Work, Home And Holiday Fire Safety
Fire safety is a topic that should be discussed and reviewed regularly at work and in our homes. Last week our Lewis & Daggett team had a fire safety presentation by officers from the local station, complete with their fire truck!
First, local firefighters are more than accommodating to help us all learn more about fire safety. They gladly welcome us to the station to learn fire safety for our homes and family. They particularly enjoy having children visit so they can show off their equipment, fire pole, and fire trucks.
We were fortunate to have Captain Rick Jarvis, Fire Technician Rusty Walser, and Fire Engineer Chris Belcher make a presentation on safety at our office. Since they were on duty at the time, they showed up with the fire truck which was exciting even for a group of adults.
Here we will quickly review several of the tips the officers gave our team. They were quick to offer more detailed instruction for anyone who wanted to visit the firehouse, and they have a variety of brochures and other instructional materials available for our families and workplaces.
1. The firefighters emphasized the importance of fire extinguishers both at home and at work. It is very important to have and learn to use the fire extinguishers. They are quite simple to use, and a quick training and review session every six months or so at work or with our families can be extremely helpful should the need arise.
2. At work, fire safety is very important because we are typically dealing with larger numbers of people. In addition to following good fire safety tips and preventative measures, the firefighters emphasized that exit plans should be in place, reviewed, and clearly understood by everyone at work.
3. The other big tip at work is to be aware of combustibles and their storage in a safe place and manner. Fires expand extremely quickly making proper placement of combustibles very important should a fire occur.
4. At home fire safety should be reviewed frequently with our families. There are many, many practical tips and ideas for keeping our homes safe. We should make sure we have operating smoke detectors in place, and regularly test the alarms.
5. Having an emergency escape plan is extremely helpful if a fire occurs. Lastly, the firefighters emphasized the importance of having a meeting place outside the house should a fire occur so that when help arrives they know if everyone is safely out of the building.
6. Be extremely careful with the use and placement of candles. Be in the room with them while they are lit. It is best to use a glass surround or globe to protect from accidents and having the candles come in contact with flammable materials.
Lastly, with the holidays coming the firefighters emphasized the importance of fire safety at home during this time of year. It is typically drier making the risk of fires higher. Be sure to review cooking safety tips, fireplace safety, Christmas tree safety, and inspect your lighting and ornaments. We all want to have safe and happy holidays.
Preventative fire safety can be easy and fun. It is extremely important that we all keep these tips in mind for our homes, workplaces, and for the upcoming holidays.