Letter From The Chief of Halesite FD – Working Smoke Alarms Save Lives

Filed under: Around Town,Events,Halesite,Health & Wellness,News |

Dear Neighbors,

Dan McConnell - ChiefWorking smoke alarms can make a life-saving difference in a fire. That’s the message behind this year’s Fire Prevention Week campaign, “Working Smoke Alarms Save Lives: Test Yours Every Month!”

On Sunday October 5th from 3:00-5:00pm, the Halesite Fire Department invites all residents and their families to our annual Fire Prevention Open House to learn about the importance of having working smoke alarms in the home and testing them regularly.

According to the latest NFPA research, working smoke alarms cut the chance of dying in a fire in half. Meanwhile, almost two-thirds of home fire deaths resulted from fires in homes with no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms.

In a fire, seconds count, and roughly half of home fire deaths result from fires reported at night between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. when most people are asleep. Home smoke alarms can alert people to a fire before it spreads, giving everyone enough time to get out.

This year’s Fire Prevention Week campaign includes the following smoke alarm messages:

-Install smoke alarms in every bedroom, outside each separate sleeping area and on every level of the home, including the basement.
-Interconnect all smoke alarms throughout the home. This way, when one sounds, they all do.
-Test alarms at least monthly by pushing the test button.
-Replace all smoke alarms when they are 10 years old or sooner if they don’t respond properly.
-Make sure everyone in the home knows the sound of the smoke alarm and understands what to do when they hear it.

Halesite has arranged for numerous live demonstrations including fire evacuation instructions for adults and children using Suffolk County’s New All Hazards Training Trailer, effective use of extinguishers with live fire, instructions on how to avoid kitchen fires, how to perform hands-only CPR, plus tours of the firehouse, tours of our apparatus and more.

Just as in years past, this year’s open house will be a great time for residents of the community and their children to learn more about fire prevention and to meet some of the men and women who volunteer as firefighters or EMT’s. There will be free refreshments, contests and prizes for the kids and adults.

We hope to see you there!
Sincerely,
Dan McConnell
Chief of the Halesite Fire Department

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