ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. - Every year, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), honors the anniversary of The Great Chicago Fire by designating the second week of October as "National Fire Prevention Week."
The goal of National Fire Prevention Week is to emphasize the importance of being educated about how to prevent fires, what to do in case of fire, and the risks involved with unsafe behavior regarding cooking, electrical work, smoking, and other potential fire-related activities.
Last year, fire departments in the United States fought nearly 400,000 structural fires. The toll paid as a result of last year's fires included 2,520 lives lost, 13,910 civilian injuries, and $6.9 billion in damages (NFPA). As horrific as these numbers are, you may be surprised to learn that they reflect a continued trend in a reduction of fatalities and injuries which peaked in the 1970s with nearly 750,000 fires reported resulting in almost 6,000 deaths.
The strong improvement in fire injury statistics over the past forty years, while commendable, should not be an indication that we are doing all we can to progress fire safety. Too many people are still losing their lives as a result of fire. Most of the time, this is due to failure to exit the building safely. This is why the NFPA has based the 2012 fire safety campaign on the importance of understanding emergency fire evacuation -- illustrated by this year's slogan: "Have Two Ways Out!"
The best thing to do to maximize your safety potential should a fire occur is to get out of the structure that is on fire and stay out. Most fire deaths and injuries occur when people are overcome by noxious gases and smoke. This happens for two reasons: people are either unable or unwilling to remove themselves immediately from the premises even after recognizing fire/smoke conditions or hearing an active fire alarm.
Often, the delay to evacuate is because the home's occupants are sleeping, but too often death and injuries occur because people fail to recognize that the most deadly elements of a fire - its noxious gases and smoke - are created mere seconds after the fire ignites. For this reason, the NFPAs Life Safety Code's core is modeled and structured around removing personnel from a building as quickly and as safely as possible.
While APG is home to a very active and involved fire protection, prevention, and education division, the garrison also recognizes that it is not fire free. Numerous fires have occurred at APG over the garrison's history and some have resulted in personnel injury, property damage, and even loss of life. This emphatically underscores the need for all personnel to maintain a fire safe workplace as well as a working knowledge regarding getting out and staying out of a building or home that is potentially on fire or otherwise unsafe.
Fire Evacuation at Work
Most businesses, office buildings, food establishments, mercantile facilities, and industrial/laboratory complexes are required to have at least two properly identified (marked) emergency exits. Large buildings with long passageways, high occupancy loads, or unusual hazards within, are required to have several exits located throughout the building. These exit passages must be remotely located from one another, readily accessible at all times and sized according to the number of people authorized to occupy the space within the building.
Personnel working within a building should be familiar with all of the building's exit options and should practice accessing them periodically. Remember that time is of utmost importance when evacuating a building. It only takes a few seconds for even a small fire to make a familiar hallway or stairwell impassable. Corridors, hallways, and stairwells are particularly susceptible to being obstructed by noxious fire gases, smoke, and/or heat. This is why knowing all of the building's paths of egress is important and why it is imperative that building occupants respond to the presence of smoke, fire or an active fire alarm immediately.
While, knowing the location of the building's main exit is important is it is equally important to learn its alternate exits. During an emergency or a fire evacuation drill one may not be able to rely on a building's primary routes to conduct an emergency exit of a building.
In a worst case scenario, if unable to reach an exit door, retreat to a part of the building most distant to the area of danger; preferably a room with a window, fire extinguisher, and a phone. Once within this "safe" area, the door to the room should be closed and appropriately sealed to prevent smoke from seeping into the room. If there is a phone, call 9-1-1 and explain your situation to the dispatcher. Do not block the door with furniture or otherwise make it difficult for rescuers to reach you. Consider exiting from the room's window. If this is not possible, the window should be opened and a signal device such as a coat, towel, or rug should be hung from the window in addition to vocally calling for help. APG firefighting personnel are on duty 24 hours a day -- 365 days a year, so help is seldom more than a few minutes away.
Fire Evacuation at Home
Within our homes, things are a little different. One probably doesn't have illuminated exit signs or encapsulated stairwells to help them safely evacuate. Here, people are more intimately familiar with their surroundings. Nearly all occupied spaces within residential structures are designed to possess windows. This is not by accident. While windows are not necessarily expected to be used as exits at the workplace, they are integral to the emergency evacuation of residents from a single-family style home. Obviously, an exit via a window is a last resort, but windows are designed to be used to escape danger. Ensure that all residents within the home understand this, especially children or occupants with special needs. Practice opening key windows that may b
Just as fire drills are conducted at work and school, we should have them at home as well. Ensure that all residents are familiar with the sound of the home's smoke alarm and carbon monoxide (CO) detector; know "two ways out" of each room; where the Family meeting place is outside; and how to make an emergency 9-1-1 phone call. Most importantly, understand that no material item within the home is worth delaying your evacuation. And it is imperative that everyone understands that once they are out they should stay out. If someone is trapped, inform the responding fire service personnel.
Practicing home fire drills and other fire safety activities at home can be very educational for adults and children. Children absorb life-long safety lessons from a fire-safe and proactive family home.
Smoke Alarms
It wouldn't be Fire Prevention Week without reminders about the importance of home smoke alarms. As cliché as it sounds, smoke alarms do save lives. Most residential fire-related deaths occur in homes without smoke alarms or with non-functioning alarms. In new homes, smoke alarms are required in every bedroom and at least one on each level of the house. For older homes, stand-alone detectors can often be obtained at local volunteer fire departments or for as low as $5 from area retail stores.
Home smoke alarms should be tested by manually activating the devices' test switch at least once a month. The batteries should be replaced at least twice a year -- there is no way to know how long the batteries one "just put in there" have been sitting in storage before they were purchased. A good way to remember this is "every time we change the clocks, change the smoke alarms' batteries."
moke alarms do not last forever. Most manufacturers suggest that smoke alarms be replaced every ten years. If your home possesses a nuisance smoke alarm -- one that activates every time you try to prepare dinner for instance, that alarm should be replaced more frequently. Ideally, a new location for such an alarm should be considered. If unsure of the age of a smoke alarm, it probably should be replaced.
Again, smoke alarm devices are so affective that it bears repeating: Smoke Alarms Save Lives! Therefore, performing these simple and inexpensive maintenance tasks also saves lives.
Fire Safety Education
While only seven days in October are designated as the "official week for fire prevention education," the Aberdeen Proving Ground Fire and Emergency Services Division treats every day as if it were solely designated for fire safety education. Accordingly, the garrison's fire prevention division has many educational events scheduled over the coming weeks. These range from organizational fire extinguisher training classes, announced and unannounced fire drills, youth-group fire safety training, fire station/fire apparatus tours, and community based fire prevention details. For a list of these events, contact Fire Protection Inspector Chris Starling at 410-436-2377 or e-mail christopher.starling@us.army.mil.
If you, your organization, or Family would like to attend one of our listed programs, schedule a new program, schedule a home-fire inspection (on-post only), or inquire about anything related to fire safety, fire prevention or fire protection please contact Fire Protection Inspector Chris Starling, APG South (Edgewood) Bldg. E5180, at 410-436-2377 or Fire Protection Inspector T.C. Glassman, APG North (Aberdeen) Building 2200, at 410-306-0600.
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