Fire Prevention News: Weekly Roundup – January 25, 2011

Selected Fire Prevention related articles appearing in the past week from scores of e-sources in the news media. Updated each Monday morning.

Links to Fire Prevention-related news articles – Updated 01/24/2011

Campaigns/ Fire Prevention Efforts

Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Detector Drive Kicks Off – HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Over the next three weeks a local business is collecting new smoke and carbon monoxide detectors that will be given out to the …
MLK fire safety drive set for Monday – The American Red Cross; Protechs Inc. and 1-800-BoardUp; Hope Worldwide and Fort Wayne Fire Department volunteers will canvass several Fort Wayne …
Fire Safety Tips Reach Thousands – During the upcoming Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, Red Cross volunteers will be canvassing neighborhoods, talking to people about how to prevent home …
Fire Department to Give Away 300 Smoke Alarms to Residents in Need The Birmingham Fire Department is working to improve fire safety in homes across the city by distributing 300 free smoke alarms to Birmingham senior …
As Enid firefighters have discovered in last 3 months, kids and fire sometimes … One of the most important audiences to reach about fire safety is the parents of the children. “The kids are an easy audience to attain. …
Fire Safety Tips Reach Thousands So, the Red Cross is committed to helping people understand fire safety through conversations and materials printed in both English and Spanish. …

Campus Fire Safety

Fire Marshal Uncovers Another Code Violation At The Pit – Saturday’s University of New Mexico Lobos game took a timeout before the game even started for a major fire code violation, …
Carbon Monoxide Poisons 42 UNL Fraternity Men But it did not have a carbon monoxide detector, a policy that may be changing. “We’re gonna ask the fire marshall who normally checks the houses any way to …

CO Detectors

Carbon Monoxide Detectors Can Save Lives – As homeowners turn on the furnaces to keep warm in the cold, wintry temperatures, the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning increases as well. …
Sounding the alarm: State law to require CO detectors A carbon monoxide detector does what your body doesn’t — let you know if you are in danger from a deadly gas that can’t be seen or …
Carbon monoxide detector alerts Champaign family to problem Glen Daniels said firefighters were called to a home in the 3000 block of Ridgewood Court at 7:15 pm when the family’s carbon monoxide detector went off. …

Inspections / Code enforcement

Fire marshal seeks amendments to city code – Plainview Fire Marshal Philip Mize discussed adopting the International Fire Code as guidelines for his office at the …
Hugo Fire Regret, Lessons Learned Chief Zikmund says in 2009, Minnesota and many other states chose to skip the single family fire code adaption in part because of the time and cost it takes …
Fire Extinguisher Bill Filed 1/10/11 Craddick says the inspections would ensure that they work properly when it’s most needed. The city of Midland issued this statement Monday afternoon: “The …
Change to Urbandale fire code gets initial approval – A change will be made to Urbandale’s fire code to allow a self-storage facility to be built without fire sprinklers, despite much opposition. …
State working with tracks on heating codes The State Fire Marshal’s staff is working with Ruidoso Downs Race Track and other tracks around New Mexico to resolve an issue involving use in tack rooms …
Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue’s landlord training program is saving lives – It also gives landlords an advantage for yearly fire inspections . Rather than being punitive, the inspections are seen as welcoming ways to improve the life ..
Latest Edition of NFPA 1, Fire Code, Adopted in WI Recognized worldwide and adopted statewide in 18 states, NFPA 1 provides requirements necessary to establish a reasonable level of fire safety and property …

Smoke Alarms

No smoke alarms found in mobile home where space heater caused fatal fire … home fire that claimed four lives, Bakersfield City Battalion Chief Ross Kelly stresses the importance of fire safety and the use of smoke detectors. …
Free Smoke Alarms Still Available For People Who Are Deaf If you are deaf or hearing impaired or have a family member who is deaf or hearing impaired, go online and apply for a free smoke alarm. …
Louisiana law now mandates 10-year smoke detectors – There are smoke detectors on the market that run on ten-year lithium batteries, and now they are part of Louisiana law. Anyone selling or leasing a single ..
Ashland fire chief highlights smoke alarm measures – Functioning smoke alarms help save lives, and Ashland’s fire chief hopes to get more …
Special Smoke Detector Saves Deaf Ky. Man — An Elsmere man escaped a fire in his home early Friday, thanks to a special smoke detector. Firefighters said they arrived at the Hawk Drive home just before 6:30 a.m. to find most of the trailer fully engulfed in flames. The Elsmere fire chief said the man living in the home, John Lastfogel, 64, is deaf, but was alerted to the fire by a smoke detector designed to alert hearing-impaired people — one the fire department has…
Smoke detectors checked in neighborhood of Walkersville area house fire Residents of the Discovery community welcomed the Walkersville Volunteer Fire Department into their homes on Saturday as firefighters knocked on doors to install new smoke detectors or replace batteries in existing ones

Sprinklers

Branson Fire Department asks businesses to protect sprinklers in cold – With temperatures dipping into single digits this week, the Branson Fire Department is reminding business owners not to let sprinkler systems freeze. …
Mississippi shows the power of sprinklers “Survivable, unsurvivable, “ is one of the comparisons Brandon, MS Fire Chief and President of the MS Fire Chiefs Assn. Rob Martin made in explaining the side by side demonstration of a sprinklered room and an unsprinklered room in a recent event held to showcase the power of home fire sprinklers. He has lots of great information in his opening overview as to the virtues of sprinklers. Just as powerful are the pieces to watch where no one is speaking – between six and six and half minutes and from about…
Henderson, NV Adopts One- and Two-Family Home Fire Sprinkler Requirement At its regular meeting of December 7th, 2010, the Henderson, Nevada City Council adopted the 2009 edition of the International Residential Code with the fire sprinkler requirement for new one- and two-family homes intact. The vote was anonymous in favor of adoption. With this action, Henderson becomes the second city in the State of Nevada to adopt these requirements, effective July 5, 2011. The City of Las Vegas has required fire sprinklers in homes since 2004 Click here to view the ordinance.
Single Sprinkler Saves Long Beach Restaurant From Fire – The Fire Department is touting the importance of installing sprinklers in buildings after a Long Beach …
Somerville business saved by sprinklers – The sprinklers doused the fire , but fire and water caused an estimated $15000 in damages, Fire Chief Kevin Kelleher said. “The sprinkler system saved this …
Demonstration shows benefit of home fire sprinklers – A home improvement expert demonstrated Thursday what a difference an overhead home sprinkler system can make in case of a house …
Home fire sprinkler message goes out across the country Home repair expert and Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition (HFSC) Spokesperson Ron Hazelton braved the elements of an unseasonably cold Florida morning today to conduct a satellite media tour on the benefits of home fire sprinklers. The media tour was part of an education effort by HFSC who were in Orlando to exhibit at the 2011 International Builders Show.
Are residential fire sprinklers worth the cost? Many of the decisions homeowners make come down to cost vs. benefits. Are the benefits provided by an item or …

Winter Safety

Space heater caused fatal Grantville fire The state fire marshal’s office has determined the fire was caused by an electric space heater in the room adjacent to the bedroom where the two young …
Heating Safety Precautions Crucial during Extreme Temperatures Also critical to fire safety for any home is the installation and use of working smoke alarms. “Working smoke alarms can cut the risk of people dying in …
Fire safety urged during cold – With overnight temperatures expected to dip into the low 20s this week, Opelousas Fire Chief …
Fire Dept.: Space Heater Causes Deadly Mobile Home Fire “To my knowledge, I don’t know anybody that has a smoke alarm. If they did, they probably put it in on their own,” said Oasis resident Vicky Gherity. …
Home Heating Safety and Fire Prevention – Lauderdale County fire coordinator, Allan Dover, says the cold weather creates a dilemma for residents. In an attempt to stay warm, they often try to use .
State Fire Marshal makes plea for storm safety State Fire Marshal Stephen Coan asks for help during this storm and offers tips to prevent fires and carbon monoxide poisoning during power …
Fire Chief Gives Safety Tips On Staying Warm You can also buy a dual smoke alarm and carbon monoxide detector. Carbon monoxide is especially dangerous “If it doesn’t kill you, it can definitely cause …
LR town meetings on winter fire safety – The Little Rock Fire Department will be holding meetings about fire safety and tips on how to keep your family and home safe during the winter months. …
Maintain heating devices to stay warm safely State Fire Marshal Jerry Rosendahl reminds Minnesotans to prepare for the heating season by making sure that chimneys and ducts are clean, appliances are …

Wildland Fire Safety

Other Fire Safety News

Fire safety merits rapid intervention – Weymouth When a raging fire burnt a Sawyer Street Colonial home to the ground and the intense heat detonated a car in the driveway and melted vinyl …
My 5 New Year’s fire resolutions – No doubt about it, we have the technology to save thousands of lives each year from the ravages of fire , but we have faced numerous roadblocks along the way …
Area Agency on Aging encourages fire safety, prevention – Ironton While fire safety is important at every stage of life, this becomes especially important for senior citizens. Having a fire prevention and response plan is …
Layton Fire Corps lauded for excellence Acting State Fire Marshal Brent Halliday and state Public Education Specialist Monica Colby presented Layton Fire Chief Kevin Ward with the Utah Fire Corps …
Fire deaths down in Milwaukee despite increase in house fires – Milwaukee Chief Rohlfing says the number of house fires in Milwaukee actually went up in 2010. He says education, and a working smoke detector can save lives.
Safe Use Initiative: FDA-Sponsored Stakeholder Meeting on Surgical Fire Prevention – On October 22, 2010, the Food and Drug Administration held a workshop to discuss FDA regulated ..
Modular home construction changing The changes come in the wake of a FOX Undercover investigation last year in which we documented concerns about fire safety in modular homes. …
FEMA’s Harman Provides Guidance on FP&S Grant And national state regional programs and studies will give priority to projects that focus on residential fire issues and/or fire safety projects or …
Safety Planning Helps Family Escape House Fire – Portland Fire and Rescue says this is a perfect example of why it’s so important for homes to have a working smoke alarm , and for families to practice a …
ISO upgrades FdL’s fire safety ranking to Class 2 – The Insurance Services Office (ISO) has upgraded Fond du Lac’s Public Protection Classification (PPC) from Class 3 to Class 2. ISO is a leading source of …
Fire safety fund sparks concerns – Firefighters from throughout south-central Minnesota hope to spray some cold water on any …
Fire Safety: Nearly 200000 Dehumidifiers Recalled Concerns involving humidifiers and fire safety in the home are not new. In 2006, the CPSC, in conjunction with Hunter Fan of Memphis, Tennessee, …