CAL FIRE NEWS: Most Fire Deaths Result in Homes with No Smoke Alarms

Saturday, March 9, 2013

CAL FIRE NEWS: Most Fire Deaths Result in Homes with No Smoke Alarms

CAL FIRE NEWS Reminds Californians to Check Their Smoke Alarms

Sacramento – While a 2010 study by the National Fire Protection Association found that 96
percent of all homes have at least one smoke alarm, nearly two-thirds of home fire deaths resulted from fires in homes with no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms. To help reduce the number of home fire fatalities, CAL FIRE is reminding all Californians to make sure they have working smoke alarms in their homes.

“Smoke alarms save lives, but they must be in good working order and must be tested.”

“Smoke alarms give you and your family an early warning when there is a fire so you can quickly get outside,” said State Fire Marshal Tonya Hoover, CAL FIRE-Office of the State Fire Marshal.

Smoke alarms should be installed inside every bedroom, outside each sleeping area and on every level of the home. While most smoke alarms come with 10-year batteries, CAL FIRE recommends that you test your smoke alarm monthly to ensure it’s in good working order.

Replace all smoke alarms after 10 years.

Families should also practice with their children what to do when there is a fire. Every family should set down and create an escape plan with an outside meeting place. If the alarm goes off crawl low to the ground under the smoke and exit the home quickly. A neighbor’s yard or a sidewalk mailbox are common meeting places to ensure that everyone gets out safely. Families should practice home fire drills regularly.

Working smoke alarms increase the chance of surviving a home fire by 50 percent. A smoke alarm is a small price to help keep you and your family safe.

CFN - California Fire News 2013

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How fires get their names

Every year in California thousands of wildfires start throughout the state. In most cases, the dispatch center sending the initial resources to a wildland fire will designate a name for the fire, but the first on scene engine or fire official can also name the incident. Fires are usually named for the area in which they start – a geographical location, local landmark, street, lake, mountain, peak, etc. Quickly naming the fire provides responding fire resources with an additional locater, and allows fire officials to track and prioritize incidents by name. For example during the Southern California Fire Siege of 2003, the largest wildland fire in California history, the Cedar Fire in San Diego County, was named after the Cedar Creek Falls area where it started. The destructive Old Fire, which burned during the same time period in San Bernardino County, was named after the road along which it started - Old Waterman Canyon Road.

CAL FIRE is the largest fire department in California and the second largest fire department in the United States. CDF - CAL FIRE Firefighters answer the call more than 300,000 times a year. CAL FIRE Firefighters make up the fire department for 30 of our 58 counties in California and more than 100 local communities. We serve as the incident command during many of California’s most serious disasters. CAL FIRE Firefighters respond to many various types and forms of calls ranging from structural fires, to auto accidents, to earthquakes, to floods, to the spilling of hazardous materials, to every conceivable disaster; CAL FIRE answer's the calls. CAL FIRE is the largest fire department in California and the second largest fire department in the United States . CAL FIRE firefighters protect 33 million acres of State Responsibility Area (SRA). We have over 4,000 members within CAL FIRE and CAL FIRE is associated with the California Professional Firefighters (CPF) and the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF).

CFN - CALIFORNIA FIRE NEWS - CAL FIRE NEWS

Saturday, March 9, 2013