infomaniac

I was very excited to get started writing my first blog. I had all kinds of thoughts and interesting info I wanted to share and then the next day my neighbor’s house nearly burned down. I haven’t been able to think of much else so I decided my first blog would be to share what I’ve learned from this traumatic experience. I have to admit I’ve always wondered why there aren’t more home fires because after all, we are human and there are so many opportunities for accidents to happen. I think it’s safe to say we’re all very lucky!! Here’s a letter I wrote to my neighbors after a discussion I had with the fire marshal. There are some important safety tips to really think about. I hope you’ll share it with your loved ones.

Dear Neighbor,

I’m sure many of you are aware that on Sunday, January 4, just after midnight, one of our fellow neighbors, Terry, experienced one of life’s tragedies, a major fire in her home. The good news is there was no human loss, all 4 family members got out, although the family did lose their beloved dog, Landy and their family bird, Tinker.  Many of you are probably familiar with Landy, a very enthusiastic, large golden retriever, who could be seen every now and then, running around trying to keep their small poodle-like dog, Beau, safe from harm, who btw, was the only pet to survive.  After being pulled to safety by her neighbor, Terry risked her life to save her pets by going back inside the house, but was soon overcome by smoke and had to be helped out again.  

Even with the extremely fast response by our local fire department there was significant damage to the house, both inside and out. It’s reassuring to know that the first fire trucks arrived in less than five minutes from the 911 call.  The fire department says that once a house catches fire, it takes only about 10 minutes to destroy an average house. They believe this fire started from the lights on the live Christmas tree.  Everyone has had the same reaction to the damage inside the house—their eyes grow wide and their mouths drops open. The ceiling is gone in their living room so you can see the rafters, the insulation is a wet crumbled, soupy mess on the floor, the walls are melted and almost the entire house looks like it’s been spray-painted black.  The house has been ‘officially condemned’ and so the family will be relocated to some temporary housing for quite some time.

 This is a wake-up call for everyone to rethink and review their emergency fire safety plan. Here are some recommendations from the fire marshal that we’ve all heard before but are worth repeating.

    1. Make sure each family member has an escape plan. (Many people falsely believe that they will be able to rescue other family members but the smoke will probably be too heavy and the heat from a fire can quickly reach up to 600 degrees.  If you try to make it through thick smoke, you will soon be overcome by the gases or heat, causing you to become disoriented or collapse, and if you’re not rescued in just a few minutes, you won’t make it.)  Remind your kids that they should shut their bedroom door, put a towel or some clothing at the bottom of the door to keep the smoke out, open their window and either call for help or get out. Don’t take anything for granted; make sure your kids know how to open their window, what a smoke detector sounds like, how they’re going to get down to the ground.  A drop ladder is recommended for second floor bedrooms.  (Wal-Mart has sturdy, drop ladders for about $30.)

    2. Have numerous WORKING smoke alarms throughout your house. As cheap as they are, have one on each floor and if possible, one in each major room.  You don’t even need to install them in view on ceilings and walls, just sit them on top of tall furniture, above a cabinet, on top of your refrigerator, on top of a curtain rod–anywhere and everywhere, so if fire erupts or there’s smoke, you’ll be warned ASAP. (Be sure to test them frequently!)

    3.  Have at least one fire extinguisher on each floor and teach everyone how to use them.   Of course, these will only be usable for very small fires.  In most cases, it’s recommended that you immediately exit your house if smoke or fire is detected.

Thank you for listening and God Bless Terry and her family.

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