NFPA).
Please check your smoke alarms to ensure you they are working. If you find yourself in need of a new smoke alarm, and are hard pressed to buy a new one, please know that MCFRS has a program to provide and install FREE smoke alarms! Call 311 to learn more! We also provide a home fire safety evaluation that you can schedule by calling 311 as well.
Please check your smoke alarms to ensure you they are working. If you find yourself in need of a new smoke alarm, and are hard pressed to buy a new one, please know that MCFRS has a program to provide and install FREE smoke alarms! Call 311 to learn more! We also provide a home fire safety evaluation that you can schedule by calling 311 as well.
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