The lessons they learn in school need to be practiced at home with all family members. The place for a safe family meeting spot to go to should be decided on now and practiced so the children will know what to do in the event of an actual fire in the home. These drills involving their own home are critical to making a lasting lesson that may make the difference in the event of a real emergency.

Another big "to do" concerns smoke alarms. If you don’t already have some smoke alarms (and statistics say that now 90% of all home have them, but sadly, an estimated 20 percent do not have working alarms!) then please purchase or replace these life saving devices. If you do have them, now is the time of year to check that they are in working condition and to put fresh batteries in your smoke alarms. Many of the home fires where there have been fatalities have smoke alarms but the smoke alarm was non-functioning or did not have good batteries in them.

And last on the “To do” list involves chimneys. Now is the time of year when it is getting cooler and more people will be lighting their wood stoves or fireplaces. Before you light your stove or fireplace, make sure it is clean! Hiring a chimney sweep to come in and clean and check it will give you a much safer and efficient burning stove or fireplace. Remember to only burn dry wood.

A note to parents: You may be interested in exploring the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Web Site for Kids, where you will find some interactive activities for parents and their children to explore together.

For additional information, please contact Whatcom County District #14 at (360) 599-2823.

— Firefighter Daniel

Also see previous safety tips: April 2005 | January 2005 | December 2004

Updated: Oct. 8, 2005