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Newsletter
- Fall 2004
Fire safety in your home
By John Pignatore, RHI, CCI
This past week, a news source reported on a father in Richmond who
had lowered his children to safety from a bedroom window during
a house fire. The early warning came from the smoke detector. The
Richmond father saved his life and his family.
20 fire safety tips :
1. Fire drills should be conducted with your family
2. Create an escape plan and rehearse 4x a year - it only takes
a minute.
3. Plan your escape : Draw a floor plan of your home,
show two ways out of each room.
4. Law requires that a bedroom window be operable and easily opened.
If security rails are installed, they should be equipped with a
quick release. All members of family should be able to release the
lock.
5. Agree on a meeting place, once you are outside, stay out. Never
return back inside a burning building.
6. Close the door behind you as you escape, to slow the spread
of fires and smoke.
7. Always call the fire department from a neighbors house.
8. If you have to escape through smoke, crawl then keeping your
head one to two feet above the floor.
9. Test doors and spaces with the back of your hand. If the door
is warm, try another escape route.
10. If you live in an apartment, practice your building evacuation
plan. If you hear the alarm, leave immediately.
11. Use stairs, never use an elevator during a fire.
12. Know the location of all building exits and fire alarms. If
the exit is blocked, report the problem to your building manager.
13. Smoke alarms save lives. Test your alarm once a month using
"can smoke" or some other form of "light smoke"
producing device.
14. Replace alarm batteries once a year.
15. Replace any alarm that is more than 10 years old.
16. Are your fire extinguishers fully charged and in accessible
locations?
17. Install a smoke detector in all sleeping areas and a carbon
monoxide detector on each floor level.
18. Do not store any flammable items on top of your gas water heater.
19. Do you have adequate electrical circuits for heat producing
appliances?
20. Are space heaters at least 3 feet from walls and anything else
that can burn?
Property
Inspection Specialist
is a full service residential and commercial property inspection
company. We conduct presale and prelisting inspections in the Richmond,
Tricities and surrounding counties.
For additional information on mold or any other areas of home maintenance
concern, contact us via phone, fax, or email :
804-270-6429 work
804-270-4491 fax
john@inspectionrealestate.com
wechk4u@comcast.net
Abbreviation Key
RHI = Registered House Inspector
CCI = Certified Construction Inspector
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