Smoke Alarms: A Sound You Can Live With

Install and Maintain Smoke Alarms. It’s the LAW!

Rockville - - - Montgomery County fire officials have confirmed that there were no working smoke alarms present in several significant residental fires in the County this fall. Fire Officials  are urging residents to test their smoke alarms to ensure they are working while reminding residents that the Montgomery County code requires home owners to install, test and maintain smoke alarms on every level of your home and outside all sleeping areas. Failure to comply with this local law could result in a fine and/or imprisonment.

Most fatal fires occur at night when people are sleeping and experts say that the early warning from a working smoke alarm actually doubles your chances of escaping a home fire. Since the primary job of a smoke alarm is to awaken sleeping people and warn them of urgent danger, it is essential that smoke alarms are working and are proximate to sleeping areas of the home.  

Fire Chief Richard Bowers reminds residents that as we approach the winter heating season, it’s critical that every home have working smoke alarms. “Most fires are preventable, said Chief Bowers. “Smoke alarms are one of the best and easiest safety features you can use to protect yourself, your family and your home. I strongly urge every resident to take a few minutes to test their smoke alarms, practice their home fire escape plan and replace any smoke alarms that are 10 years or older. Many people believe that smoke alarms last forever. They don’t.”

The Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service offers residents free assistance with smoke alarm installation and maintenance. Any homeowner who cannot install or test smoke alarms in their homes due to age, physical limitations or cannot afford to purchase a smoke alarm or batteries can call 311 for assistance. Visit us atwww.mcfrs.org/mcsafe for additional safety information!

Clothes Dryer Fire Safety Tips

Over the last week, MCFRS has responded to several fires related to clothes dryers. Most of the fires were
preventable!

Please take a moment and review the below safety tips.  Also, please take any corrective action you might learn you need to take right away!  Act now to PREVENT a potential source of fire in your home.  Protect you and your loved ones!

Stay Safe,

Bill  

While most home appliances are used without incident, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates that 15,500 fires associated with clothes dryers occur annually, causing an average of 10 deaths, 310 injuries and more than $84.4 million in property damage. A lack of maintenance, buildup of lint, placing inappropriate items in the dryer and inadequate venting are frequently cited as contributing factors.

Did You Know?

• The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) estimates that 15,500 clothes dryer fires occur annually, causing an average of 10 deaths, 310 injuries and more than $84.4 million in property damage.
• Eighty-percent of American homes have clothes dryers.
• A full load of wet clothes placed in a dryer contains about one half gallon of water. As the clothes dry, lint forms and builds up, reducing airflow in the dryer's vent, potentially causing the dryer to work improperly or overheat.

Clothes Dryer DOs:

• DO clean the lint screen/filter before or after drying EACH load of clothes.If using fabric softener dryer sheets periodically rinse the lint screen in warm water with soap to unclog the build up of softener.
• DO clean the dryer vent and exhaust duct periodically.
• DO have a certified service technician clean and inspect the dryer and venting system regularly.
• DO replace plastic or vinyl exhaust hoses with rigid or flexible metal venting, which provides maximum airflow.
• DO keep the area around the dryer clean and free from clutter.
• Always use the appropriate electrical outlet for dryers and all major appliances.

Clothes Dryer DON'Ts:

• DON'T place clothing or fabric stained with a flammable substance, such as alcohol, cooking oils, gasoline, spot removers or motor oil, in the dryer. Flammable substances give off vapors that could ignite or explode. Instead, dry the materials outdoors.
• DON'T leave a dryer operating if you are not home.
• DON'T forget to read the manufacturer warnings in the user manual and on the inside of the dryer door.
• DON'T dry any item containing foam, rubber or plastic, such as bathroom and non-slip rugs and athletic shoes.
• DON'T dry any item that contains glass fiber materials, such as a blouse or sweater with glass buttons or decorations.
• DON'T overload the dryer with wet clothes.

Put A Freeze On Winter Fires – Preventing Wood Stove and Fireplace Related Fires

Wood stoves and fireplaces are becoming a very common heat source in homes. Careful attention to safety can minimize a fire related emergency. To use them safely: 

Be sure the stove or fireplace is installed properly by a professional. Wood stoves should have adequate clearance (36”) from combustible surfaces, and proper floor support and protection.  

Wood stoves should be of good quality, solid construction and design, and should be UL listed. 

Have the chimney inspected annually and cleaned if necessary, especially if it has not been used for some time.  

Do not use flammable liquids to start or accelerate any fire.                         

Keep a glass or metal screen in front of the fireplace opening, to prevent embers or sparks from igniting combustibles outside the fireplace, unwanted material from going in, and help prevent the possibility of bums to occupants.  The stove should be burned hot twice a day for 15-30 minutes to reduce the amount of creosote buildup.               

Don’t use excessive amounts of paper to build roaring fires in fireplaces. It is possible to ignite creosote in the chimney by overbuilding the fire.  

Never burn charcoal indoors. Burning charcoal can give off lethal amounts of carbon monoxide. 

Keep flammable materials away from your mantel. A spark from the fireplace could easily ignite these materials. 

Before you go to sleep, be sure your fireplace fire is out. NEVER close your damper with hot ashes in the fireplace. A closed damper will help the fire to heat up again and will force toxic carbon monoxide into the house.

If synthetic logs are used, follow the directions on the package. Never break a synthetic log apart to quicken the fire or use more than one log at a time. They often burn unevenly, releasing higher levels of carbon monoxide.

Fireplace ashes can maintain enough heat to re-ignite for several days after a fire. When cleaning out the ashes, always assume they are still hot and use a metal can to contain them in for disposal. The metal can should be stored away from the home (at least 20 feet and NEVER keep it in an attached garage or on a deck).

  

Fire can spread rapidly through your home, leaving you as little as two minutes to escape safely. Your ability to get out depends on advance warning from smoke alarms and advance planning-a home fire escape plan that everyone in your family is familiar with and has practiced.

Because fires can grow and spread so quickly, having working smoke alarms in your home can mean the difference between life and death. Once the alarm sounds, you may have as few as two minutes to escape. Smoke alarms are the most effective early warning devices available.

Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service Live Streams Press Events via iPhone

I wanted to share a recent new addition to the Montgomery County (MD) Fire and Rescue Service (MCFRS) Social Media tool kit that was tested out on December 14, 2011.  The good news is it is free and provides another layer of value added service for our county residents.

Using a hand held iPhone, MCFRS live streamed two press events that were held at one of our fire and rescue stations.  The event was live streamed through our new UStream Site.

Twitter and Facebook were used to announce what was going on and where folks could go to watch it.  Of interest is the fact that one of the local web news outlets, Germantown Patch, embedded the streaming video onto their site as well thus providing a whole other platform, and audience, where people could view it.  It is hoped other news sites will follow suit in the future.

This proved to be a good first run to see how things worked and what could be done in the future.  The quality was not the best but, considering it was through an iPhone, it was not that bad either.  More sophisticated equipment should be used in the future but it is nice to know that the iPhone will work in a pinch or during an emergent situation.  We will also be able to embed any future live stream events on our MCFRS Blog as well.

The possibilities are endless!  

Stay Safe,

Bill

Can we find you in an EMERGENCY?

In an emergency, police, fire and rescue workers depend on house numbers to find YOU as quickly as possible. Finding your home - especially at night - can be challenging if address numbers are unreadable, hidden, unlighted or have missing numbers and may delay emergency responders from getting to you as quickly as possible.

Are your house numbers visible from the street? Are they set on a background of contrasting color? If your house is hidden from the street, are your numbers attached to a visible fence, mailbox or gate? Is your mobile home identified with your house number? If you live on a corner, does your house number face the street named in your address?

If you've answered "no" to any of these questions, please follow the guidelines below to make sure your house number is easy to read:

1. Numbers must be visible from the street. Existing residential home numbering can be 3 1/2 inches high, however new residential homes must be at least 5 inches high and if you replace existing numbers they must be at least 5 inches high.
2. Numbers should be placed on a contrasting background, with a reflective coating on the numbers for easy visibility at night.
3. Repair or replace aging address number placards, especially on mailboxes that are a distance from the front of the residence.
4. Prune any bushes, tree limbs or other growth that has covered your house numbers.
5. Numbers should be placed on or beside the front door. If your door is not easily seen from the street, put the numbers on a post, fence or tree at the driveway entrance so they can be clearly seen from the street. In addition to numbers on the front door of your house, if you have a rural-style mailbox, reflective and contrasting numbers should be placed on both sides of the box so they can be seen by an emergency vehicle approaching from either direction.

Montgomery County Code on Addresses

1. The owner of any structure presently existing or constructed in the future must display Arabic numbers designating the address assigned to the structure by the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, or by the municipality in which the structure is located. Numbers must be at least five (5) inches high for single-family detached and attached residences and at least six (6) inches high for commercial, industrial or multifamily structures. However, if the numbers designating the address of a single-family residence on April 5, 1988, were at least three (3) inches high, those numbers comply with the size requirement of this section as long as they remain in place. Address displays must be posted on a contrasting background displayed in a conspicuous place that is unobstructed and clearly readable from the street named in the official address of the structure. Where a structure has more than one (1) address or where more than one (1) structure shares a common entry or driveway, numbers must designate the addresses in sequence.
2. An agency of the county must not require a permit for a sign containing only the address of a residence if the sign is smaller than a maximum size set by the county executive by regulation.