National Fire Prevention Month is wrapping up, but there are several tips residents can abide by to make their home safer with colder weather and the holiday season approaching.
The first suggestion is something that can be done this weekend in conjunction with the end of Daylight Saving Time on Sunday, Nov. 2, at 2 a.m.
“With the time change coming up, it is time to change your smoke detector batteries and test them when you change your clocks,” says Josh Taylor, fire and life safety educator with White County Fire Services. “But it is also a great time for families to practice their home escape plans and go over their family meeting places.”
Having a defined escape plan and meeting place is important, Taylor says.
“You’re going to want to have (the meeting place) a safe distance from the house,” he says. “We [tell people] not anywhere near the road, so not a mailbox or anything like that. We told them to maybe use a tree, clubhouse, swing set, neighbors house, stuff like that. We tell them to practice that at least twice a year. They can make it into a game so the kids remember it.”
Taylor stresses making sure children know where to go in an emergency, so there’s no confusion.
“I explain to the kids, when we teach them how important it is, … that the parents decide with them” he says. “Because we don’t want a kid going out and saying this is going to be my meeting place and not telling their parents, because that’s the last thing we want is a parent turning around, going back in the house looking for kids.”
With the weather getting colder, Taylor says there is an increased fire risk caused by heating units.
“Make sure that you have [heating units] a safe distance away from anything that may catch fire,” he says. “Also, use caution with cords that may be used for the heating devices, or decorative lighting, that may overheat if they aren’t the proper sizes. They may also become a trip or fall hazard.”
And in case fire erupts in the middle of the night, Taylor advises sleeping with bedroom doors closed.
“If it’s closed, that can stop the fire growth. That can smother the fire,” he says. “It doesn’t get that pathway out for fresh air. It may give you that extended time you need to get out through a window or something like that and it could also help smother a fire completely. We recommend everybody close their doors and [have] smoke detectors right outside every sleeping quarters if you can or at least two per house.”
With fall in full swing, people may start to burn leaves. Taylor says those who plan to do so should be sure to get a burn permit from the Georgia Forestry Service beforehand. This is important, because forestry personnel will tell the caller if permits are being issued for the county that day. With current drought conditions, extra caution needs to be taken.
“Since we are in a drought and it is so dry, they aren’t issuing [burn permits] every day,” he says. “Also, try to keep leaves and brush raked away from your home, so that if the fire did happen to get out of hand, [there] isn’t at as much of a risk of involving your home.”
As the holiday season approaches, Taylor says to make sure the electrical system isn’t overloaded when connecting lighted decorations. He recommends contact an electrician if you aren’t familiar with the system. (And if you’re using a ladder to decorate, be sure to have two people present, he adds.)