Smoke Detectors: Change Your Battery!

The beeping sound from a smoke alarm could save someone’s life. Everyone knows this fact. We’ve all seen the stories of how smoke detectors have save lives from fire. But, we’ve always hear the flip side of the coin and those deaths associated with fires where the battery had lost it’s charge and the early warning of a smoke detector didn’t work correctly.

Your probably asking yourselves, didn’t we get that “change your battery in the smoke detector’ reminder this for daylight saving time this past March? Yeah that’s normal 'Change Your Clock, Change Your Battery' that we do when we turn our clocks ahead in the Spring and we turn our clocks back in the Fall. Call me a dollar short but I’m one that always like doing a reminder in between those times and if you haven’t yet…change that battery…what are you waiting for?

Fire prevention is a year round outlook that it don’t hurt to get a little extra reminding. Everyone should remind families & friends to take the life saving step, by replacing the batteries in all smoke alarms. Have you at least been testing your smoke detector at least monthly? Hmmmm…note to self, “test smoke detectors in the house.” I will and you all should too as well as remind your neighbors. A smoke detector is one of the cheapest and most effective ways homeowners can provide year round fire protection for themselves and their families.

Every year lives are lost when the smoke detector becomes non-functioning. It takes but a moment to test or replace a battery in a smoke detector, and they do save lives.

Follow these simple tips concerning smoke detectors…

- Test smoke alarms once a month

- Replace batteries in all smoke alarms twice a year

- Don’t “borrow” or remove batteries from smoke alarms even temporarily

- Regularly vacuum or dust smoke alarms to keep them working properly

- Replace smoke alarms every 10 years

- Don’t paint over smoke alarms

- Practice family fire drills so everyone knows what to do if the smoke alarm goes off
Ok now, be fire safe and check those smoke detectors. Go on now, it’ll only take a minute.

Arson for Profit - Arson Awareness Week May 3 to 9

Arson is defined by Webster’s Dictionary as “the willful or malicious burning of a property (as a building) especially with criminal or fraudulent intent.”

As a fire fighter, arson is defined as “an unnecessary fire and a crime.” Law enforcement defines arson as a crime.

This coming week, the United States Fire Administration, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), the International Association of Arson Investigators, the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), and a number of insurance groups are trying to raise the public’s awareness about this staggering problem.

You didn’t hear that this was a problem? Here are some numbers from the NFPA for 2005: --323,900 arson fires--490 civilian deaths--3 fire fighter deaths--1,500 civilian injuries--7,600 fire fighter injuriesMoreover, here is the price tag--$1.102 BILLION in direct property damage.

Every year there are almost 2,000 people killed in fires. More than a quarter of those deaths are the result of someone deliberately setting fires for sinister purposes. The next leading cause of death in fires is due to smoking.

The crime that is committed is not hidden, or burned away. Fires burn a certain way. Fire fighters study this behavior and the different factors that can affect them. Fires will move in specific patterns. These patterns are determined by nature and physics. It is the basis that fire fighters are able to fight fires. When an arsonist tries to mimic nature, they often leave only clues. If someone can think of burning a material to start a fire, it has been done in a lab or as part of a training program to train arson investigators. Any liquid or solid that rapidly burns and is used as an accelerant can be detected. Dogs are amazing at finding these clues. Chemical analysis of materials will also reveal the cause of a fire. It may not be CSI: Miami or some other Hollywood concept, but arsonists need to understand, fire is the business of fire fighters who know how this almost living thing acts. Fire fighters can recognize within seconds of entering a home if there is a suspicious nature to the fire. It cannot simply be burned away.

People have given many reasons for why they committed this crime. Many times, it has to do with financial issues. This is unfortunate, as many people will make this panicked and mistaken decision only to find the consequences are much worse. A couple in Connecticut learned that a Christmas arson to collect on homeowners insurance only left their children without parents, and the mother looking at 5 years in prison, and the father facing 15 years. Once they are released, it is likely they will have to repay the insurance payouts, and possibly the mortgage they tried to flee. This will amount to more than a half million dollars. Add in another hundred thousand dollars for their criminal defense, and they will be paupers the rest of their lives. And the kids? So much for college or any other happy holiday memories-gone for the simple fact of panic and greed.

Automobile “giveups” are another source of arson. The statics vary with the source, but it is a problem. A panicked person will make this bad decision without remembering physics. Cars and trucks burn for any number of reasons that are documented and reproducible. The arsonist hopes that because it is only a vehicle, the investigation will be less intense. This is a wrong assumption. Insurance adjusters have the advantage of time to determine the cause of an automobile fire. A home needs to be cleared up after a fire due to the potential public safety hazard. A burned out vehicle is towed to a secure area where forensic mechanics can take their time and find a bolt that is recently turned, a tube that is cut, a part that was newly installed to determine the cause of the fire

The bottom line on all of this is simple for everyone. We all know people who may be facing hard financial times. People generally will not ask for help. The first sign of trouble may be the flames and smoke coming from their property. If we see our friends or neighbors going through their belongings and giving away valuable items, moving newer furniture out of their home while moving used furniture in, leaving as a family at strange times as if practicing an escape, making comments that are out of character or acting very nervous when they otherwise would not be, are all signs that some event may be on the horizon. We all need to act.

A good friend or neighbor will step in to stop that decision for arson. A foreclosed home or a repossessed car are events from which a person can recover. Their family will be uncomfortable, but they will be together and survive. The government has assistance in many forms that may help them. Pride may be the thing that keeps people from seeking that assistance. A kind word and a strong shoulder may be the thing that helps them find it.

If a person finds himself or herself in a financial problem, seek help. Many organizations can help them find answers. Only through a concerted community effort can these fires be reduced. Too many times neighborhoods are in the “not my business” mode, when we all need to be “our brother’s keeper.”

Stay fire safe, and thanks for reading

For more info: National Fire Protection Association, www.nfpa.org, United States Fire Administration, www.usfa.dhs.gov/fireservice/subjects/arson/arson_awareness.shtm

National Arson Awareness Week, 3-9 May 2009

May 3-9, 2009 is National Arson Awareness Week, and the U.S. Fire Administration has partnered up with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Fire Arms; the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud and the International Association of Arson Investigators to educate the public on arson hazards. This year’s theme will focus on Arson for Profit, and according to FEMA, arson for profit is more than insurance fraud—it can turn deadly.

"According to the National Fire Incident Reporting System, arson for profit accounts for 28 percent of civilian fire deaths nation-wide."

National Fire Protection Association figures (2005) estimate that the 323,900 intentional fires in their databanks resulted in 490 civilian fire deaths, 3 firefighter on duty deaths, 1,500 civilian fire injuries, 7,600 firefighter on duty injuries and caused over $1.1 billion in direct property damage. The insurance Information Institute reports that arsonists destroyed nearly $900 million in insured property, and killed 295 civilians in 2007.

"We can all help reduce and prevent these serious crimes by reporting suspicious activity, and by supporting local Neighborhood Watch programs and local fire department initiatives."

Arson Awareness Week information is available from the USFA (www.usfa.fema.gov), the Coaltion Against Insurance Fraud (www.insurancefraud.org) InterFIRE (www.interfire.org) and Firehouse Magazine (www.firehouse.com). For more information contact USFA at 1-888-603-3100.

FEMA leads and supports the nation in a risk-based, comprehensive emergency management system of preparedness, protection, response, recovery, and mitigation, to reduce the loss of life and property and protect the nation from all hazards including natural disasters, acts of terrorism and man-made disasters

Arson Awareness Week May 3-9, 2009

The United States Fire Administration (USFA) announces this year’s Arson Awareness Week (AAW) theme:
Arson for Profit.