-information courtesy of the American Red Cross Eastern North Carolina office, Raleigh, NC
Fire Prevention Week runs Oct. 9-15 and the American Red Cross said everybody needs to have a two-minute home fire escape plan and working smoke alarms in place to keep their homes and families safe from the nation’s most frequent disaster – housefires.
According to American Red Cross Eastern North Carolina officials, fire experts say it takes two minutes to safely escape a fire before it’s too late. Housefires account for most of the 60,000-plus disasters that the Red Cross responds to each year across the U.S. — calls of house fires rise by 30 percent in the cold months versus the warmer times of the year. In Eastern North Carolina, home fire responses were 33 percent higher than last year.
“As the threat of home fires increases with colder temperatures, Fire Prevention Week serves as an important reminder to prepare now,” said Barry Porter, Regional CEO at the American Red Cross of Eastern North Carolina. “Practice your two-minute home fire escape drill and test your smoke alarms monthly to help keep your family safe.”
Practice your plan with everyone in your household; also teach children what a smoke alarm sounds like and what to do in an emergency. Visit redcross.org/fire for more information, including a printable escape plan and safety tips for cooking and home heating — the leading causes of home fires, according to the National Fire Protection Association, which is sponsoring Fire Prevention Week with the theme, “Fire Won’t Wait. Plan Your Escape.”
- Include at least two ways to exit every room in your home in your escape plan.
- Select a meeting spot at a safe distance away from your home, such as your neighbor’s home or landmark like a specific tree in your front yard, where everyone knows to meet.
- Place smoke alarms on each level of your home, including inside and outside bedrooms and sleeping areas. Test alarms monthly and change the batteries at least once a year, if your model requires it.
- Check the manufacturer’s date of your smoke alarms. If they’re 10 years or older, they likely need to be replaced because components such batteries can become less reliable. Follow your alarm’s manufacturer instructions.
- Tailor your escape plan to everyone’s needs in your household. If you or a loved one is deaf or hard of hearing, install strobe light and bed-shaker alarms to help alert you to a fire. Visit org/ASL-disaster-resourcesfor more information, including resources in American Sign Language.
If you cannot afford to purchase smoke alarms or are physically unable to install one, the Red Cross may be able to help. Visit SoundtheAlarm.org/ENC for more information.
Since October 2014, the Red Cross Home Fire Campaign with community partners has saved at least 1,393 lives — including 43 in North Carolina — by educating families about fire safety, helping them create escape plans and installing free smoke alarms in high-risk areas across the country. To learn more about the campaign and how you can get involved, visit redcross.org/homefires.
The Red Cross Home Fire Campaign is made possible with generous financial donations from partners, including, our statewide presenting Sound the Alarm sponsor Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina.
