National Fire Prevention Week

By Kathryn Dean, Red Cross Volunteer

On a snowy, February day in the late 1990s in Northern Ohio, I was riding in the backseat of my family’s car looking out of the window. It was Super Bowl Sunday, and we were heading to a relative’s house to enjoy an afternoon of food, football (and commercials).

As we wound our way through the neighborhood, I noticed a home’s chimney engulfed in flames! I yelled to my father, who promptly stopped the car and ran to the front door. The homeowner was shocked and extremely grateful, as there were no signs of the fire inside the home. Luckily, it had not yet spread to the roof.

Fires like these can happen suddenly and without warning, and time is of the essence when it comes to recognizing the danger and escaping. Experts say you may have only two minutes or less to get to safety in the event of a fire.

That’s why this year during Fire Prevention Week (October 6-12), the American Red Cross Northern Ohio Region wants you to prepare for the unexpected by creating a fire escape plan for your family and ensuring that your home has working smoke alarms.

Home fire escape plan tips:

Identify two escape routes for each room in the home, and make sure everyone in the house knows them.
Smoke inhalation is dangerous. Stay below the smoke. Get low and go!
Agree on a meeting place outside, away from the home, such as a tree or flagpole. Make sure everyone knows where to meet.
Get out and stay out. Never go back inside for people, pets, or possessions.
Talk to your children about fire safety and show them what fire alarms sound like.

Smoke Alarm Safety:

Install smoke alarms on every level of your home, including inside and outside bedrooms and the basement. Information for requesting a FREE smoke detector can be found HERE.
Test smoke alarms monthly and replace the batteries at least yearly.
Replace smoke alarms that are over 10 years old.

Red Cross volunteers install smoke alarms and share home fire safety information with a resident on Cleveland’s west side.

Speak to your children about fire safety: Have you met Pedro the Penguin yet? Pedro teaches children in grades K-2 how to be safe in emergencies, including home fires and other local hazards. There are numerous, multi-language resources available online, including storybooks and printables at the link above. Virtual and local in-person, 30-45-minute educational presentations are also available.

Check out the list below for upcoming Pedro and other fire safety events, including Sound the Alarm events in the local area during Fire Safety Week.

Northern Ohio Red Cross – Fire Safety Week local events:

Northeast Ohio Chapter:
North Royalton Elementary School – Prepare with Pedro Presentations October 7 & 8

Western Lake Erie Chapter:
Partnering with Toledo Fire to do a large neighborhood installation on Monday, October 7th.
Tuesday, October 8th we are participating in the Milan, MI Fire Department open house.
Saturday, October 12th we are participating in the Fallen Timbers, Maumee Safety Fair Truck or Treat.

Greater Akron and the Mahoning Valley Chapter:
Brunswick Elementary – Prepare with Pedro Presentation Oct. 10

Heartland, Stark and Muskingum Lakes Chapter:

Malone University Health & Wellness Fair – Wednesday, Oct. 9
New Philadelphia Fire Department open house – Thursday, Oct. 10, 5p-7 p.m. – Station 21 (134 Front St. SE, New Philadelphia, OH 44663)

North Central Ohio Chapter:
Home fire safety visits at Pheasant Run in LaGrange October 12. Smoke alarm installations by appointment.

Edited by Glenda Bogar, Red Cross volunteer

Posted by Ryan Lang, Red Cross board member and volunteer

October 8 – 14 is National Fire Prevention Week

By Doug Bardwell, American Red Cross volunteer

Unless you live near a fire station, you might be surprised by how many fires occur in
Northern Ohio. Where we live in Strongsville, you can usually detect that single
siren driving down Royalton Road as an EMS ambulance. But, if you hear multiple
sirens and the sound of large diesel engines, you know the entire squad is responding
to yet another fire – and they are usually home fires.

The Red Cross works with local fire departments to help prevent home fires

The most common home fires are caused by cooking. Every year, firefighters respond
to more than 170,000 kitchen fires, causing hundreds of deaths, thousands of injuries
and more than $1 billion in damages each year.

Since 2015, would you believe the American Red Cross in Northern Ohio has
responded to more than 11,000 home fires, and assisted nearly 17,000 families?
Despite insurance or Red Cross financial assistance, think of the inconvenience of
being displaced for weeks or months before your home is habitable again after a fire.

Damage caused by fire to a home in East Cleveland in 2022

There’s a better way

Following these simple tips, you and your family can help prevent kitchen fires:

Use a timer to remind yourself that the stove or oven is on.
Keep anything that can catch fire — potholders, oven mitts, wooden utensils,
paper or plastic bags, food packaging, towels or curtains — away from your
stove, oven or any other appliance in the kitchen that generates heat.
Always check the kitchen before going to bed or leaving the home to make
sure all stoves, ovens, and small appliances are turned off.
Install a smoke alarm near your kitchen, on each level of your home, near
sleeping areas, and inside and outside bedrooms if you sleep with doors closed. Use the test button to check it each month. Replace all batteries at least once a year if your smoke alarm requires it.
Tap here for another half dozen sensible tips to avoid kitchen fires.

A Red Cross volunteer installs a smoke alarm in a home in Cleveland, with guidance from a firefighter

Smoke alarms are crucial in saving lives

The Northern Ohio region of Red Cross has been installing free smoke alarms for those who need them since 1992. To date, more than 200,000 alarms have been
installed.

Nationally, the Red Cross and partners, through the Home Fire Campaign, have installed 2.6 million alarms in more than 1.1 million households since 2014.

Do they really make that much difference?

Verifiably – yes, they do. As of August 31, 1,928 lives nationwide were documented as
saved due to work done by the Red Cross and partners through the Home Fire
Campaign.

For five more ways you can help the Red Cross continue this valuable practice in Northern Ohio communities, tap here.

If you’d like trained Red Cross volunteers to offer you valuable home fire safety
information to help YOU prevent a fire in your home – and/or to install smoke alarms in
your home, tap here.

Posted by Ryan Lang, Red Cross board member and volunteer

NOHredcross

American Red Cross of Northern Ohio Region

Category Archives: National Fire Prevention Week

Fire Prevention Week: Fires can happen anywhere, anytime

Protecting what matters most in Northern Ohio