As temperatures drop, heat your home safely

Posted on November 1, 2023 by American Red Cross of Northern Ohio

By Tim Poe, American Red Cross volunteer

I arrived home after jogging through a cool drizzle in fading gray light and heard the furnace’s low hum, recently woken from summer slumber. That sound will be a familiar undertone over the next few months, so I remembered to double check the filters and vents and schedule maintenance. As an American Red Cross volunteer, I have seen that forgetting these tasks can have tragic results, especially when space heaters are used, as they are involved in most fatal home heating fires.

As temperatures drop, the risk of home fires increases. Home fires account for most disasters to which the Red Cross responds, especially in Northern Ohio, and responses increase 30% during cold months. In 2022, for instance, the Northern Ohio Red Cross responded to 345 home fires in the last three months of the year, compared to 249 from July through September. And in just the first 15 days of October 2023, Northern Ohio Red Cross teams responded to 33 events, all home fires, and assisted 115 people.

To help keep you and your loved ones safe, here are a few home heating safety tips:

Have at least three feet of space between heating equipment and children, pets and anything that can burn. Most home heating fire tragedies occur when flammable items like furniture, rugs, bedding, and drapes are too close.
If you must use a space heater, never leave it unattended. Place it on a level, hard and nonflammable surface, such as a ceramic tile floor. Again, keep it away from anything flammable.
Look for models that automatically shut off if the heater falls over.
Plug space heaters directly into outlets, never into an extension cord, and turn it off when you leave the room or go to sleep.
Never use a cooking range or oven to heat your home.
Never leave a fire burning in the fireplace unattended. Make sure any embers are extinguished before going to bed or leaving home. Use a glass or metal fire screen to keep embers in the fireplace.
Have furnaces, chimneys, fireplaces, wood, and coal stoves inspected annually by a professional and cleaned if necessary.

Additional information and tips are available at redcross.org/fire, including an escape plan. You can also download free apps at redcross.org/apps.

Red Cross efforts to help prevent home fires and save lives when they occur have had tremendous success. The Home Fire Campaign—including Sound the Alarm, which originated in Northern Ohio—is credited for saving at least 1,969 lives since October 2014, 22 of them in Northern Ohio.

If you would like to request a smoke alarm or read more information about the Home Fire campaign, please click here.

Edited by Glenda Bogar, Red Cross volunteer

Posted by Ryan Lang, Red Cross volunteer and board member

Protecting what matters most in Northern Ohio

Posted on October 6, 2023 by American Red Cross of Northern Ohio

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

Volunteers to share free fire safety resources with residents this spring

Posted on April 26, 2021 by American Red Cross of Northern Ohio

Sound the Alarm campaign this year features doorstep visits for home fire safety

This spring, Red Cross volunteers will Sound the Alarm in Northern Ohio neighborhoods as part of a national effort to educate 100,000 people about home fire safety. Volunteers will meet with residents by appointment outside their homes to share fire safety information and help them create an escape plan to practice their two-minute fire drill.

“Home fires remain the most frequent disaster during COVID-19, yet most of us don’t realize we have just two minutes to safely escape,” said Mike Parks, Regional CEO, American Red Cross of Northern Ohio. “As families spend more time at home during the pandemic, it’s critical that we help our vulnerable neighbors protect themselves from these everyday disasters.”

To schedule an appointment for a doorstep visit to learn more about keeping your home and family safe from fire, visit the registration page on our website at soundthealarm.org/noh. Residents can also ask for a virtual visit from local volunteers to review fire safety for their household. Home fire safety visits are part of a national effort to educate 100,000 people about home fire safety nationwide this spring.

HOW TO KEEP YOUR FAMILY SAFE Help protect your family against home fires by taking two simple steps: Practice your two-minute escape drill and test your smoke alarms monthly. Visit SoundTheAlarm.org for more information and to pledge to prepare your family against home fires.

Create an escape plan with at least two ways to exit every room in your home. 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.
Practice your escape plan until everyone in your household can get out in less than two minutes.
Place smoke alarms on each level of your home, including inside and outside bedrooms and sleeping areas. 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. Follow your alarm’s manufacturer instructions.

https://vimeo.com/539687533

Severe weather can bloom during spring in Ohio

Posted on March 26, 2021 by American Red Cross of Northern Ohio

By: Chris Chmura, American Red Cross volunteer

If you live in Northern Ohio, you know that Mother Nature likes to remind us that we can get a snowstorm late in the season, have a possible tornado at any point or even have heavy rain going into spring (out West they call it mud season). The Rockies and High Plains just experienced several feet of snow, Chicago recently reported areas with 18 inches of snow and the Northeast continues to have a heavy cycle of snow.

The American Red Cross offers tips to prepare and keep you safe during severe weather events of any kind, during any season.

Tornado Safety

Know the difference. A tornado watch means a tornado is possible. A tornado warning means atornado is already occurring or will occur soon. Go to your safe place immediately. Watch for tornado danger signs: dark, often greenish clouds, a wall cloud, cloud of debris.

Know your community’s warning system. Many communities use sirens intended for outdoor warning purposes.
Identify a safe place in your home to gather – a basement, storm cellar or interior room on the lowest floor with no windows. A small, windowless interior room or hallway on the lowest level of a sturdy building is the safest alternative.
If you have time, move or secure items outside that can be picked up by the wind.
If you live in a mobile home, find a safe place in a nearby sturdy building. No mobile home is safe in a tornado. If you have access to a sturdy shelter or a vehicle, go to the shelter or building immediately, using your seat belt if driving.
If you are outside, seek shelter in a basement, shelter or sturdy building.
If you cannot quickly walk to a shelter, immediately get into a vehicle and try to drive to the closest sturdy shelter. Remember to buckle your seat belt.
Stay away from bridge/highway overpasses.
If strong winds and flying debris occurs while driving, pull over and park, keeping your seat belt on and engine running. Put your head down below the windows, covering your head with your hands and a blanket
Bring your companion animals indoors and maintain direct control of them.

Flooding Safety

Turn around, don’t drown. Stay off the roads. If you must drive and encounter a flooded roadway, turn around and go another way.

If you are caught on a flooded road and waters are rising rapidly around you, get out of the car quickly and move to higher ground. Most cars can be swept away by less than two feet of moving water.
Head for higher ground and stay there.
If your neighborhood is prone to flooding, be prepared to evacuate quickly if necessary.
Follow evacuation orders and do not attempt to return until officials say it is safe to do so.
Stay away from floodwaters. Beware of snakes, insects and other animals that may be in or around floodwaters and your home.
Keep children and pets away from hazardous sites and floodwater.
If power lines are down, do not step in puddles or standing water.

Winter Storm Safety

Be prepared for storms, even in spring. Have your disaster kit ready. Details about what should be included are on the Red Cross website. When the storm begins, listen to the advice of local officials and stay in a safe place until weather conditions improve and roads can be cleared.

STAY SAFE by following these steps:

Make sure you have enough heating fuel on hand.
Stay indoors and wear warm clothes. Layers of loose-fitting, lightweight, warm clothing will keep you warmer than a bulky sweater.
Check on relatives, neighbors and friends, particularly if they are elderly or if they live alone. Keep your vehicle’s gas tank full to keep the fuel line from freezing.
Be extremely careful if you have to shovel snow. Take frequent breaks and stay hydrated.
Watch for hypothermia and frostbite. Hypothermia symptoms include confusion, dizziness, exhaustion and severe shivering. Frostbite symptoms include numbness, flushed gray, white, blue or yellow skin discoloration, numbness, or waxy feeling skin.
Don’t forget your pets. Bring them indoors. If they can’t come inside, make sure they have enough shelter to keep them warm and that they can get to unfrozen water.
If possible, avoid driving in the storm. If you have to drive, have a window scraper, kitty litter or sand in case you get stuck, extra clothes and a Disaster Supplies Kit in your trunk. Fill the vehicle’s gas tank and clean the lights and windows to help you see.
Let someone know where you are going, the route you plan to take, and when you expect to get there. If your car gets stuck, help can be sent along your predetermined route.

Avoid Home Fire Danger

Storms can result in a high number of home fires. To avoid fire danger, remember the following:

Never use a stove or oven to heat your home. If you are using a fireplace, use a glass or metal fire screen large enough to catch sparks and rolling logs
Place space heaters on a level, hard surface and keep anything flammable at least three feet away. Turn off space heaters and make sure fireplace embers are out before leaving the room or going to bed.
Use generators correctly – never operate a generator inside the home, including in the basement or garage.
Don’t hook a generator up to the home’s wiring. The safest thing to do is to connect the equipment you want to power directly to the outlets on the generator.
If your power is out, avoid using candles to prevent a fire.

Download our apps. Download the free Red Cross Emergency App to receive emergency alerts and information about what to do in case of severe weather or flooding, as well as locations of shelters. You can find it in smartphone app stores by searching for the American Red Cross or going to redcross.org/apps.

Edited By: Glenda Bogar, American Red Cross Volunteer

EY Interns Help Make Dozens of Homes Safer

Posted on July 16, 2018 by American Red Cross of Northern Ohio

It was hot. It was Friday the 13th. But it didn’t stop more than 40 interns from Ernst and Young in Cleveland from making dozens of homes in the city safer, by installing smoke alarms and offering residents fire safety information.

They were helping the American Red Cross by taking part in a Sound the Alarm home fire safety and smoke alarm installation event.

EY intern Nigel Williams of Marquette University installs a smoke alarm.

“When I learned about Sound the Alarm, and how the Red Cross makes so many homes safer by installing smoke alarms, I knew it would be a worthwhile project for our interns,” said Nick McCauley, Senior Manager, Assurance at EY and a member of the board of directors for the Greater Cleveland chapter of the Red Cross. “They loved being able to make a difference in so many people’s lives.”

The interns study at schools near, like Kent State University, and far, like Marquette University in Milwaukee. They are working this summer at the EY office in downtown Cleveland. But on Friday, July 13, 2018, they left the office and entered 77 homes in an east side neighborhood, installing a total of 185 smoke alarms.

EY Interns Nadia Dansani of Kent State University and Katherine Butler of the University of Cincinnati in the home of Danita Beamon Battle of Cleveland.

If you have an interest in helping make homes safer in vulnerable communities, become a Red Cross volunteer. If you need smoke alarms in your home, visit soundthealarm.org/neo. To view more photos from the EY Sound the Alarm event, visit our photo album here.

127 Homes Made Safer in Maple Heights and Akron

Posted on May 9, 2018 by American Red Cross of Northern Ohio

Simultaneous Sound the Alarm Events Held Last Saturday

By Jim McIntyre, American Red Cross

More than 300 smoke alarms were installed in homes last Saturday as the American Red Cross Sound the Alarm campaign hit the halfway point. The nationwide effort to install 100,000 smoke alarms across the country, and to save lives, began on April 28. The final Sound the Alarm home fire safety and smoke alarm installation event in Northeast Ohio takes place this Saturday in Cleveland’s Slavic Village neighborhood.

Sound the Alarm in Maple Heights, 5/5/18

On Saturday, May 5, 204 alarms were installed in 77 homes in Maple Heights. In Akron, 50 homes were made safer, as 115 smoke alarms were installed. In addition, volunteers from the Red Cross and a number of civic groups and corporate partners offered residents valuable fire safety information and helped them create escape plans.

Sound the Alarm in Akron, 5/5/18

“The Red Cross and our partners helped save lives by making homes safer and communities more resilient,” said Mike Parks, Regional CEO of the Red Cross of Northeast Ohio. “And we are truly grateful for the invaluable partnerships that are either created or strengthened through the Sound the Alarm campaign, with local fire departments, community groups like the VA, and corporations like KeyBank helping families throughout the Region.”

Volunteers from the Northeast Ohio VA Healthcare System, including Director Sue Fuehrer, center, with Regional Red Cross CEO Mike Parks, right

You can see more photos from Sound the Alarm home fire safety and smoke alarm installation events here. There is still time to volunteer for one of the three remaining Sound the Alarm events. Join the effort to end home fires in Akron this Thursday, May 10 and Friday, May 11, and in Cleveland on Saturday, May 12. Visit soundthealarm.org/neo for more information.

More than 90 Homes Made Safer During First Sound the Alarm Event

Posted on April 30, 2018 by American Red Cross of Northern Ohio

Cold and rain fail to dampen the spirit of volunteers

More than 90 families on Cleveland’s west side can sleep more soundly, knowing there are now working smoke alarms in their homes. The alarms were installed by volunteers from various community groups and corporate partners, who worked with the Red Cross and the Cleveland Fire Department on the first Sound the Alarm home fire safety and smoke alarm installation event in Northeast Ohio on Saturday.

The goal of the nationwide program is to save lives.

“Through the combined efforts, we were able to install more than 234 smoke alarms,” said Tim O’Toole, Red Cross Regional Disaster Program Officer. “91 families in the Clark Fulton neighborhood slept safer last night due to the efforts of our combined partnership.”

Tim O’Toole, Chief Angelo Calvillo, and Councilwoman Jasmin Santana

Chief Angelo Calvillo of the Cleveland Division of Fire and city councilwoman Jasmin Santana, who represents the neighborhood, helped kick-off the event.

“People don’t realize that when a house fire occurs, you only have a couple of minutes to get out,” said Chief Calvillo. “An alarm will actually notify you and your family to get out of the house.”

More than 30 volunteers dispersed throughout the neighborhood to help residents create escape plans and to install smoke alarms. Among the groups represented by volunteers were the Metrohealth System, Prince Hall Masons, and the Red Cross Club from Case Western Reserve University.

CWRU Red Cross Club volunteers Austin Zhang and Tobi Oshomoji

A Tobi Oshomoji, a sophomore from Nashville, Tennesee, and Austin Zhang, a freshman from Houston, Texas were on a team of installers going door-to-door on Trent Avenue.

“It’s about stepping outside University Circle and interacting with the community,” said Austin. “Cleveland has welcomed us, and we’d like to give back.”

You can see more photos from Saturday’s Sound the Alarm event here, in our Flickr photo album.

The city of Cleveland is one of more than 100 cities nationwide where Sound the Alarm events are taking place between April 28 and May 13. Volunteers and partners will also help install alarms in Akron, Maple Heights, and Slavic Village during the next three weeks. For more information or to volunteer, visit soundthealarm.org/neo.

Home Fire Prevention Tips, Inspired by the TV Show “This Is Us”

Posted on February 5, 2018 by American Red Cross of Northern Ohio

By: Sue Wilson Cordle, Volunteer Leader and Board Member

Last night was a big night for NBC. And if you think it’s because the underdog Eagles upset the Patriots you’d only be partially right. It was the devastating loss after the game that has so many of us reeling. Jack Pearson, the loving, perfect-with-all-his-flaws husband and father died on NBC’s series This is Us.

If you aren’t familiar with the show, it is a brilliantly written series about the Pearson family, told in a creative style of flashbacks from the parents and the kids’ youth, to the present day.

The generational story of Jack, his wife Rebecca and their 3 kids- triplets Kate, Randall and Kevin and how they discover deeper meaning in their present day lives after loss and tragedy is inspiring and compelling. Successful businessman and father Randall searches for information about his biological parents. Kate finds love and self-acceptance while battling obesity. Kevin pursues a more meaningful career, and battles his own demons which brings some difficult choices. Viewers have known from the beginning that Jack dies at some point while the kids were teenagers, but the dramatic episode aired last night after the big game, exposed the circumstances; that Jack died from a heart attack caused by the prolonged smoke exposure he suffered after saving his family from a home fire.

The fire started when a slow cooker with a faulty switch overheated and sparked. The Pearson home was old, with old wiring. The spark quickly turned into an electrical fire which spread rapidly to engulf the entire home. The smoke alarm did not sound because the batteries were dead. In fact, in previous episodes the fact that the Pearson’s kept forgetting to replace the batteries in the smoke alarms in the house was a set-up and hinted at how Jack’s death might unfold.

There has been some PR fallout for the company that makes Crock Pots, and NBC and the company itself has since been assuring people of the product’s safety- but the episode serves as a reminder and a public service announcement for all of us to unplug (not just turn off) our small appliances in our homes- from toasters in the kitchen to curling irons in the bathroom.

The Red Cross responds to hundreds of thousand of home fires nationally and has a number of reminders for basic fire prevention tips for your home:

Keep items that can catch on fire at least three feet away from anything that gets hot, such as space heaters.
Smoking materials are the leading cause of residential fire deaths in the United States. If you smoke, take precautions: Smoke outside; choose fire-safe cigarettes; never smoke in bed, when drowsy or medicated, or if anyone in the home is using oxygen.
If you do smoke, use deep, sturdy ashtrays and douse cigarette and cigar butts with water before disposal.
Talk to children regularly about the dangers of fire, matches and lighters and keep them out of reach.
Turn portable heaters off when you leave the room or go to sleep.
Never leave a burning candle unattended, even for a minute.
Unplug small appliances when not in use.

The Red Cross also has these 7 Ways to Prepare for a Home Fire

Install the right number of smoke alarms. Test them once a month and replace the batteries at least once a year.
Teach children what smoke alarms sound like and what to do when they hear one.
Ensure that all household members know two ways to escape from every room of your home and know the family meeting spot outside of your home.
Establish a family emergency communications plan and ensure that all household members know who to contact if they cannot find one another.
Practice escaping from your home at least twice a year. Press the smoke alarm test button or yell “Fire“ to alert everyone that they must get out.
Make sure everyone knows how to call 9-1-1.
Teach household members to STOP, DROP and ROLL if their clothes should catch on fire.

For more information on preparedness resources from the Red Cross click here.

Oh, (Cold) Snap! 10 Furnace Safety Tips

Posted on November 9, 2017 by American Red Cross of Northern Ohio

By: Sue Wilson, Volunteer Leader and Board Member

Two years ago, 10 kids and two adults escaped a home fire in Lorain that began in the furnace.

Take a minute to consider your furnace. Here are 10 tips to keep your family safe when the temperature outside goes down, and the heat inside goes up.

Have an annual furnace check up from a service professional to make sure that your system is running efficiently and safely. They’ll make sure there are no leaks, venting issues, broken parts or frayed wires that could be a hazard.
Keep the area around your furnace clear. Don’t store anything potentially flammable near the furnace or water heater; especially newspapers, clothing, boxes, rugs, paint or chemicals. Vacuum dust, dog hair or anything that could sucked into a vent or open flame of a pilot light.
Clean or change your furnace filter monthly. A dirty filter will cause your furnace to operate less efficiently and cost you money. It could also block airflow and increase the risk of carbon monoxide (CO) leaking into your home.
Never use an oven or stove as an alternate heating source, as there is a serious risk of CO poisoning from fumes.
Purchase a CO detector if you don’t have one and test and replace batteries of the ones you have in your home.
Make sure your home has working smoke detectors. Change the batteries every 6 months. If you are in need of a smoke alarm, call the Red Cross at 330-535-2030 to request free installation by one of our volunteers.
The area around your furnace and water heater should be a child-free zone to protect them from potential burns from hot vents or open flames, and to insures they will not inhale dangerous fumes.
Space heaters are not intended to heat an entire home. Exercise extreme caution when using unvented, electric or propane space heaters, and follow instructions to lessen the chance of a fire or carbon monoxide exposure.
If you smell gas, leave the area and call the fire department, or gas company.
Make sure you have a fire escape plan, and that everyone in your home knows it and a designated meeting place once out. For more information on fire prevention click on this link on the Red Cross.

Neighborhood Now Safer in Slavic Village

Posted on October 17, 2017 by American Red Cross of Northern Ohio

Firefighters, Volunteers Help Red Cross Install Smoke Alarms

More than 100 homes in the Cleveland neighborhood known as Slavic Village are now safer, following a home fire safety and smoke alarm installation event last Saturday, October 14.

Cleveland Councilman Tony Brancatelli wrote the following message in an email the day after the event:

“Here is some info on the recent American Red Cross, Sound the Alarm and Save A Life event in Slavic Village on Saturday. Volunteers from the Red Cross including many from “Hope Worldwide” and including our local Cleveland Fire Department walked throughout our neighborhood knocking on doors and installing free smoke detectors as part of a Country Wide national installation event.

We want to thank Regional Disaster Officer Timothy O’Toole from the American Red Cross for coming into our community as part of the National “Sound the Alarm, Save a Life” program and installing hundreds of smoke detectors free for our families. Special thanks to all the volunteers from “Hope Worldwide” and our local firemen for making this event such a huge success. Timothy O’Toole (former Cleveland Fire Chief) asks for those not home that they can still call 216-361-5535 for a smoke detector.”

We thank Councilman Brancatelli for his support of Red Cross efforts to make neighborhoods safer, and we thank the Cleveland Fire Department for their ongoing partnership, which began in 1992 as Operation Save-A-Life.

Group Shot II

See more photos here, in our album on Flickr.

NOHredcross

American Red Cross of Northern Ohio Region

Tag Archives: Fire Safety