With chilly temperatures right around the corner and a plethora of holiday cooking coming up, it’s important to be aware of how to prevent fires and how to react if they strike.
Every year the National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) recognizes Fire Prevention Week during the month of October. This year’s theme is “Look. Listen. Learn. Be Aware -fire can happen anywhere.”
The theme identifies three simple but essential ways that people can reduce the risk of fire and be prepared in the event of one.
Individuals should “Look” for places fires can start, such as in the kitchen and near heaters and furnaces. Additionally, people should always be alert and “Listen” for the sound of a smoke alarm. Double check the smoke alarms in your homes to ensure they’re in a working condition.
The final bit of advice from this year’s theme is to “Learn” two ways out of each room. Families are encouraged to go over escape plans with their children frequently enough so that when an emergency happens, they’ll know exactly what to do.
NFPA officials say that while the number of reported home fires in the U.S. has seen a steady decline over the past few decades, the death rate per 1,000 home fires was 10 percent higher in 2016 than it was in 1980.
NFPA Vice President of Outreach and Advocacy Lorraine Carli commented that these numbers show even though significant progress has been made in teaching people how to prevent fires from happening, there’s still much more work to do in terms of educating the public about how to protect themselves when one occurs.
