Overview
Items like smoke alarms, fire extinguishers, carbon monoxide detectors, and fire sprinkler systems can make homes safer and prevent fire-related deaths and injuries.
Smoke alarms should be installed:
🛌 Inside every bedroom
🚪 Outside every sleeping area
🏡 On every level of the home
👉 Press the test buttons once a month to make sure your smoke detectors are working.
🤝 It's best to have interconnected alarms so that when one sounds, they all sound.
🕸 Vacuum cobwebs and dust from around your alarms each month. This will prevent nuisance alarms.
🔋 Battery-powered alarms? Replace batteries at least once each year.
📅 Replace smoke alarms every 10 years.
🤔 Know how to use extinguishers well in advance of a fire.
☝ Many extinguishers can only be used once.
⏰ Most portable extinguishers empty in eight seconds. If the fire isn't out by then, get out!
🔎 Use the guage or test button to make sure there is enough pressure to work properly.
👍 Keep them in a place that is easily accessible for adults.
👧 Keep away from children.
🤏 The fire is small and not spreading.
🏃♂️ Everyone has left or is leaving.
🚪 You can exit quickly.
💨 There isn't much smoke.
🚒 The fire department has been called.
Have a carbon monoxide detector on each floor of your home. Additional detectors should be placed in the area of major fuel-burning appliances, such as the furnace, water heater, or wood stove.
First, remain calm. Most activations aren't life-threatening.
If Anyone Feels Ill
Evacuate immediately and call 911. Typical symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning include:
🤕 Headache
🤢 Nausea
😴 Fatigue
😵 Dizziness
😖 Confusion
😠 Irritability
🤮 Vomiting
If No One Feels Ill
You probably don't need to call 911. Here's what to do instead:
✋ Turn off fuel-burning appliances
💨 Ventilate the area with fresh air
🟢 Attempt to reset your detector (if it won't reset, call a qualified contractor to inspect your heating and ventilating system)
🏃♀️ If at any time someone starts to feel ill: Get out, stay out, and call 911
Carbon Monoxide calls are routine for first responders. They are trained to help you. Usually, a fire department an an emergency medical unit will respond.
If you told 911 that you might be sick, there will usually be an emergency response:
🕵️♀️ The fire department might conduct operations to locate the source of carbon monoxide gas.
💨 The premises might be ventilated.
🚑 People who complain of illness will be evaluated and treated, as necessary. Some may be transported to a hospital or medical care facility for further care.
Fuel-fired appliances, such as:
⛽ Gas and oil furnaces
🥶 Space heaters
👚 Clothes dryers
🍳 Ranges and ovens
💦 Water heaters
🍔 Charcoal grills
🔥 Fireplaces
🪓 Wood-burning stoves
🚗 Car exhaust fumes
🌱 Lawnmower exhaust fumes
❄ Snow blower exhaust fumes
If you don't have one already, consider installing an automatic home fire sprinkler system.
⬇ According to the National Fire Protection Association, or NFPA, the risk of dying in a home fire decreases by about 80 percent when the home has a fire sprinkler system.
💨 Sprinklers can decrease the chance of deadly smoke and gases reaching your family, and can put out a fire when you're away from home.
🚒 They can notify the fire department in your absence, if conntected to an alarm system.
🏡 Additionally, these systems can make it more likely for people who experience a house fire to return home and continue living as they did before the blaze.
👍 Sprinkler systems can lower the cost of home insurance premiums, are easy to maintain, and are only activated by the high temperature of a fire.
If having a sprinkler system installed, be sure to use someone qualified who adheres to National Fire Protection Association codes and standards, plus local fire safety regulations.
