This years California Wildland Fire Season is nearing its end. This past fire season has been an ugly and deadly one. But here in Sacramento we are entering our "Urban Fire Season". What I mean by that is this is the time of year where we start seeing more structure fires and unfortunately this is usually the time of year that we experience our fire deaths.
More people are spending their time indoors for obvious reasons. With that we have fires that are caused by defective heating equipment, fireplaces, candles, cooking, and the all too common, "smoking". Now is the perfect time to go through and check the safety of your home. It's is also a very good time to sit down with your family and talk about fire safety and go over and practice a fire escape plan. Never think that fire cannot happen to you. It can and it is devastating.
In Sacramento we have twice as many fire deaths as compared to any similar sized city in California. The public needs to be proactive and make sure that they do not live or work in a fire trap. There are many resources available to the public regarding fire safety. Visit our website at www.sacfire.org to get more tips. Stop by any of our fire houses and talk with the Firefighters there. They will gladly give you some sound advice.
Probably the most important tool that you can have to help prevent fire deaths is a simple smoke detector. Smoke detectors have demonstrated time and time again that they do save lives. They do not prevent fires, but they give you warning and the time to safely escape your home in the event of fire. I can honestly say that in my 29 years as a Firefighter, I have never been on a home fire that has had a working smoke detector and someone there has died. It rarely ever happens, and if it does there is usually some other factor involved, like alcohol or drug use affecting the persons ability to safely escape.
With the change of the clocks this weekend, now is the perfect time to change the batteries in all of your smoke detectors. Only use brand new fresh batteries. Statistics have shown that over 90% of the homes in the U.S. have smoke detectors. That's the good news. The bad news is that in over 25% of the homes with detectors, the detectors do not work. Usually this is due to "dead batteries". It is a good idea to replace your smoke detectors after 10 years. They start to lose their effectiveness around then.
Please do not become a grim statistic. Make sure you and your loved ones are protected. And make sure you have working detectors in your home, preferably in every bedroom of the house. Please feel free to give me a call or drop me a note. The Sacramento Fire Department is here to serve.
Captain Jim Doucette, Public Information Officer
Sacramento Fire Department