DON'T BE A STATISTIC!

Statistics show that, on average during our lifetime, each of us can expect to be involved in two or three fires serious enough to call the fire department.  Whether, your fires occur at home, in a hospital, or a hotel, the same principles for survival apply.

Planning ahead is vital!

People who have planned in advance what to do in a fire emergency and have the determination to survive are most likely to do so.  Those who deny danger, feeling that fire will never happen to them, are most apt to succumb.

If you leave something cooking on the stove, when someone calls, "Come look at this!" or the phone rings, you may find the kitchen engulfed in flames before you return.  In just six weeks, 44 fires were caused by people forgetting that they had left something cooking when they had stopped to watch television; and this was in one small town in Massachusetts!

Three children, ranging in age from 8 months to seven years, died in a Brooklyn, New York house fire.  According to fire authorities, the home had several smoke detectors but the batteries had been removed from each to use in battery powered toys!  Don't gamble with your life and the lives of your family - install smoke detectors on every level of the home and test them each month.  Keep spare batteries on hand.

A neighbor cleaned out his fireplace and put his ashes in a paper bag which was placed into a plastic can.  There had been no fire in that fire place for three days, yet half the house burned down before the firefighters could get there.  Place ashes in metal cans with metal lids.  One winter, 47 homes in Fairfax County, Virginia burned by improper disposal of fireplace ashes!

Could it happen to me?

The answer is Yes!

Remember, in the event you are ever in a fire, 

STAY CALM-DON'T PANIC

With advance Planning and precaution, you will survive.

A well planned and frequently rehearsed escape plan is absolutely vital to the safety of all household members.  Draw a floor plan showing at least two ways out of each room.  Special consideration should be made for infants, the very old or physically-impaired individuals.  

Have a pre-established meeting place after you leave your house.  Discuss the meeting place with your neighbors.  Remember, never re-enter a burning building!

ãTownship of West Milford OEM