Carbon Monoxide Safety Tips

WASHINGTON - DC Fire Chief Kenneth Ellerbe joined us with carbon monoxide safety tips.

Often called the silent killer, carbon monoxide is an invisible, odorless, colorless gas created when fuels (such as gasoline, wood, coal, natural gas, propane, oil, and methane) burn incompletely. In the home, heating and cooking equipment that burn fuel can be sources of carbon monoxide.

Carbon Monoxide Safety Tips from the National Fire Protection Association:

CO alarms should be installed in a central location outside each sleeping area and on every level of the home and in other locations where required by applicable laws, codes or standards. For the best protection, interconnect all CO alarms throughout the home. When one sounds, they all sound. 

Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for placement and mounting height. 

Choose a CO alarm that has the label of a recognized testing laboratory. 

Call your local fire department’s non-emergency number to find out what number to call if the CO alarm sounds. 

Test CO alarms at least once a month; replace them according to the manufacturer’s instructions. 

If the audible trouble signal sounds, check for low batteries. If the battery is low, replace it. If it still sounds, call the fire department. 

If the CO alarm sounds, immediately move to a fresh air location outdoors or by an open window or door. Make sure everyone inside the home is accounted for. Call for help from a fresh air location and stay there until emergency personnel. 

If you need to warm a vehicle, remove it from the garage immediately after starting it. Do not run a vehicle or other fueled engine or motor indoors, even if garage doors are open. Make sure the exhaust pipe of a running vehicle is not covered with snow. 

During and after a snowstorm, make sure vents for the dryer, furnace, stove, and fireplace are clear of snow build-up. 

A generator should be used in a well-ventilated location outdoors away from windows, doors and vent openings. 

Gas or charcoal grills can produce CO — only use outside.

Read more: http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpp/news/dc/carbon-monoxide-safety-tips-from-dc-fire-chief-kenneth-ellerbe-100311#ixzz1Zw9zvTK4

Ignoring fire alarms raises concern

Centennial Hall residents have evacuated for a reported six fire alarms since move-in day. We've been in school for less than 30 days, resulting in an average of one fire alarm every six days at Centennial Hall.

Kody Sexton, a freshman who lives on the third floor of Centennial, said navigating the stairs with approximately 650 residents at 3 a.m. is difficult.

"It's such an inconvenience," Sexton said. "We're already staying up late to do homework. Losing more sleep for no reason is ridiculous."

Steve Syoen, Centennial Hall director, disagrees. There is a specific reason for each alarm, Syoen said.

"Something - usually a personal product - causes the alarms," Syoen said. "The detector is picking up something and it won't take the chance that there's not a fire. That's to keep students safe."

Safety is the main concern, Syoen said. He fears residents are becoming too passive after so many evacuations this fall.

"Make sure you leave every time," Syoen said. "Every time there is an underlying possibility that it's a real fire."

Residence halls elsewhere in the United States have caught fire before and have been deadly. Boland Hall - a freshmen hall on Seton Hall University's campus in New Jersey - went up in flames at 4:30 a.m. on January 19, 2000. Three students were killed and 58 students and firefighters were injured, according to NJ.com, a New Jersey news hub. Police said they were victims because they ignored the fire alarms, according to NJ.com.

"Nobody wants to get up at 3 a.m. or when it's 10 degrees outside," Syoen said. "But it's not worth the alternative."

John Curlis, University fire safety inspector, agrees with Syoen that safety should come before anything else.

"Fires multiply quickly," Curlis said. "They grow by doubling. And the smoke inhalation can kill. That's why we need you to take alarms seriously."

In addition to putting your life at risk, Syoen said students may get in trouble if you are discovered ignoring the alarm.

"There is no predefined sanction for this," Syoen said. "But ignoring the alarm is a policy violation. You would be referred to the student conduct system."

All detectors are fully functional and sensitive, Curlis said.

"There is a small photoelectric beam of light inside of the smoke detector," Curlis said. "That beam detects smoke. Sometimes even something like a small spider gets in there and crosses the beam. We've had problems with that before."

Two types of detectors are installed throughout the residence halls on campus. Some are sensitive to smoke and others are sensitive to heat.

"Obviously we try not to put the smoke sensitive ones in places with a lot of smoke - same with the heat ones with heat," Curlis said. "But both types can detect a bit of everything."

No matter how sensitive, students sometimes still set off the alarms mostly with personal products, Syoen said.

"Girls and guys contribute equally to this issue," Syoen said. "It can be anything from a hair straightener on a robe to excessive use of Axe body spray. The detectors read them the same way."

Some of the more common issues causing alarms to go off include students not cooking food correctly, such as popcorn or macaroni and cheese.

"Honestly, if you don't know how to add water to Easy Mac, why are you in college?" Sexton said. "Come on, it's a basic survival skill."

Smoke alarms save family of 10

DALLAS BAY, HAMILTON COUNTY (WRCB) - Dallas Bay volunteer firefighters say smoke alarms saved a family of ten from a house fire.

According to Hamilton County Emergency Services, a house fire was reported at 5:25 a.m. on Sterling Road.

Homeowner Frank Crawford told fire investigators his grandson awoke to flames crawling up the wall of his bedroom.

Dallas Bay VFD Chief Marcus Fritts says "the smoke alarms saved their lives."

"I just installed those smoke alarms in my house last week! I can't imagine what the outcome could have been without the smoke alarms," Crawford says.

Crawford says he briefly tried to fight the fire with a hose, before calling 911.

Chief Fritts says a box fan caught fire in the bedroom and quickly spread to the nearby curtains.

The flames were contained to one room. The damages are estimated at $10,000, but officials say the family home was insured.

No injuries were reported.

"Those firefighters were here so fast!" Crawford adds. "I really appreciate all their help."

Smoke Alarms can be lifesavers

As I search the stories from around the country, there are some that bring out great lessons for us all. One such story has to do with smoke alarms and the state of Iowa. It has to do with how working smoke alarms saved 12 lives in less than three hours.

The first fie involved a mother and four young children who were at home and sleeping at the time of the fire. The fire started in the kitchen of the home. While the fire is still under investigation, many of these fires start when cooking has begun and then forgotten about and left unattended. Eventually, a fire breaks out, which can easily spread through kitchen cupboards and nearby combustibles. The family was awakened by the sound of their smoke alarm, which responded to the smoke from the fire. Everyone made it out of the home safely and met outside.

Just two hours later, another report of smoke in a house with smoke alarms sounding was called in to the local emergency dispatch center. Upon arrival of the fire department, there was heavy, black smoke coming out of the front door. Firefighters geared up and entered the home and descended into the basement where the fire was raging out of control. The fire started in the clothes dryer. Often, when lint is not cleaned from the dryer, it can build up and the heat from the dryer can catch the lint on fire. This type of fire can then spread to clothing and surrounding combustibles. This family was awakened by the sound of the smoke alarms. They awoke and smelled the smoke and took action to exit the home. The mother and her children left the house quickly and without injury. Another seven lives were saved by working smoke alarms.

While this is unusual to have two fires of this size in just a few hours of each other that lead to lives saved, the stories are factual. Smoke alarms do save lives. It is important that we have working smoke alarms on every level of the home, especially in or near sleeping areas. These smoke alarms need to be tested monthly and the batteries changed at least once a year. They should be installed on the ceiling or high on a wall, where heat and smoke collect before banking downward.

But smoke alarms are one piece of the home fire safety plan. There are many more things that can be done to reduce your risk of fire and prepare you to escape quickly if a fire breaks out. Plan on how you would leave your home if a fire breaks out. If the doors were blocked by flames, does everyone know how to unlock and open the windows in the home and push the screen out to exit? Make sure those people who sleep upstairs know how to get down if the stairs are blocked. A window may lead to an outside lower roof, such as a garage. If not, portable escape ladders are inexpensive and can easily store under the bed until needed.

Take a few minutes and check your smoke alarms. Bring the family along. Then discuss the family escape plan, including an outside meeting place. You'll be safer for it.

'I want to see people build past minimum (code) standards': Mike Holmes

BY MIKE HOLMES, POSTMEDIA NEWS

Anyone who knows me knows I talk an awful lot about building code. The code is a minimum acceptable standard for the construction of a building. It’s also a living, changing document that is adapted every few years to ensure it keeps up with major changes to the ways buildings are built and the materials that builders use in construction.

Last November, the Canadian Commission on Building and Fire Codes (a group that is part of the National Research Council) published its latest update to the National Model Construction Code, a document that brings together the National Fire Code of Canada, the National Plumbing Code of Canada, and the National Building Code. The new national model construction code contains nearly 800 changes that are designed to bring the code up to speed with technological advances and major health and safety concerns. The changes cover a massive range of applications, from changes to structural design so that buildings can withstand earthquakes and accommodate wind loads, to ventilation, heating and air-conditioning changes that specify acceptable new levels of toxins such as ozone and carbon monoxide.

Chances are, unless you’re a builder, most of the code changes won’t affect you. But there are a few big changes in the 2010 edition of the code that every homeowner should know about.

FIRE BREAKS

We’ve all heard stories and seen news reports of fires that break out in homes are under construction. When a home has just been framed and is waiting for the finishing trades to come in, it’s most vulnerable to fire. Usually, if one house under construction catches on fire, it doesn’t take long for the fire to spread to the other neighbouring units.

The new code sets new standards for construction that should restrict the spread of fires between homes under construction. It says that builders may need to increase the distances between neighbouring homes if fire departments are unable to respond to potential fires within 10 minutes, if the exterior materials used in construction are flammable, and if the total area of unprotected openings — such as windows or doors — on the side of any house that faces the property line exceeds a given square footage.

SMOKE DETECTORS

The new codes also change the rules for smoke detectors. It used to be that a battery-operated smoke detector or two was all a house needed. However, people weren’t changing the batteries in their smoke detectors, so the units became useless quickly. In 2005, the codes stated that all smoke alarms had to be hardwired, but people would silence those alarms by disconnecting the power wires. If they forgot to re-attach the wires later, those detectors also became useless (they were also useless in the event of a power failure — when the risk of a house fire is greatest because people use candles, fireplaces and propane gas stoves). The 2010 codes say that not only must a smoke detector be hardwired, but it must also feature a hush button and a nine-volt battery backup that kicks in during power failures. The codes also require smoke detectors in every sleeping room and adjoining hallways.

Notifier Fire Alarms Seismic-Certified and In-Use

NOTIFIER Fire Systems
12 Clintonville Rd., MS 400
Northford, CT, 06472, USA
Press release date: June 22, 2011
California Hospital Receives Seismic-Certified Fire Alarm Transplant

NORTHFORD, Conn - NOTIFIER by Honeywell (NYSE: HON) has earned International Building Code (IBC) seismic certification on its entire portfolio of fire alarm and emergency communications systems. All conventional and addressable fire alarm control panels, digital voice command systems and networking components, including NOTIFIER's ONYX FirstVision(TM) touch screen display for first responder scene assessment, passed a series of lengthy shake tests performed by a Certified Seismic Qualification Agency.

Many areas throughout the U.S. require seismic-certified fire alarm systems to protect "essential facilities," such as hospitals, police and fire stations, airports and public utilities. Aileen Laforga, systems engineer for Signawest Systems, Inc., a NOTIFIER Engineered Systems Distributor in Newark, Calif., says seismic certification is quickly becoming a standard requirement for more and more types of facilities.

"Right now in our area, if you have any type of electrical panel that's more than 20 pounds, seismic certification is required," exclaims Laforga.

In a recent fire alarm renovation of Saint Rose Hospital in Hayward, Calif., Laforga and the Signawest team received news of the NOTIFIER panels' IBC seismic listing just in time.

"To accommodate the hospital's expansion of its fifth floor patient rooms, we needed to upgrade the system with a NOTIFIER NFS2-3030 panel, but it had to be seismic-certified," explains Laforga. "No other system could accommodate the size of this facility, which includes administrative offices, an ER and pharmacy. So news of this certification was very timely."

"This seismic standard is fairly new to the fire alarm industry, but given the recent seismic events here and around the world, we anticipate requirements for this certification becoming more common and widespread," exclaims Dan Corbett, NOTIFIER product manager.

Visit www.notifier.com for more technical information, including certifications, data sheets and product drawings for NOTIFIER's fire alarm and emergency communications systems. For product demonstrations or an engineering Lunch-N-Learn, contact a local sales manager.

Notifier, part of the Honeywell (NYSE: HON) Fire Systems group, is one of the largest manufacturer of engineered fire alarm systems with more than 400 authorized distributors worldwide and regional support operations on every continent. Notifier's extensive fire alarm, life safety and mass notification offerings include standalone, networked and integrated solutions, plus graphic interface monitoring systems for facility managers and first responders. Visitwww.notifier.com for more detailed information.

Honeywell International (www.honeywell.com) is a Fortune 100 diversified technology and manufacturing leader, serving customers worldwide with aerospace products and services; control technologies for buildings, homes and industry; automotive products; turbochargers; and specialty materials. Based in Morris Township, N.J., Honeywell's shares are traded on the New York, London, and Chicago Stock Exchanges. For more news and information on Honeywell, please visit www.honeywellnow.com.

Prior To Fire Alarms, Smoke Detectors Ended Up

Prior to fire alarms, smoke detectors ended up principally the leading indicator for alerting the occupants of the building to a fire. Just before that, only an individual calling the fire department might have resulted in minimal loss of property and existence. At this time fire alarm methods have developed into difficult networks. With a lot more current innovations, fire alarms have enhanced diagnostics which only assist in the reliability of the alarm process.Despite the fact that existing smoke detectors and heads are additional delicate to detecting fires and warmth than systems from even as current as 2005, enhancements are consistently staying created from the enhancement of addressable heads to touch display or touchpad panels. These developments have permitted proprietors, monitoring agencies and fire departments better capacity in responding to true alarms in place of fake alarms.An addressable head can be a latest advancement in fire detection and finding. Prior to addressable heads, fire alarm panels would merely display the basic place in the fire by identifying a generic zone. For compact enterprise entrepreneurs with only some thousand ft of room, this might be satisfactory, on the other hand, to get a greater area this kind of as a storage facility, school, assisted living or hospital facility, this can literally be a lifestyle saver.There are many other components out there to a industrial facility. Indicator appliances, a part of lots of fire alarm systems, guide identify irrespective of whether a developing is occupied. Quite a few occasions this unique characteristic can be useful, especially within a school or assisted living facility. Electromagnetic doorway holders might be extremely helpful with regards to securing or isolating sections of a making, therefore slowing the advance of the fire. The way in which an electromagnetic doorway holder functions is when an alarm is activated, the electromagnetic make contact with holding the door open is de-energized, which in turn brings about the doorway to swing freely shut. A lot of alarms panels can be found with touch panels or touchpad screens. By simplifying the person interface on this method, it will allow corporations to train their staff for the use and comprehension of the fire alarm and safety programs swiftly and effectively.Each and every industrial small business or institution could advantage from investing in a very new fire alarm manage process or updating the existing alarm program. At a bare minimum, an inspection requirements to be done each year. In many circumstances distinct industries, these as eating places or foods relevant services, hospitals and colleges are commonly required by law to have an inspection performed more usually. As well as an inspection, fire suppression methods are also essential to become inspected. Although the components and fittings of the fire suppression program might not happen to be activated, the elements do receive use and tear in certain problems and have to be adjusted periodically.