Parenting Pointers: NFPA Tips

The National Fire Protection Association’s (NFPA) annual awareness campaign, Fire Prevention Week, will take place October 7-13. The theme for this year is ‘Have 2 Ways Out’ - focusing on the importance of having multiple escape routes in the event of a fire.

The Fire Prevention Week website is the central portal for information and resources to help people from fire chiefs and community leaders running outreach programs to parents teaching their families basic home fire safety information. The site includes fire safety tip sheets, fire statistics, a family safety checklist, Sparky the Fire Dog® activities for kids and public service announcement videos.

Visitors can also test their knowledge of fire safety with the Fire Prevention Week Quiz, a great resource to see how well prepared families are for an emergency. Quiz-takers can review their results and compare them with others via Twitter and Facebook.

New for 2012, NFPA launched Sparky’s Wish List, designed to help fire departments connect with their local communities. Fire departments across the country have registered for public safety education materials they need in their communities. Individuals can then help their local fire department prepare for Fire Prevention Week by fulfilling the wishes.

NFPA offers these important fire safety tips:

• Watch your cooking:  Stay in the kitchen when you are frying, grilling, or broiling food. If you must leave, even for a short time, turn off the stove.
• Give space heaters space:  Keep fixed and portable space heaters at least three feet from anything that can burn. Turn off heaters when you leave the room or go to sleep.
• Smoke outside:  Ask smokers to smoke outside. Have sturdy, deep ashtrays for smokers.
• Keep matches and lighters out of reach:  Keep matches and lighters up high, out of the reach of children, preferably in a cabinet with a child lock.
• Inspect electrical cords:  Replace cords that are cracked, damaged, have broken plugs, or have loose connections.
• Be careful when using candles:  Keep candles at least one foot from anything that can burn. Blow out candles when you leave the room or go to sleep.
• Have a home fire escape plan:  Make a home fire escape plan and practice it at least twice a year.
• Install smoke alarms:  Install smoke alarms on every level of your home, inside bedrooms and outside sleeping areas. Interconnect smoke alarms throughout the home. When one sounds, they all sound.
• Test smoke alarms:  Test smoke alarms at least once a month and replace conventional batteries once a year or when the alarm “chirps” to tell you the battery is low. Replace any smoke alarm that is more than 10 years old.
• Install sprinklers:  If you are building or remodeling your home, install residential fire sprinklers. Sprinklers can contain and may even extinguish a fire in less time than it would take the fire department to arrive.

About Fire Prevention Week

NFPA has been the official sponsor of Fire Prevention Week since 1922. According to the National Archives and Records Administration's Library Information Center, Fire Prevention Week is the longest running public health and safety observance on record. The President of the United States has signed a proclamation proclaiming a national observance during that week every year since 1925. Visit www.firepreventionweek.org for more safety information.