Fire Prevention News: Weekly Digest – May 30, 2012

Links to Fire Prevention-related news articles – Updated 05/29/2012

Campaigns/ Other Fire Prevention Activities

1. Albany firefighters want parents to stress fire safety – Albany Firefighters want parents to stress fire safety to their children, now that school is out for the summer. Firefighters say they routinely fight fires as summer school vacation begins, caused by kids home alone. The team effort will spread city wide as the fire prevention unit visits residential complexes to teach escape procedures and planning.
2. Firefighters canvass neighborhood, spread word about fire safety – Kansas City – They’re going door to door, hoping to spread the word about fire safety . Just a few days ago, tragedy hit one Kansas City, MO, neighborhood with the death of Kimberly Price. She died after a fire started in her kitchen. Investigators said it was from …

Campus fire safety

1. Fire Sprinkler Awareness Fundraiser –  Kerry Rose Fitzsimons, a Commack High School Class of 2008 graduate was killed in an off campus fire at Marist College on January 21, 2012. On Friday, June 1st, the Kerry Rose Foundation will be holding a fundraiser to help raise …

Inspections / Code enforcement

1. Firefighters Want Fire Inspection Authority Back – They want lawmakers to understand just what the recent decision to stop allowing them to do fire inspections means. “Without these fire inspections done yearly, public safety drops, knowledge base drops, ability to work safely and preserve public’s …
2. Popular sports complex fails to meet fire codes –  CHARLOTTE, NC — It’s the Charlotte Fire Marshall’s job to make sure all buildings in use are safe. So when a former storage warehouse off interstate 85 opened up as breakaway sports complex – an inspection needed to be done.

Smoke Alarms

1. One in three households misreports smoke alarm coverage : Johns Hopkins University
2. Don’t compromise your family’s fire safety –  In fact, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) reports that two-thirds of home fire deaths resulted from fires in homes with no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms. Nuisance alarms, as they are called, are caused by numerous sources such …

Sprinklers

1. South Carolina Building Code Council (BCC) votes to keep life safety provisions, including fire sprinklers, in the code. Yesterday, after a contentious twelve-hour debate the SC BCC voted 6-3 in favor of keeping various life safety provisions, including the home fire sprinkler requirement, in the adoption of the residential construction code. In addition to proposing the removal of the home fire sprinkler requirement the SC Home Builders Association (HBA) submitted code modifications that severely reduced other key safety provisions including: Removal of the self closing device from 20 minute fire rated doors – The opening…
2. Fire chief to speak at sprinkler summit – The chief of the Madison fire department is making a push to get more people to install fire sprinklers in their homes. Fire Chief Steve Davis will be speaking at a daylong summit in Madison Thursday to talk about the benefits of such sprinklers.
3. Fire Sprinklers Could be Required in New Homes In South Carolina – Another room, of the same size and with similar furniture, had a fire sprinkler . Ten seconds after the firefighter set the curtain on fire, the sprinkler went off and put out the flames, before they touched any of the furniture.
4. Home Fire Sprinkler PSAs Dispel Hollywood Movie Myths – The Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition (HFSC) introduces three new public service announcements (PSAs) and corresponding print advertisements for use by the fire service to help dispel fire sprinkler myths fueled by movies.
5. Frostburg mandates sprinklers
6. Sprinkler Association donates trailer to fire marshal –  Jerry Ickes with the Harris County Fire Marshal’s Office accepts the keys and title to the residential fire sprinkler trailer from Executive Director Carol McCain with the Texas Fire Sprinkler Contractors Association.
7. Decision on fire sprinkler mandate could take months

Wildland Fire Safety

1. Fire department says dead plants are fire hazard for homeowners
2. Common sense in Utah’s fire prone wildlands – Teresa Rigby, a fire-prevention guru for the US Bureau of Land Management, pointed out “there are a lot of ways to start fires” and, apparently, people are already doing so. For instance, fire scorched around two square miles of sage and grass just …

Safety tips and reminders

1. Consumer Reports warns parents about novelty lighters – Every year fires caused by lighters kill dozens of people, and most of the victims are children. Consumer Reports warns about some newer lighters that are especially enticing to kids. “I wanted to know how a lighter worked, …
2. Holiday fire safety – Cook-outs and campfires will be a part of many people’s Memorial Day holiday weekend celebrations. But, officials are urging everyone to do so safely. On Memorial Day weekend last year, the Texas Forest Service and local fire departments responded to …
3. Tools to keep your family safe during a fire – Cpt. Hall said he teaches fire prevention almost daily to area school kids and he stresses the need for students to remind parents to keep their escape plan up to date. “If you can stay calm and know your surroundings and stay alert, you have a much …
4. Don’t compromise your family’s fire safety – Las Vegas – Most people have experienced the shriek of a smoke alarm when cooking a meal or stepping out of a steamy shower, when there is no hazard present. The instant reaction is to find a way to silence the alarm. Unfortunately, some people may …
5. Grill safety tips –  COLUMBUS, Ohio – As Ohioans prepare for the start of summer this Memorial Day weekend, State Fire Marshal Larry Flowers encourages added safety precautions when it comes to outdoor grills and barbecues. Flowers says grills accounted for 82 ..
6. Tennessee State Fire Marshal Reminds Residents that Only Licensed …  Nashville, TN – To ensure that summer holidays and events are celebrated safely, the State Fire Marshal’s Office wants to remind Tennesseans of legislation passed last year concerning sky lanterns.
7. Fireworks Safety this Memorial Day –  The Indiana State Fire Marshal’s Office is reminding people to be extra careful when setting off fireworks this holiday weekend. Many parts of Indiana are experiencing abnormally hot and dry conditions which can increase the …
8. Tools to keep your family safe during a fire –  “We talk to 3rd graders all the time and tell them they need two things to escape a fire ,” said Capt. Wes Hall of the Amarillo Fire Department. “A warning and a plan. the warning is the smoke alarm and the plan is going to be a fire safety plan they …

Other Safety News

1. Chrysler Recalls 68000 Jeep Wranglers for Potential Fire Hazard – Chrysler announced it would recall almost 68000 Jeep Wranglers from the 2010 model year equipped with automatic transmissions because of a fire hazard , according to a report the automaker filed with the National Highway Traffic ..
2. Fire officials say play it safe while taking your vacation – Tennessee State Fire Marshal Gary West recently sent a press release advising families to exercise vigilance when hanging their hats in their “home away from home.” • Choose a hotel that is equipped with both smoke alarms and fire sprinklers – these often are …
3. Sherwin Williams Fire: 25 years later – The raging inferno at the Dayton Sherwin Williams warehouse 25 years ago isn’t remembered just for what happened, but what didn’t happen and how it may have rescued the city from an even bigger disaster. “He may be the only fire chief on the planet who …
4. Bike the safe way
5. KVFD’s Tracy receives state fire prevention award – Ken Tracy, administrator of the Kearney Volunteer Fire Department, has been honored for his fire prevention work. The Outstanding Leader award is given to a member of the Nebraska State Volunteer Firefighters Association for promoting fire …
6. Officials Tout Importance of USFA Re-Authorization

Smoke Alarm Saves

1. Smoke detectors alert woman to fire in her garage – LARGO, FL – Just before 1 am Friday morning, a Largo woman was awakened by the sounds of her smoke detector as a fire ..
2. Mobile Home Owner Escapes Fire In Kenmore Due to the early notification of the smoke alarm and the quick actions of the homeowner, the Northshore firefighters were able to contain and extinguish the fire
3. Father, 2-year-old son escape house fire in Mitchell – Sioux Fall
4. Smoke Detector Rouses Couple From Sleep During Fire –  The Fire Department said the fire caused $8000 worth of damage. Had the couple not had a working smoke detector which roused them from their sleep, the fire could have proved deadly–a reminder just how important having that piece of equipment inside …

Sprinkler Saves

1. Sprinkler puts out cooking fire on far west side – An apartment on Madison’s far west side suffered minimal fire damage Monday night, thanks to a sprinkler system. The fire was reported at 6:35 pm in an apartment building at 1024 N. High Point Road, according to a news release from the Madison Fire …
2. Sprinklers put out fire at Clearwater’s Morton Plant Hospital –  A small fire broke out at Morton Plant Hospital, forcing 17 patients to be relocated, according to Clearwater Fire and Rescue. Firefighters were called to the hospital’s fourth floor at 8:16 am, but the sprinkler system had already …

Fire Prevention News: International

1. Milton Keynes Fire Chief Renews Calls For Sprinklers In New Homes – Buckinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service’s Chief Fire Officer, Mark Jones, has renewed the call for sprinklers to be fitted in new homes as they are built. He is urging people to sign an online petition, which could be debated in Parliament if it receives ..
2. Windsor fire department pushing sprinkler systems – Windsor Fire and Rescue and the Canadian Automatic Sprinkler Association have teamed up to educate people on the value of home sprinkler systems. The two organizations say they increase safety
3. Ontario under pressure to have sprinklers in all seniors’ homes –It’s the fourth inquest since 1980, when 25 seniors perished in a Mississauga home, said Jim Jessop, chairman of the association’s fire prevention committee. Jessop, who fought another fatal blaze five years ago in Niagara Falls, said he can’t believe … Ontario under pressure to have sprinklers in all seniors’ homes after fire .