Fire Prevention

                            Smoke Detectors

If fire broke out inside your home in the middle of the night while you were asleep. Would you be able to get out? It's important to know that the leading cause of death in house fire's is actually carbon dioxide, a colorless odorless gas produced by incomplete combustion. Carbon dioxide can easily fill a building long before the flames reach the victim and because it binds with red blood cells more readily than oxygen the victims suffocate before ever knowing anything.

When a fire burns, it will usually double in size every thirty seconds, and everyone getting out of the home quickly and safely is paramount. Obviously, smoke detectors are an important tool to assist you and your family by warning them early on. So ask yourself this, are my smoke detectors properly located? Are they functional? Do i have the right kind of smoke detector?

According to NFPA, smoke detectors should be placed iside each bedroom and in hallways between bedrooms. There should be one on each level of the home including the basement (if there is one). Smoke detectors should be placed 4" away from the corner where the ceeling and wall meet, because there is dead air space in this area where smoke may not reach the detector. If mounted on the wall, they should be less than 12" from the ceiling, because heat rises and therefore so does smoke. Do you have one in each and every bedroom? What about the hallway? Are they far enough from the wall, and close enough to the ceiling?

What type of smoke detector is best for your home? Many people look for smoke detectors and buy whatever is the least expensive. While it may appear that a smoke detector is a smoke detector. If you look a little closer there is actually two technologies when it comes to smoke detectors they are Photoelectric, and Ionization.

Photoelectric smoke detectors use a light sensor to detect large particles in the air, once the sensor is obscured, the alarm sounds. This type of detector is good for detecting smoldering fires that produce more smoke such is an improperly discarded cigarette.

An Ionization sensor uses electricity, and a very small amount of alpha radiation to generate an electrical charge. This charge is caused by the ionization of oxygen and nitrogen in the air caused by the radiation. Because it is such a small amount of radiation, the sensor is very sensitive to the changes of electrical charge that occur when smoke is present in the ionization chamber. This type of detector is good for picking up smaller amounts of fire, or flaming fires that do not produce much smoke.

While both detectors have their purpose, the NFPA recommends installing both types of detectors.

                                                                                         Outdoor Burning

As it is with the first of spring comes spring cleaning and burning of leaves fallen trees, and branches. The current weather conditions are a beautiful sunny day in the Low 70's and it would seem to be a perfect day for burning if it wasn't for the wind. The wind today is a 15 Mph WSW, and gusts of 20 Mph. A wind such as this can make a small controlled burn get out of control in a hurry. So if you do decide to burn, please keep in mind a few things.

1.) Make sure it is Legal to burn where you are.

It may be against a city ordinance or county wide burning restriction/ban. If your city/county has made it illegal to burn, you may be able to find information about it by checking media outlets such as the local news paper or local news website. And if you are unsure, then you can contact the law enforcement agency (non emergency number) by telephone.

2.) Make sure it is safe to burn.

Before preparing to burn check your local forecast for wind information.  If you are in Texas the Texas Forest Service is a great resource for fire weather information click here for a link. They have burn ban information as well as fire danger and drought information as well.

3.) Prepare the burn area to burn.

Make sure that you have a fire break. By clearing the off of the perimeter of the area that you want to burn, you can reduce the chance of the fire getting out of control greatly. To do this use a rake or shovel to remove the grass, leaves, or other flammable material from the topsoil. It should be wide enough to provide an effective barrier for the type of fuel.

4.) Make Sure that you have water in the area.

Ensure that you have a water source, by simply having a water source to wet the area and extinguish any undesired fire you can do a lot to prevent the fire from being able to escape.

5.) Call 911 if the fire gets out of your control.

By calling 911 as soon as you realize that you have an out of control fire, you can reduce the time it takes for firefighters to arrive on scene. The smaller the fire is when firefighters arrive, the easier it is to put out. This can make the difference between a 1 acre fire and 1,000 acre fire.

6.) Be careful!

Fire can be a very useful tool, but it can also be a very dangerous and destructive force. All fires start out small but can grow exponentially. A fire that starts with a single match can burn fields, forests, houses and entire towns in a short period of time if the conditions allow it to. By making the choice to burn, you are taking on an important responsibility.