Fairfax Volunteer Fire Department

The Fairfax Volunteer Firemen include, from left to right: front row – John Brown, Archie Agnew (Fleet Manager), and Trevor Brown (Treasurer); and back row – Cody Helfers (2nd Assistant), Rick Kemerling, Benny Stark (President), Brandon Reed (Secretary), Ky White, Matt Auwarter (Vice-President), Cole Simmons, T.J. Giddinge, Erica Auwarter, and Austin Helfers. Not pictured are Steve Stevens, Dee Duering (Chief), Brett Johnson (Assistant Chief), Miles Smith, Tyler Brown, Dru Oswald, and Mike Lewis.

 

Tarkio Volunteer Fire Department

The Tarkio Volunteer Firemen include, from left to right, Dakota Wooten, Keaton Shaw (Chief), Mike Shaw (2nd Assistant Chief), Ryan Sutter, Allen Wennihan (1st Assistant Chief), Shane Bredensteiner, Charlie Bolin, and Brett Reeves. Not pictured are Danny McCoy, John Driskell, Charlie Kirwan, Tommy Dow, Craig Vance, Deaven Tunnell, Raymond Gebhards, Jr., Kevin Sundermann, Nic Schebaum, Tim Scott, Anden Wright, and Heith Shaw.

 

Westboro Volunteer Fire Department

The Westboro Volunteer Firemen include, from left to right: front row – Chris Stevens (Assistant Chief), Jeff Hall, Bryan Richards, Gary Bogenreif (Treasurer), Jason Leseberg, and Alan McNaughton (Board Member); and back row – Norbert Henry, Ronnie Bruce (Chief), Mark Manchester (Secretary), Slade McNaughton, Jeff Williams, Jim Quimby, Bobby Vette (Board Member), and Shannon Wiley. Not pictured are Spencer Barnes, Clint Hogue, Shelby McNaughton, Shane McNaughton, Brian Peregrine, Justin Riggins, Mike Rolf, and John Strauch (Board Member).

 

Rock Port Volunteer Fire Department

The Rock Port Volunteer Fire Department and West Atchison Fire Protection District include firemen, from left to right, W.C. Farmer, Mark Bennington, Drake Daugherty, Chad Ottmann (1st Assistant), Trent Shineman (2nd Assistant), Dan Athen, Alan Lager, Chad Schomburg, Eric Abbott, Jacob McKenney, Stephen Schniedermeyer, Scott Jones (Chief), Greg Groff, and Jason Watkins (Secretary/Treasurer). Not pictured are Mike Daugherty, Kyle Driskell, Treyton Lewis, Kory Paris, Jeremy Sloop, and Dillon Smith.

 

Watson Volunteer Fire Department

The Watson Volunteer Fire Department includes firemen, from left to right, Tom Robinson, Trey Garst, Cody Gibson, Jody Ellison (Assistant Chief), Chance Esser, Rod Meinders, Tom Gibson, Jr. (Chief), Seth Gaines (Secretary/Treasurer), and Tim Whelan. Not pictured are Jacob Gibson, D.J. Thompson, and Matt Gibson.

 

One of the simplest steps Missourians can take to protect their families is to install smoke alarms in their homes. Installing smoke alarms reduces the risk of dying in a home fire by more than 50%. That’s why this year’s theme for Fire Prevention Week is “Smoke alarms: Make them work for you!”

“About three of every five home fire deaths occur in residences without working smoke alarms,” State Fire Marshal Tim Bean said. “We cannot emphasize enough the importance of having working smoke alarms in your home. Many Missouri fire departments, working with the American Red Cross, can even provide and install smoke alarms for families at no cost. Families in need of assistance should contact the American Red Cross of Missouri.”

To request a free American Red Cross Home Fire Safety Visit and smoke alarms, visit https://www.redcross.org/local/missouri/about-us/our-work/home-fire-campaign/smoke-alarm-request.html

A report this year from the National Fire Protection Association showed that while in 1977 less than one-quarter of U.S. households had smoke alarms, it’s now estimated that over 90% of homes have at least one smoke alarm. But it is essential that smoke alarms are regularly tested and batteries are replaced so that they remain in working order.

• Install smoke alarms in every bedroom, outside each separate sleeping area (like a hallway), and on each level (including the basement) of the home;

• Test smoke alarms at least once a month by pushing the test button;

• The end of daylight saving time, when clocks are adjusted to “fall back” an hour, can serve as an easy reminder to change smoke and CO alarm batteries once a year. This year, daylight saving time ends at 2:00 a.m. Sunday, November 3, 2024. Remember, when you change the time, change the batteries.

• Replace all smoke alarms when they are 10 years old;

• Make sure smoke alarms meet the needs of all family members, including those with sensory or physical disabilities.

Smoke alarms provide precious time to escape a burning home. Each family member should know escape routes from every room in a residence. Families should also regularly practice their fire escape plans.

Home fire escape planning

Your ability to get out of your home during a fire depends on advance warning from smoke alarms and advance planning. Fire can spread rapidly through your home, leaving you as little as one or two minutes to escape safely once the smoke alarm sounds.

A closed door may slow the spread of smoke, heat and fire. Install smoke alarms in every sleeping room and outside each separate sleeping area. Install alarms on every level of the home. Pull together everyone in your household and make a plan. Walk through your home and inspect all possible exits and escape routes. Households with children should consider drawing a floor plan of your home, marking two ways out of each room, including windows and doors.

Escape Planning Tips

Pull together everyone in your household and make a plan. Walk through your home and inspect all possible exits and escape routes.  Households with children should consider drawing a floor plan of your home, marking two ways out of each room, including windows and doors. Also, mark the location of each smoke alarm.

A closed door may slow the spread of smoke, heat and fire. Install smoke alarms in every sleeping room, outside each sleeping area and on every level of the home. NFPA 72, National Fire Alarm Code® requires interconnected smoke alarms throughout the home. When one sounds, they all sound.

When you walk through your plan, check to make sure the escape routes are clear and doors and windows can be opened easily.

Choose an outside meeting place (i.e. neighbor’s house, a light post, mailbox, or stop sign) a safe distance in front of your home where everyone can meet after they’ve escaped. Make sure to mark the location of the meeting place on your escape plan.

Go outside to see if your street number is clearly visible from the road. If not, paint it on the curb or install house numbers to ensure that responding emergency personnel can find your home.

Have everyone memorize the emergency phone number of the fire department. That way any member of the household can call from a neighbor’s home or a cellular phone once safely outside.

If there are infants, older adults, or family members with mobility limitations, make sure that someone is assigned to assist them in the fire drill and in the event of an emergency. Assign a backup person too, in case the designee is not home during the emergency

If windows or doors in your home have security bars, make sure that the bars have emergency release devices inside so that they can be opened immediately in an emergency. Emergency release devices won’t compromise your security – but they will increase your chances of safely escaping a home fire.

Tell guests or visitors to your home about your family’s fire escape plan. When staying overnight at other people’s homes, ask about their escape plan. If they don’t have a plan in place, offer to help them make one. This is especially important when children are permitted to attend “sleepovers” at friends’ homes.

Be fully prepared for a real fire: when a smoke alarm sounds, get out immediately. Residents of high-rise and apartment buildings may be safer “defending in place.”

Once you’re out, stay out! Under no circumstances should you ever go back into a burning building. If someone is missing, inform the fire department dispatcher when you call. Firefighters have the skills and equipment to perform rescues.

Put your plan to the test

Practice your home fire escape plan twice a year, making the drill as realistic as possible.

Make arrangements in your plan for anyone in your home who has a disability.

Allow children to master fire escape planning and practice before holding a fire drill at night when they are sleeping. The objective is to practice, not to frighten, so telling children there will be a drill before they go to bed can be as effective as a surprise drill.

It’s important to determine during the drill whether children and others can readily waken to the sound of the smoke alarm. If they fail to awaken, make sure that someone is assigned to wake them up as part of the drill and in a real emergency situation.

If your home has two floors, every family member (including children) must be able to escape from the second floor rooms. Escape ladders can be placed in or near windows to provide an additional escape route. Review the manufacturer’s instructions carefully so you’ll be able to use a safety ladder in an emergency. Practice setting up the ladder from a first floor window to make sure you can do it correctly and quickly. Children should only practice with a grown-up, and only from a first-story window. Store the ladder near the window, in an easily accessible location. You don’t want to have to search for it during a fire.

Always choose the escape route that is safest – the one with the least amount of smoke and heat – but be prepared to escape under toxic smoke if necessary. When you do your fire drill, everyone in the family should practice getting low and going under the smoke to your exit.

Closing doors on your way out slows the spread of fire, giving you more time to safely escape.

In some cases, smoke or fire may prevent you from exiting your home or apartment building. To prepare for an emergency like this, practice “sealing yourself in for safety” as part of your home fire escape plan. Close all doors between you and the fire. Use duct tape or towels to seal the door cracks and cover air vents to keep smoke from coming in. If possible, open your windows at the top and bottom so fresh air can get in. Call the fire department to report your exact location. Wave a flashlight or light-colored cloth at the window to let the fire department know where you are located.

Clear your escape routes

Items that block doors and windows in your home could keep you from escaping in the event of a home fire. And that could mean the difference between life and death. So unblock your exits today! Key to your family’s safety is planning and practicing a home fire escape plan twice a year. Start by identifying two escape routes out of each room, if possible, then make sure that each of those escape routes can be used safely by everyone.

SOURCE: www.nfpa.org