As 2020 gets underway, The Naperville Fire Department is asking everyone to make home fire safety their top resolution this year. The best fire protection is to practice fire prevention year- round.
There are a few simple things you can do to protect your household from becoming a statistic. Resolve that you will have working smoke and carbon monoxide alarms on each level of your home, and that you will know what to do when the alarm sounds. Resolve to develop an escape plan and practice it. Young children and the elderly are our most vulnerable populations. Be educated. If your smoke alarms were installed before January 1, 2010, resolve to replace them; smoke alarms only have a life expectancy of up to 10 years.
Resolve to keep fires from starting in the first place. Resolve to never leave cooking or burning candles unattended, resolve to sleep behind a closed door, and resolve never to overload electrical outlets.
The severity of home fires has changed in recent years. The changes come in part from what goes into a modern home, including the highly combustible furniture, electronics with plastic housing, and kid’s plastic toys. Changes in the way homes are constructed also play a role: larger open living spaces and lightweight engineered lumber frames for starters. We are constructing homes with more flammable materials, and then filling them with more combustible contents and open space than ever before. Forty years ago, you had 17 minutes to escape a fire and now…less than 3 minutes!
Most fires are preventable, and most of all fire deaths occur in the home. Think about the many ways you can protect your family, and resolve to make smart choices about behavior to prevent fires from starting. Resolve to practice an escape plan. Test your smoke detectors once a month to ensure you have more time to escape. And then carry out all your New Year’s resolutions!
We all must do our part to prevent and save lives from fire.
The Naperville Fire Department takes pride in its highly-trained firefighters and paramedics, and its state-of-the-art equipment. They will always be there when you need them, but even their best response cannot alter the rapid growth of fire during those first few minutes before a fire is discovered.
The Naperville Fire Department wishes everyone a safe 2020!
