• Get a NOAA Weather Radio to monitor severe weather. Be familiar with winter storm warning messages.
• Assemble a disaster supply kit. Store drinking water, canned/no-cook food, baby formula, pet food, non-electric can opener, first aid kit, battery-powered radio, flashlight and extra batteries, spare blankets and a week’s supply of medication where you can get to them easily, even in the dark. Include specific items such as rock salt to melt ice on walkways, sand to improve traction and other snow removal equipment.
• Prepare for the possibility that you will need to stay in your home for several days. Ensure that you have sufficient heating fuel for emergency heating equipment in case electricity is cut off. This may include a supply of dry, seasoned wood for your fireplace or wood-burning stove.
  

  Before Winter Storms Be Prepared!

• House fires pose an additional risk, as more people turn to alternative heating sources such as space heaters without taking the necessary safety precautions. Use approved heating appliances per manufacturer’s instructions. Maintain a three foot clearance between all heaters and combustibles. Keep fire extinguishers on hand, and make sure everyone in your home knows how to use them.
• Find out ahead of time what you can do to help elderly or disabled friends and neighbors.
• Develop an emergency communication plan in case family members are separated from one another. This may be necessary if school children are released early due to inclement winter conditions. It’s important to have a plan for getting back together.

Free copies of Washington Township’s 65-page Community Emergency Preparedness Manual are available upon request at our Township Administration Building, 6200 Eiterman Road. The manual can also be downloaded at www.wtwp.com.

Fire Marshal Alan Perkins, CFPS (Liaison to the Fire Department Community) – Alan’s career in the fire service spans more than 30 years. He is a Certified Fire Protection Specialist through the National Fire Protection Association and a member of numerous similar safety organizations. Alan consults with numerous fire departments throughout Ohio and in 2005 was chosen by the Ohio Department of Health as the fire service member on the Ohio School Inspection Advisory Committee. He was also awarded Ohio Fire Official of the Year in 2009 by the Ohio Building Officials Association. Alan is the Fire Marshal for the Washington Township Fire Department in Dublin, Ohio.

Live Safe Foundation is an Ohio based non-profit organization (501c3), devoted to making and fire and life safety education, awareness initiatives and life saving tools available on a broad basis to communities, campuses, and institutions in an effort to reduce national fire fatalities and fire losses.

Most people aren’t prepared for a fire. Maybe it’s because they think it will never happen to them or, if it does, they won’t have any trouble getting out safely. In most fires, you’ll have only three to four minutes to escape safely. This is not enough time to devise a plan and make sure everyone in your home knows what to do.

Devising an escape plan now and practicing it with your family can help insure that everyone will get out safely, should you ever have a fire. For most, fires are scary and unfamiliar. By practicing an escape plan, you could help your family react faster and make better choices for their safe escape, even though they may be panicked and frightened.

• Plan two ways out of every room, and include the windows as an option.
• Test the emergency exits, like the windows, to make sure you can open them and remove the screens and storm windows inside.
• Test all smoke alarms monthly to ensure that they work. Replace batteries as needed.
• Make sure everyone understands the escape plan and recognizes the sound of the smoke alarm. If children or others do not readily awaken to the sound of the smoke alarm, or if there are infants or other family members with mobility limitations, make sure that your plan identifies someone to assist them.
• Teach your family to stay low and crawl below the smoke to avoid its poisonous gases. Crawling to the exits is vital as 80% of all fire deaths are caused by smoke inhalation.
• Arrange for a meeting place outside the home. Make sure everyone knows to get out quickly, go to the meeting place, and not return for any reason, not even for pets or a favorite toy.
• Call the fire department from a neighbor’s house or use a cellular phone. Do not stay in a burning building to use a phone.

Do you have a fire safety or EMS question? We welcome your inquiries at fireinfo@wtwp.com.

Article Credits: Fire Marshal Alan Perkins, CFPS, is a 32-year veteran of the fire service. A Certified Fire Protection Specialist through the National Fire Protection Association and a member of several similar safety organizations. Perkins is the Fire Marshal for the Washington Township Fire Department, Dublin, Ohio. For more information, contact: Leslie Dybiec, Public Information Officer Phone: (614) 652-3928 Fax: (614) 766-2507 or ldybiec@wtwp.com.

Live Safe Foundation is an Ohio based non-profit organization (501c3), and leading grassroots movement, devoted to making and fire and life safety education, awareness initiatives and life saving tools available on a broad basis to communities, campuses, and institutions in an effort to reduce national fire fatalities and fire losses. Live Safe aims to help finance fire safety education where means are otherwise unavailable. Live Safe is developing and sponsoring programs to help groups find the resources needed to advance individual and community fire safety.

Because emergency response crews need to find addresses as quickly as possible when called, they often rely on house numbers for quick reference. If the numbers on your home are not easy to find or read, it will take longer for crews to reach you. Victims of heart attack, stroke, or choking need immediate care. Minutes can mean the difference between life and death.

House numbers should meet the following requirements:

•        Must be Arabic numerals. Fancy numbers or numbers that are spelled out may be aesthetically pleasing but are very difficult to read from the street.

•        Need to be a minimum of four inches high and in a contrasting color to their immediate background. Brass or bronze numbers are difficult to see in the day or nighttime.

•        Must be displayed on the front of the dwelling and visible from the street.

•        If the dwelling is located more than 45 feet from the front lot line, the number should be displayed on a gate post, fence, mailbox, or other appropriate place that will make it visible from the street from all directions when approaching from the street.

•        Cannot be obstructed by shrubs, trees, decorations, etc.

Take a moment to look at your house number. Make sure your numbers follow the above guidelines. It will help emergency crews find you easier and faster.

For more information about the requirements for house numbers in the City of Dublin, Ohio, consult the City’s building code ordinance #150.125 (Manner of Numbering and System) and the Washington Township Fire Code Section 505.1 (Address Numbers).

Article Credits: Fire Marshal Alan Perkins, CFPS, is a 32-year veteran of the fire service. A Certified Fire Protection Specialist through the National Fire Protection Association and a member of several similar safety organizations. Perkins is the Fire Marshal for the Washington Township Fire Department, Dublin, Ohio. For more information, contact: Leslie Dybiec, Public Information Officer Phone: (614) 652-3928 Fax: (614) 766-2507 or ldybiec@wtwp.com.

Images: Courtesy of Google Images

Live Safe Foundation is an Ohio based non-profit organization (501c3), and leading grassroots movement, devoted to making and fire and life safety education, awareness initiatives and life saving tools available on a broad basis to communities, campuses, and institutions in an effort to reduce national fire fatalities and fire losses. Live Safe aims to help finance fire safety education where means are otherwise unavailable. Live Safe is developing and sponsoring programs to help groups find the resources needed to advance individual and community fire safety.

In most homes and apartments, emergency exits are usually windows and stairways. Make sure windows can be opened and screens and storm windows can be removed from the inside. Confirm that children can operate the window locks and know how to get out quickly. If they cannot get out, they should know to wait for help at the window, where firefighters can see them.

If bedrooms are on the second floor, have a folding escape ladder available and practice putting it in the window. Non-combustible escape ladders that have been tested and listed by an independent testing laboratory are available from most hardware stores. Don’t count on being able to create a ladder by tying bed sheets together. There is usually not enough time or enough bed sheets nearby and jumping from a second story window can cause severe injuries.

If you live in an apartment or condominium and enclosed stairways are your emergency exits, practice finding these in the dark. Count the number of doors from your bedroom to the exit stairway. You probably won’t be able to see the lighted exit sign above the doorway through the smoke. Keep the doors to all exit stairways closed to help prevent smoke from entering your escape route.

Generate as many different escape routes for your family as possible and practice all of them at least twice a year. Always choose the escape route that is safest, the one with the least amount of smoke and heat. When you do your fire drill, everyone should practice getting low and going under the smoke to your emergency exit. Practicing can help reduce your family members’ response time, an important factor in a fire situation. When time is short, fast action is needed.

If your family does not have a home fire escape plan, contact the Washington Township Fire Department at 614-652-3920 for information.

Article Credits: Fire Marshal Alan Perkins, CFPS, is a 32-year veteran of the fire service. A Certified Fire Protection Specialist through the National Fire Protection Association and a member of several similar safety organizations. Perkins is the Fire Marshal for the Washington Township Fire Department, Dublin, Ohio. For more information, contact: Leslie Dybiec, Public Information Officer Phone: (614) 652-3928 Fax: (614) 766-2507 or ldybiec@wtwp.com.

Images: Courtesy of Google Images and www.nfpa.org/…/ ClearEscapeRoutes.jpg

Live Safe Foundation is an Ohio based non-profit organization (501c3), and leading grassroots movement, devoted to making fire safety education, awareness initiatives and life saving tools available on a broad basis to communities, campuses, and institutions in an effort to reduce national fire fatalities and fire losses. Live Safe aims to help finance fire safety education where means are otherwise unavailable. Live Safe is developing and sponsoring programs to help groups find the resources needed to advance individual and community fire safety.

There are many reasons why drivers fail to yield. Some are not paying attention to traffic behind them as well as in front of them. Some cannot hear the siren because their car stereo’s volume prohibits it or their attention is on a cell phone conversation. Some may not know what to do when an emergency vehicle approaches.  

When an emergency vehicle responding to a call approaches:

• Pull to the right and stop. State laws requires all drivers to yield the right-of-way by immediately driving, if practical, to a position parallel to, and as close as possible to, the right edge or curb.
• Always make sure all public safety vehicles have passed before proceeding.

• Be sure to check your rearview mirror before pulling back into the travel lane.
• Don’t block any intersection. If it is not possible or safe to clear the intersection, move as far as possible away from the center of the intersection.

It is extremely frustrating for the driver of an emergency vehicle to try to navigate moving cars and blocked intersections.  Although it may pose a temporary inconvenience for travelers, yielding to vehicles on emergency calls is critical. It could be your loved one they are trying to reach.

Article Credits: Fire Marshal Alan Perkins, CFPS, is a 32-year veteran of the fire service. A Certified Fire Protection Specialist through the National Fire Protection Association and a member of several similar safety organizations. Perkins is the Fire Marshal for the Washington Township Fire Department, Dublin, Ohio. For more information, contact: Leslie Dybiec, Public Information Officer Phone: (614) 652-3928 Fax: (614) 766-2507 or ldybiec@wtwp.com.

Images: Courtesy of Google Images

Live Safe Foundation is an Ohio based non-profit organization (501c3), and leading grassroots movement, devoted to making fire safety education, awareness initiatives and life saving tools available on a broad basis to communities, campuses, and institutions in an effort to reduce national fire fatalities and fire losses. Live Safe aims to help finance fire safety education where means are otherwise unavailable. Live Safe is developing and sponsoring programs to help groups find the resources needed to advance individual and community fire safety.

Do you know how to LIVE SAFE?

One of the most important things to know is how to react to emergencies. Being in the Fire Service, I tend to lean toward Fire Emergencies and the importance of getting out. However, there are many other type of emergencies, today we are going to focus on Fire.

Many of us have grown up hearing the all too important words, GET OUT & STAY OUT when a fire emergency happens. One point eludes many when thinking this way. Do you know how to “GET OUT?”

Home Fire Drills are one of the best things you can do for yourself & your family. Creating a Fire Escape plan and practicing it often will help everyone if a fire emergency occurs in your home.  Conducting regular fire drills will give you the knowledge and confidence to escape a fire safely. There are two steps for a good evacuation program – planning and practice.

Planning:

As part of your home fire escape plan, you should figure out two ways to escape from each part of your home. This is important because your most obvious exit may be blocked by the fire. Do you have a ladder to get out of second floor windows?

Making a drawing of your escape is helpful for all members of the family.

You should also have a plan for how each family member is going to get out. While older children and teens can likely be responsible for their own escape, younger kids, elderly family members and anyone with a disability may need help escaping.

Lastly, plan a place outside the home where everyone is supposed to meet once they get out.

The National Fire Protection Association (www.nfpa.org) offers detailed information on setting up a home fire escape plan for your family, including basic fire escape planning, tips for people living in apartment buildings, and how to make sure your kids are safe when they sleepover at a friend’s home.

Practice:

Now you have to practice your fire escape plan. In a real fire, with smoke, fire, alarms, it is very easy for family members, especially children, to get confused about how to get out. Regular home fire drills can help to make sure that everyone is prepared to escape a fire.

Hold fire drills at least 2 times a year. A good way to remember fire drills might be to have one every time someone in the family has a birthday.

Fire drills do not have to happen in the middle of the night or be a complete surprise in order to be effective. While a surprise drill may not be a bad idea once in a while, just having the drills is a good opportunity for everyone to practice what they know.

Have family members start the drill from their bed. Be sure they crawl low and feel doors before opening them. Go down stairways on your bottom.

By Planning & Practicing your Emergency Evacuation Drill, you will know how to Live Safe!

Source: Guest Author: Senior Deputy State Fire Marshal, Tina Robinette. Wife, mom to 3, friend to several and has a passion for the fire service.  Tina promotes and teach fire and life safety. She is a fire prevention and life safety education specialist, Fire Investigator, Certified Fire Plans Examiner, Certified Fire Inspector I & II. Boiling Springs, South Carolina.