Courtesy Photo | Fire Prevention Week is Oct. 6-12. The theme of the 2024 campaign is “Smoke alarms:...... read more read more
ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, Tenn. – The theme of Fire Prevention Week 2024 is “Smoke alarms: Make them work for you,” an appeal the National Fire Protection Association believes can be met with three actions – install, test and replace.
Team members in the Arnold Air Force Base Fire and Emergency Services Fire Prevention Office are doing their part to reinforce this call to action and spread the message to as many people as possible.
“We know that smoke alarms are your first line of defense in notifying occupants that something is going on in your building, in your home, in your facility,” said Arnold FES Fire Prevention Officer Christian Lyle. “A lot of times, people just kind of disregard them, but we definitely want to put an emphasis on smoke alarms. It can definitely be a lifesaving difference.”
This year, Fire Prevention Week is Oct. 6-12. The annual event, which has been sponsored by the NFPA for more than a century, is the longest-running public health observance in the U.S. The goal of Fire Prevention Week is to raise fire safety awareness and provide public education to reduce fire-related casualties.
According to the latest “Smoke Alarms in the U.S” report from the NFPA, working smoke alarms reduce the risk of dying in a home fire by around 60%, while the majority of civilian home fire deaths occur in homes with no smoke alarms or no working alarms.
“So that just emphasizes the importance of having a working, functioning smoke alarm,” Lyle said.
A survey recently published by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, conducted in coordination with the Fire Protection Research Foundation and the National Institute for Safety and Technology, found that while 99% of U.S. households report having at least one smoke alarm, around 61% of households test their smoke alarms less frequently than the once per month recommended. One-third of those surveyed said they never test their smoke alarms.
It is strongly recommended by both the NFPA and Arnold FES officials that smoke alarms be tested monthly by pressing the test button on the device. Each detector in the home should be tested at least once per month. Lyle suggested that homeowners set a reminder on their phones to receive notification when it is time to test the alarms.
The recent CPSC survey showed that a considerable percentage of households have inaccurate perceptions about the age, functionality and maintenance requirements of their smoke alarms, according to an NFPA press release. Nearly 1 in 5 households believed all alarms in the home would be working but had at least one functionality issue when tested. Such issues included dead batteries. Only around half of those surveyed were always accurate about the age of their alarms.
This, Lyle said, drives home the importance of changing out the batteries in alarms. It is recommended that alarm batteries be replaced twice a year. Lyle said a good reminder is when the time changes in both the spring and fall as batteries can be replaced to coincide with each occurrence.
Arnold FES Fire Inspector Guy Chastain said people should be cognizant of the type of alarms they purchase or already have installed in their homes, as many smoke alarms now come with a 10-year battery. This information should be specified on the product. A 10-year battery eliminates the need for regular battery changes as, regardless of whether the batteries in the alarm should be changed twice yearly, it is recommended that the detectors themselves be replaced every 10 years. Chastain said the manufacture date can be found on the back of the alarm.
However, a longer battery life does not eliminate the need for regular device testing.
Chastain added that ensuring people install smoke alarms in the proper locations is a key component in making smoke alarms work for them.
“They need to be installed in every bedroom in your home then outside of every sleeping area, such as a hallway, and then on every level of the home,” he said. “If you have a multistory home, you want them on every floor to include a basement.”
The NFPA also recommends that smoke alarms in the home meet the needs of all family members, including those with sensory or physical disabilities.
Chastain said smoke inhalation is the primary cause of fire-related deaths, not the fire itself. If smoke alarms are not working, residents can quickly be overcome by smoke. This, he added, is particularly dangerous if a fire breaks out while those in the home are asleep.
“It’s really important, especially when you look at the statistics on how much of a difference it makes on whether people get out of a fire alive or not,” Chastain said.
Those who hear an alarm while at home or work, unless advised that the systems are being tested, are urged to take the situation seriously and evacuate the building. Once out, the local fire department can be contacted to check the property for the source of any smoke.
“I can’t emphasize that enough,” Chastain said. “When people hear alarms and they haven’t been told in advance that it’s a test, they need to react like it’s the real thing and evacuate.”
Along with the Fire Prevention Week message, Arnold FES officials also wished to share some information on what is often the first piece in emergency response – the call to 911.
In 2020, the Arnold AFB Emergency Communications Center was Emergency Medical Dispatch certified through the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials. With this, base dispatchers began using guide cards developed during the EMD implementation process. The cards feature a series of Arnold-specific questions to be asked by dispatchers in order to guide emergency response.
“In an emergency, there’s a time warp. Seconds feel like minutes. Minutes feel like hours. It’s a common occurrence. It’s scientifically proven,” said Arnold AFB ECC Coordinator Ginger Clanton. “It is a cognitive reality for people, so if they are hearing the series of questions, they may think that the response is being delayed. Our goal is to let everybody realize it’s not delaying the response at all.”
Contrary to what some may feel, Clanton said, the series of questions asked by dispatchers can help to hasten emergency response as these questions allow the dispatcher to properly identify the type of emergency or level of medical need, gather information to be relayed to responding units in response and patient treatment, and obtain information regarding scene safety for patients, bystanders and responding personnel.
These questions help dispatchers ensure that emergency responders are sent to the correct location and the proper crews for the emergency type are dispatched.
Dispatchers can also identify situations requiring pre-arrival medical instructions, such as CPR, airway control, bleeding control and childbirth.
“It could be the person is dealing with a serious blood loss due to an arterial cut, so the dispatchers can say, ‘Okay, we need you to apply a tourniquet,’” Clanton said. “They could be dealing with a heart attack situation, so they can direct the caller to start CPR while the crews are enroute. There have been studies that, with the directions that the dispatchers are giving, the increase of the ability to save that person’s life is substantial compared to a dispatcher who is not able to give those directions.”
Since the EMD instruction began four years ago at Arnold, base ECC call processing times have not increased and have met Department of Defense, Air Force and emergency services standards 99% of the time, exceeding the goal of 90% set by such standards.
“By the time the phone rings, you have 15 seconds by NFPA standards to answer that line,” Clanton said. “You then have 60 seconds to determine this information and process it and get crews responding, so it’s a really fast pace.”
Clanton said even in fire emergencies, the questions asked by dispatchers do not delay response.
“There’s always two operators on duty, so while someone is following through and providing pre-arrival instructions, the other operator is dispatching the response and getting them where they need to go,” Clanton said. “There’s never a time when there’s a lapse.”
Those dialing 911 from a base phone will immediately be connected with a dispatcher in the Arnold AFB ECC. Those calling 911 from a cell phone should notify the dispatcher who answers that the emergency is occurring at Arnold AFB.
For additional information, contact the Arnold FES Fire Prevention Office at 931-454-5569 or 931-454-5306 or visit the National Fire Protection Association Fire Prevention Week website at https://www.nfpa.org/Events/Events/Fire-Prevention-Week.
| Date Taken: | 10.06.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 10.11.2024 09:49 |
| Story ID: | 482659 |
| Location: | ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, TENNESSEE, US |
| Web Views: | 26 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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