 Sparky the Fire Dog®
A few years ago, before you were born, a
little Dalmatian puppy sat outside the fence at the school playground. The puppy loved
watching the children play games and laugh. He longed to go inside and play with the
children, but he was very shy, so he spent his days running back and forth alongside the
fence, jumping, wagging his tail, and sometimes barking "hello."
One day, the puppy followed two children home from school. He watched them go inside their
house, then he curled up under a tree in the front yard to take a nap. He was very tired
from playing all day long. Suddenly, he woke up. When he looked up, he saw sparks and
flames and realized that the children's house was onfire. The puppy knew he needed to get
help right away, so he ran down the street to the fire station, barking all the way.
The puppy arrived at the fire station just in time to see
the firefighters jump on their trucks and leave. He tried to run behind them, but his
little legs could not keep up. By the time he got back to the house, the street was filled
with fire trucks and hoses and lots of people. The puppy looked all around for the
children but could not see them. He was very worried.
The firefighters worked very hard to save the children's house. After the fire was out,
the brave firefighters were getting back on the truck when Firefighter Janet noticed the
sad-looking puppy shivering under a tree in the neighbor's yard.
"Look, you guys, it's the little puppy we saw barking at the station," she said.
Kneeling down, Firefighter Janet scooped up the puppy in her arms "Hey, little guy,
where do you live? It's too cold for a puppy to be outside alone," she said.
Firefighter Janet's arms felt safe and warm, but the puppy couldn't stop thinking about
the children from school. He lifted his head and looked across the street at the burned
house.
Visit Sparky
the Fire Dog's web site at
www.sparky.org
Sparky’s Tips For Kids
Get Out! Stay
Out!
Every year, hundreds of thousands of
fires happen in people’s home. If fire starts in your home, you have to get out
quickly and stay out. Will you do the right thing in real life? If you plan ahead,
starting today, you’ll be ready in case fire strikes.
Make an Escape Plan. Sit down with your
family today and plan how to get out in case of fire. Then practice your escape, so that
you and your family will know what to do in a real emergency.
Know Two Ways Out. Draw a diagram of your
home. Plan two ways out of every room, especially the bedroom.
Smoke Detectors Warn You to Get Out. In a
real fire, you may have only a very few minutes to escape safely. You need smoke detectors
in your home to warn you if a fire starts. Never play with a smoke detector or
“borrow” its batteries for any reason. To keep your smoke detectors on the job,
remind an adult in your family to test them every month. How many smoke detectors are in
your home?
In an Apartment… Never use an
elevator during a fire; it may take you to the floor where the fire is burning! Use
stairways to leave the building.
Get Out Fast! In case of a fire,
don’t stop for anything. Don’t try to take possessions or pets. Just get out.
Call the fire department from a neighbor’s phone after you are out.
Choose a Meeting Place. Everyone should
go to one meeting place outside. Then one person should call the fire department from a
neighbor’s phone.
Don’t Go Back, No Matter What. Once
you are out of the building, don’t go back inside for any reason, until the fire
fighters tell you it’s safe.
Crawl Low Under Smoke. Smoke is
dangerous! If you find smoke or flames on your way out, turn around and use your other
escape route. If you must escape through an area filled with smoke, crawl under it. Get
down on your hands and knees and crawl quickly to the exit.
Practice Your Plan. At least twice a
year, have a fire drill in your home. Start the drill by going to your bedroom. Close the
door and wait for an adult to sound the alarm. Remember, a fire drill is not a race. Get
out quickly but carefully!
Test Every Door. Before opening a door,
make sure there’s no fire on the other side. With the back of your hand, touch the
door, the door know, and the space between the door and the frame. If any of these feels
hot, use your second way out. If everything feels cool, open the door carefully. Be ready
to slam it shut if heat or smoke rushes in. As you leave, close all doors behind you. They
can slow down the spread of fire and smoke.
Stop, Drop, and Roll. Everyone should
know this rule: if your clothes catch fire, don’t run! Stop where you are, drop to
the ground, cover your face with your hands to protect your face and lungs, and roll over
and over to smother the flames.
Hidden Hazards In Your Home
The most painful burn is the one you could have prevented! Among the hidden hazards in your home, there are two especially harmful to children: flammable liquids like gasoline and paint thinner.
The other is ordinary household tap water, that’s too hot for a child’s skin.
Protecting your loved ones from flammable liquids and extremely hot water should come down to common sense. But with so many accidents, injuries and deaths every year, it’s easy to see that common sense is sometimes overlooked.
It’s not hard to figure out why, either. As parents, we become preoccupied or distracted in going about our daily lives, and that’s where the problems lie. All it takes is a split second, to change the course of your life.
Gasoline is a motor fuel that is the only thing that gasoline is for to power a motor. It’s not a solvent, not a cleaning fluid, and should never be used that way. NEVER. Gasoline is a highly flammable liquid.
Dangerous flammable vapors are released in your home or garage every time there is a spill, or when the container of gasoline or other flammable liquid is not properly sealed.
The silent, invisible vapors can travel, and if these vapors reach a source of ignition, like a faulty electric outlet, the spark from a running motor, or the pilot light of a home appliance, the vapors can ignite…and blow you clean out of the house.
Are these products around your home? Gasoline, propane gas, kerosene, lighting liquids, cleaning liquids, oil-based paints, fertilizers, mineral spirits, nail polish remover, furniture polish, floor polish, disinfectants, pesticides, weed killers, turpentine, hair spray, adhesives (glues)
Gasoline should always be tightly sealed in an approved container, kept out of the reach of children. Seal both the spout on the container and the vent.
Keep the gasoline tightly sealed and out of the house, or your whole life can change in a flash!
Keep gasoline away from ignition sources, in a detached garage or shed, keep it tightly sealed and away from children. What you can’t see can kill you.
More than 4,000 children are scalded by tap water every year!
Scald burns are most common among young children. And yet, these accidents are so easy to prevent if you’ll just follow these simple steps.
1. Before putting your child in the bathtub, test the water by moving your hand around in the water to make sure it’s not too hot.
2. Never leave your child alone, not even for a second. If you need to answer the phone or doorbell, take your child with you.
Remember, tap water scald burns can be as serious as burns form hot liquid spills from a stove top, and tap water burns usually cover a larger area of the body.
Make sure your water heater is set no higher than 120 degrees. Use a cooking thermometer to check the water temperature in your bathtub. If it’s hotter than 120 degrees, turn down your water heater, or call a plumbing contractor to turn it down.
If you live in an apartment building, have the building superintendent check it for you.
Water doesn’t have to be at the boiling point to harm a child. Infants are plump and cuddly, and their tender skin is a lot thinner than a grownup’s, and can be scalded more quickly.
So – protect your loved ones. Use common sense when dealing with flammable liquids and scalding hot water. Be safe – not sorry!
Home Smoke Alarms
The majority of fatal home fires happen
at night, and the smell of smoke won’t always wake you up. In fact, smoke and
poisonous gases can put you into a deeper sleep. Home smoke alarms can wake you in time to
escape – cutting your chances of dying nearly in half. Smoke alarms are inexpensive;
they do save lives, and, in most states, are required by law in private homes.
Be sure that the smoke alarm you buy
carries the label of an independent testing lab. Some home smoke alarms run on batteries,
others on household current, and various models use differing fire-sensor technologies.
But all approved (labeled) smoke alarms will protect you.
Install a smoke alarm on every floor of
you home, including the basement, and outside each sleeping area – inside as well if
you sleep with the doors closed. Alarms should also be in or near dens, living rooms,
family room, and other living areas.
Be sure everyone sleeping in your home
can hear your smoke alarms, even with appliances on such as air conditioning. If someone
in your home is hearing impaired, you can install louder alarms or alarms that flash a
bright light as well as sound an alarm.
The National Fire Alarm Code prohibits
the installation of smoke alarms in locations such as attics and other unheated spaces
where ambient conditions are outside the limits specified by the manufacturer. Smoke
detectors should not be located where cooking-fumes, steam, or automobile exhaust might
set off false alarms.
Smoke rises, so alarms are required to be
mounted high on a wall or on the ceiling. Position wall-mounted alarms with the top of the
alarm 4 to 12 inches (10 to 30 centimeters) from the ceiling. Position ceiling-mounted
alarms at least 4 inches (10 centimeters) away from the nearest wall. In a room with a
pitched ceiling, mount the alarm at or near the ceiling’s highest point.
In stairways with no doors at the top or
bottom, install alarms anywhere along the path that smoke would travel up the stairs. But
always position smoke alarms at the bottom of closed stairways. Dead air trapped near the
door at the top of a stairway could prevent smoke from reaching an alarm located at the
top.
Don’t install a smoke alarm too near
a window, door, or forced-air register where drafts could interfere with it operation.
Most battery-powered smoke alarms and
alarms that plug into wall outlets can be installed using only a drill and a screwdriver.
Follow the manufacturer’s instructions. Plug-in alarms must have restraining devices
so they can’t be unplugged by accident.
You can also hard-wire alarms into your
home’s electrical system. Have a qualified electrician do the job. Never connect a
smoke alarm to a circuit that can be turned of from a wall switch.
Cooking vapors, steam, and other fumes
sometimes set off “nuisance”
alarms. Don’t take the battery out of your alarm. Try relocating the alarm away from
the source of the problem.
Some alarms come with a built-in
“pause” button that lets you disable them safely for a few minutes. These models
turn back on automatically.
Never “borrow” a smoke-alarm
battery. Test all your alarms monthly (or manufacturer’s recommendation) by pushing
the “test button” and install new batteries at least once a year – when you
set the clocks back in the fall for example – or when your alarm is
“chirping” to indicate that the battery is low.
Unless manufacturer’s instructions
say otherwise, vacuum your smoke alarms regularly without removing the cover.
Never paint a smoke alarm.
Smoke alarms don’t last forever.
Replace any smoke alarm that is more than 10 years old.
Extinguishers
have limits
Used properly, a portable fire
extinguisher can save lives and property by putting out a small fire or containing it
until the fire department arrives. Portable extinguishers for home use, however, are not
designed to fight large or spreading fires. Even against small fires, they are useful only
under certain conditions.
The operator must know how to use the
extinguisher. There is not time to read directions during an emergency.
The extinguisher must be within easy
reach and in working order, fully charged.
The operator must have a clear escape
route that will not be blocked by fire.
The extinguisher must match the type of
fire being fought. Extinguishers that contain water are unsuitable for use on grease or
electrical fires.
The extinguisher must be large enough to
put out the fire. Many portable extinguishers discharge completely in as few as 8 to 10
seconds.
Choosing your
extinguisher
Fire extinguishers are tested by
independent laboratories and labeled for the type and size of fire they can extinguish.
Use these labels as a guide to purchase the kind of extinguisher that suits your needs.
Classes of fires: there are three basic
classes of fires. All fire extinguishers are labeled using standard symbols for the
classes of fires they can put out. A red slash through any of the symbols tells you the
extinguisher cannot be used on that class of fire. A missing symbol tells you only that
the extinguisher has not been tested for a given class of fire.
Class A: Ordinary combustibles such as
wood, cloth, and paper.
Class B: Flammable liquids such as
gasoline, oil, and oil-based paint.
Class C: Energized electrical equipment
including wiring, fuse boxes, circuit breakers, and appliances.
The extinguisher must be appropriate for
the type of fire being fought. If you use the wrong type of extinguisher, you can endanger
yourself and make the fire worse. Multipurpose fire extinguishers marked ABC may be used
on all three classes of fires.
Remember, in some cases it may be
dangerous to use any type of extinguisher. For instance, pressurized extinguishing agent
could spread a grease pan fire rather than put it out.
Portable extinguishers are also rated for
the size of fire they can handle. This rating will appear on the label – for example,
2A:10B:C. The larger the numbers, the larger the fire that the extinguisher can put out,
but higher-rated models are often heavier. Make sure you can hold and operate an
extinguisher before you buy it.
Installation,
Maintenance & Usage
Extinguishers should be installed in
plain view, above the reach of children, near an escape route, and away from stoves and
heating appliances.
Extinguishers require routine care. Read
your operator’s manual to learn how to inspect your extinguisher. Follow
manufacturer’s instructions on maintenance.
Rechargeable models must be serviced
after every use. (Service companies are listed in the Yellow Pages under “Fire
Extinguishers.”) Disposable fire extinguishers can be used only once and must be
replaced after use.
Remember the PASS –
word: Keep your back to an unobstructed exit and stand six to eight feet away from the
fire. Follow the four-step PASS procedure.
PULL the pin: This unlocks the operating
lever and allows you to discharge the extinguisher. Some extinguisher may have other
lever-release mechanisms.
AIM low: Point the extinguisher nozzle
(or hose) at the base of the fire.
SQUEEZE: the lever above the handle: This
discharges the extinguishing agent. Releasing the lever will stop the discharge. (Some
extinguishers have a button instead of a lever.)
SWEEP from side to side: Moving carefully
toward the fire, keep the extinguisher aimed at the base of the fire and sweep back and
forth until the flames appear to be out. Watch the fire area. If the fire reignites,
repeat the process.
Always be sure the fire department
inspects the fire site, even if you think you’ve extinguished the fire.
Should you fight the fire: before you
begin to fight a fire:
Make sure everyone has left, or is
leaving, the building.
Make sure the fire department has been
called.
Make sure the fire is confined to a small
area and is not spreading.
Be sure you have an unobstructed escape
route to which the fire will not spread.
Be sure you have read the instructions
and that you know how to use the extinguisher.
It is reckless to fight a fire in any
other circumstances. Instead, leave immediately and close off the area.
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