Time to Turn Back One Hour / Check Smoke & Carbon Monoxide Detectors

It is time to reset your clocks! This year, Daylight Savings Time officially ends on Sunday, November 6, 2011 when clocks are set back one hour at 2:00 a.m.

After turning the clocks back one hour, spend part of the hour gained to change the batteries in smoke and carbon monoxide detectors in the home.

Test those smoke and carbon monoxide detectors also for that monthly test.

In 2010, there were 1,331,500 fires, resulting in 3,120 deaths and 17,720 injuries, according to the U.S. Fire Administration

The USFA notes, "One of the best ways to protect yourself and your family is to have a working smoke alarm that can sound fast for both a fire that has flames, and a smoky fire that has fumes without flames. It is called a ‘Dual Sensor Smoke Alarm.’ A smoke alarm greatly reduces your chances of dying in a fire."

The recommendation is to install the alarms everywhere they are needed and to keep them maintained. At the very least, there should be a smoke detector outside each sleeping area and on every level of the home, including the basement. Good places for alarms are near dens, living rooms, and family rooms.

As a minimum, one smoke detector is required on each level of the home, including the basement. One smoke detector must be outside the bedrooms. If the home has bedrooms on more than one level, one smoke detector is required outside of each area.

Keep detectors away from windows, doors, or forced air registers.

Detectors should be tested at least monthly, and if you can do so check them weekly by following the manufacturer’s instructions. Replace any smoke detectors in the home that are 8 to 10 years old with new ones. Batteries should be changed twice a year and it has become common practice to do this when we change the clocks to daylight savings time and then back to standard time, which occurs this Nov. 6.

It simple, the only good smoke detector is one that works. BEEP-BEEP-BEEP A Sound You Can Live With! Learn Not To Burn, Be Fire Safe!

(The usual disclaimers: I am not a journalist; This is a blog that expresses an outlook and is not conclusive in any shape or manner.)

Stay safe on the spookiest day of the year

NEWS RELEASE:
NFPA’s tips on staying fire safe for the holiday

October 2011 – It’s time again for the creepy decorations, falling leaves, endless costumes, and lit Jack-o-lanterns. As families across the country begin to prepare for what has become an increasingly popular holiday, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) is reminding everyone to take a few simple safety precautions in order to ensure a fun, safe, and not too scary Halloween.

“It’s an exciting holiday especially for the kids but if precautions are not taken, scary things can happen,” said Lorraine Carli NFPA’s vice president of communications. “Candle decorations and flowing costumes create an extra risk of fire.” According to Carli, candle fires represent a leading cause of U.S. home fires and Halloween is one of the top five days for candle fires.

Send a Sparky e-card to celebrate the holiday.

Judy Comoletti, NFPA Division Manager of Public Education, talks about how planning ahead can help make this Halloween a fire-safe one.

NFPA offers the following safety tips to help keep horror from striking your home this season:

• When choosing a costume, stay away from billowing or long, trailing fabric. If you are making your own costume, choose material that won't easily ignite if it comes into contact with heat or flame. If your child is wearing a mask, make sure the eye holes are large enough so they can see out.
• Provide children with flashlights to carry for lighting or glow sticks as part of their costume.
• Dried flowers, cornstalks and crepe paper are highly flammable. Keep these and other decorations well away from all open flames and heat sources, including light bulbs and heaters.
• It is safest to use a flashlight or battery-operated candles in a Jack-o-lantern. If you use a real candle, use extreme caution. Make sure children are watched at all times when candles are lit. When lighting candles inside Jack-o-lanterns, use long fireplace-style matches or a utility lighter. Be sure to place lit pumpkins well away from anything that can burn and far enough out of the way of trick-or-treaters, doorsteps, walkways and yards.
• If you choose to use candle decorations, make sure to keep them well attended at all times.
• Remember to keep exits clear of decorations, so nothing blocks escape routes.
• Tell children to stay away from open flames. Be sure they know how to stop, drop and roll if their clothing catches fire. (Have them practice stopping immediately, dropping to the ground, covering their face with hands, and rolling over and over to put the flames out.)
• Use flashlights as alternatives to candles or torch lights when decorating walkways and yards. They are much safer for trick-or-treaters, whose costumes may brush against the lighting.
• If your children are going to Halloween parties at others’ homes, have them look for ways out of the home and plan how they would get out in an emergency.
• Children should always go trick-or-treating with a responsible adult.
• Remind children to stay together as a group and walk from house to house.
• Review how to cross a street with your child. Look left, right and left again to be sure no cars are approaching before crossing the street.
• Make a rule that children will not eat any treat until it has been brought home and examined by a grown-up.

About the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) NFPA is a worldwide leader in fire, electrical, building, and life safety. The mission of the international nonprofit organization founded in 1896 is to reduce the worldwide burden of fire and other hazards on the quality of life by providing and advocating consensus codes and standards, research, training, and education.

(The usual disclaimers: I am not a journalist; This is a blog that expresses an outlook and is not conclusive in any shape or manner.)

The Bell Rings 5-5-5...

On Sunday, October 16, 2011 the names of 89 Fallen Firefighters were honored and their names added to the national memorial in Emmitsburg, Maryland.

Here are highlights from the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation 2011 Memorial Service:

The 30th Annual National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Weekend held at the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg was a tearful ceremony remembering and honoring those firefighters that had fallen in The Line Of Duty.

The fire service has a lot of traditions. Throughout most of history, the life of a firefighter has been closely associated with the ringing of a bell.

Acting Deputy USFA Administrator Denis Onieal explained the history of ringing a bell in a 5-5-5 sequence. "Done for the purposed of notification, and as a sign of honor and respect, such symbolism has been a long-honored fire service tradition which still continues in some cities today…"

Onieal added: "…For those who have selflessly devoted their lives for the good of their communities and fellow citizens, the bell tolls their last alarm for they have gone home."

As firefighter's began theirs hours of duty, it was a bell that started it off. Through the day and the night, each alarm was sounded with a bell, which called the firefighter to fight a fire or to rescue a person.

All emergency response placed the firefighter's life in jeopardy for the good of all. And... when the fire was out, or the rescue accomplished, the alarm had come to an end, the bell rang 5-5-5 to signal the end.

This past weekend our fathers, husbands, brothers, friends,... our brother firefighters, have completed their task and their duties are well done...

The bell rings 5-5-5 in memory of and in tribute to our fallen firefighters lives and their service...

The 89 Fallen Firefighters Will Be Missed... Never Forgotten...

(The usual disclaimers: I am not a journalist; Th is is a blog that expresses an outlook and is not conclusive in any shape or manner.)

Remembering The Fallen...

The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF) and the Department of Homeland Security's U.S. Fire Administration announce that the 30th annual National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Weekend will be held at the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg on October 14 - 16, 2011. A plaque with the names of 72 firefighters who died in the line of duty in 2010 and 17 who died in previous years will be added to the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial, located here on the National Fire Academy campus. The plaques surrounding the Memorial, which was established in 1981, will contain the names of more than 3,400 firefighters.

A message from National Fallen Firefighters Foundation Executive Director Ron Siarnicki about Bells Across America for Fallen Firefighters. It is a new addition to the 2011 Memorial Weekend on the 30th Anniversary of the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial - October 14 to 16, 2011.
http://weekend.firehero.org/

I first met Mr Leroy Kemp on a Saturday January evening in 2010, just a few days before his passing, at our volunteer fire department’s annual banquet. Leroy was a guest that night from our neighbor volunteer fire department, and I had the honor of sitting next to him for the evening meal. From our conversations we all had at the table that evening, I never felt more privilege to know such a man as LeRoy who had severed his community over so many years.

As a volunteer firefighter for more than 50 years, LeRoy Kemp was always ready to respond. "LeRoy was a genuine, good person. He always saw the good side of everybody, ..." said John Scott, Tioga County Fire Coordinator

Always willing to assist in a time of need, LeRoy was a lifetime member of the Tioga Center Fire and Emergency Departments, where he had served as Chief, EMT and Fire Police. In addition, he was Chairman of the Board for the Fire Commissioners and had assisted with the Tioga County Fire Investigation Team. He was a dedicated and well respected fireman who will be greatly missed by his community and his fellow members.

This weekend LeRoy Kemp will be honored as a firefighter, a long-time servant to his community, and remembered a fallen hero.

Firefighter LeRoy A. Kemp, 81, of the Tioga Center Fire Department in Tioga County, died in a motor vehicle accident while en route to a mutual aid call on Jan. 13, 2010.

The name of the former Tioga Center Fire Department firefighter will be added to a bronze plaque along with the names of 72 firefighters who died in the line of duty in 2010 and 17 who died in previous years.

10 New York firefighters will be recognized at the ceremony taking place this weekend at the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg, Maryland. The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation and the Department of Homeland Security sponsor the event.

The other nine firefighters from New York state that will be honored this weekend are:

• Fire Police Capt. William E. Akin Jr., 54, of the Ghent Volunteer Fire Company in Ghent, Columbia County, died in a car accident while responding to the scene of a different car accident on Oct. 19, 2010.

• Firefighter Scott W. Davis, 46, of the Oswego Fire Department in Oswego County, died after suffering a heart attack within 24 hours after several emergency responses on June 20, 2010.

• Capt. Vincent A. Iaccino, 64, of the Roosevelt Fire District Engine Company1 in Hyde Park, died after suffering a heart attack during fire department training on April 12, 2010

• Firefighter John P. Kelly, 51, of the Tarrytown Fire Department in Westchester County, died after being overcome by fumes during a confined space rescue in a sewer drain Sept. 6, 2010.

• Firefighter Erich Lachmann, 74, of the Washington Heights Fire Department in Middletown, Orange County, died on Jan. 28, 2007, after suffering a stroke within 24 hours of responding to an emergency on Jan. 15, 2007.

• Assistant Chief Garrett W. Loomis, 26, of the Sackets Harbor Fire Department in Jefferson County died on April 11, 2010, of trauma sustained after an explosion on the scene of a silo fire.

• Firefighter Gerard Marcheterre, 50, of the Borodino Fire Department in Onondaga County, died after suffering a medical emergency while responding to a structural collapse on March 6, 2010.

• Firefighter Salvatore Scarentino, 51, of the Fire Department of New York, died after suffering a heart attack within 24 hours of responding to emergency calls on March 21, 2009.

• Lt. Josef L. Welenofsky, 46, of the Holtsville Fire Department in Suffolk County, died within 24 hours of responding to a call for a motor vehicle accident on Jan. 27, 2007.

According to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF), a bronze plaque containing Leroy Kemp’s name will be added to the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial.

"Firefighters are called upon to face danger on a daily basis," said Chairman of the NFFF Board of Directors, Chief Dennis Compton, in a statement. "In October, a grateful Nation will honor their dedication and remember their sacrifice. The National Fallen Firefighters Memorial Weekend brings their loved ones and the fire service together to let their families, coworkers, and friends know that they will never be forgotten."

You are missed Leroy but…

Never Forgotten Sir...

(The usual disclaimers: I am not a journalist; Th is is a blog that expresses an outlook and is not conclusive in any shape or manner.)