The following is taken from The US Fire Administraion Web Page. This is a good model for planning your home fire safety escape route. For more inforamtion you can visit thier web site at www.usfa.fema.gov/campaigns/

In the event of a fire, remember that every second counts, so you and your family must always be prepared. Escape plans help you get out of your home quickly. In less than 30 seconds, a small flame can get completely out of control and turn into a major fire. It only takes minutes for a house to fill with thick black smoke and become engulfed in flames.

Prepare and practice your fire escape plan twice a year with everyone in your household, including children and people with disabilities. It’s also a good idea to practice your plan with overnight guests. Some tips to consider when preparing your escape plan include:

•Draw a map of each level of your home and show all doors and windows. Find two ways to get out of each room. Make sure all doors and windows that lead outside open easily.
•Only purchase collapsible escape ladders evaluated by a recognized testing laboratory, such as Underwriters Laboratory (UL). Use the ladder only in a real emergency.
•Teach children how to escape on their own in case you cannot help them.
•Have a plan for everyone in your home who has a disability.
•Practice your fire escape plan at night and during the daytime.
Security Bars Require Special Precautions
Security bars may help to keep your family safe from intruders, but they can also trap you inside in the event of a deadly fire! Windows and doors with security bars must have quick release devices to allow them to be opened immediately in an emergency. Make sure everyone in the family understands and practices how to properly operate and open locked or barred doors and windows.

Immediately Leave the Home
When a fire occurs, get out fast: you may only have seconds to escape safely. Take the safest exit route, but if you must escape through smoke, remember to crawl low, under the smoke and keep your mouth covered. The smoke contains toxic gases, which can disorient you or, at worst, overcome you.

Never Open Doors that are Hot to the Touch
When you come to a closed door, feel the doorknob and door to make sure that fire is not on the other side. If either is hot, leave the door closed and use your secondary escape route. If the door feels cool, open it slowly. Be ready to shut it quickly if heavy smoke or fire is present.

If you can’t get out, close the door and cover vents and cracks around doors to keep the smoke out. Call 9-1-1 or your local emergency number. Say where you are and signal for help at the window with a light-colored cloth or a flashlight.

Designate a Meeting Place Outside and Take Attendance
Designate a meeting location a safe distance in front of your home. For example, meet under a specific tree or at the end of the driveway or front sidewalk to make sure everyone has gotten out safely and no one will be hurt looking for someone who is already safe. Make sure everyone in your home knows how to call 9-1-1 or your local emergency number and that your house number can be seen day or night from the street.

Once Out, Stay Out
Remember to escape first and then notify the fire department using the 9-1-1 system or proper local emergency number in your area. Never go back into a burning building for any reason. Teach children not to hide from firefighters. If someone is missing, or pets are trapped inside your home, tell the firefighters right away. They are equipped to perform rescues safely.

How Fire-Safe Is Your Home?
You won’t know until you do a fire safety walkthrough.
Conduct a fire safety walkthrough of your home on a regular basis. Use the following tips to help you in your walkthrough:

•Keep clothes, blankets, curtains, towels, and other items that can easily catch on fire at least three feet from space heaters and away from stove burners.
•Place space heaters where they will not tip over easily.
•Have chimneys cleaned and inspected every year by a professional.
•Always use a metal mesh screen with fireplaces and leave glass doors open while burning a fire.
•Never leave cooking unattended.
•Be sure your stove and small appliances are off before going to bed.
•Check for worn wires and do not run cords under rugs or furniture.
•Never overload electrical sockets.
•Keep lighters and matches out of the reach of children.
•Never leave cigarettes unattended and never smoke in bed.
•Make sure cigarettes and ashes are out. The cigarette needs to be completely stubbed out in the ashtray or run under water

Focus on Fire Safety: Smoke Alarms

Every year, approximately 2,600 Americans die in home fires.  Over half of these deaths (52%) occur between the hours of 10:00pm and 7:00am, when residents are typically sleeping. Smoke and toxic gases from a home fire are as deadly as heat and flames.  Just two or three breaths of toxic smoke can render you unconscious.  The majority of fire victims die or are injured from exposure to smoke and toxic gases, such as carbon monoxide, not actual burns.  In addition, smoke obscures vision, decreasing your ability to escape.

Smoke alarms save lives, prevent injuries, and minimize property damage by detecting fires early and alerting residents, allowing crucial time to escape.  The risk of dying from a fire in a home without working smoke alarms is twice as high as in a home that has working smoke alarms.

What types of smoke alarms are available?

There are many different brands of smoke alarms available on the market but they fall under two basic types:  ionization and photoelectric.

• Ionization alarms sound more quickly when a flaming, fast moving fire occurs. 
• Photoelectric alarms are quicker at sensing smoldering, smoky fires. 
• There are also combination (dual sensor) smoke alarms that combine ionization and photoelectric into one unit.

Because both ionization and photoelectric smoke alarms are better at detecting distinctly different yet potentially fatal fires, and because home residents cannot predict what type of fire might start in a home, the U.S. Fire Administration recommends the installation of both ionization and photoelectric or dual sensor smoke alarms.

In addition to the basic types of smoke alarms, there are alarms made to meet the needs of people with hearing disabilities.  These alarms may use strobe lights that flash and/or vibrate to assist in alerting those who are unable to hear standard smoke alarms when they sound.

How long will my smoke alarm last?

Most alarms installed today have a life span of about 8-10 years.  After this time, the entire unit should be replaced.  It is a good idea to write the date of purchase with a marker on the inside of your alarm so you will know when to replace it.  Always follow the manufacturer’s instructions for replacement.

Have questions regarding your smoke alarms please contact the IHB Fire Marshal at 321-773-3181

Welcome to the IHBVFD Fire Safety Post. Here we will post useful information to help keep our residents safe before, during and after emergencies. Future posts will be filed under the Fire Safety Category. While this post focuses on fire emergencies and post emergencies these tips can be applied to just about any emergency. We will start off with three Word documents that were developed to assist residents with actions to take in the event of a fire or life safety emergency and provide a list of useful contact numbers for post emergency situations. A Residential Preplan form is also posted here, this form can be filled out by the homeowner and sent back to the Fire Marshal for placement in the preplan books we carry on the apparatus. If you would prefer you can contact my office to schedule an appointment to come out and do a walk through of your home and fill out the preplan form with you. Feel free to print them out and distribute to family and friends. Should you have any specific questions concerning actions to take before, during or after an emergency you may contact the Fire Marshal at City Hall,  321-773-3181.

Stay Safe, The Fire Marshal

Post Emergency Contact List

Steps to take in a Fire Emergency

Residential preplan form

You may be wondering about those new signs you are seeing on stores, restaurants, condos and multi-family homes.  A law was recently passed in Florida that required buildings constructed with “light weight trusses” in either the roof,  floor or both to have these signs affixed to the building at the front entrance to warn responding fire fighters of that type of construction. Light weight trusses tend to fail quicker when subjected to fire.  The law, “The Aldridge-Benge Firefighter Safety Act“, was named in honor of Orange County firefighters Todd Aldridge and Mark Benge, who died in 1989 after the truss roof of a gift shop collapsed. The Indian Harbour Beach Fire Dept and the City of Indian Harbour Beach made a decision to purchase and install the signs on buildings in our city that required them at no cost to the owners or residents. So when you see signs like the ones below, you’ll know they are there to help save Firefighters and First Responders lives.

Roof Truss

Floor Truss

Roof and Floor