Shelton firefighters provide safety tips to residents

SHELTON - Location matters when it comes to your smoke alarm. 
That’s the message behind this year’s Fire Prevention Week campaign, “Hear the Beep Where You Sleep. Every Bedroom Needs a Working Smoke Alarm!”

The Shelton Fire Department, consisting of members of Echo Hose, Huntington, Pine Rock Park, and White Hills volunteer fire companies are currently involved in various fire safety activities that will continue through October. 
This includes visiting all preschools and schools where firefighters will present fire safety lessons for children aging from preschool through Grade 6. 
These programs are part of an effort to reduce the chances of residents being injured or killed by fire, in addition to preserving property.

Together with the nonprofit National Fire Protection Association, the Shelton Fire Department is working to remind residents about the importance of having working smoke alarms in every bedroom, outside each sleeping area, and on every level of the home, including the basement.

“In a fire, seconds count,” said Ted Pisciotta, Assistant Chief, Fire Prevention. “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.”

According to the latest NFPA research, working smoke alarms cut the chance of dying in a fire in half. Meanwhile, three out of five fire deaths resulted from fires in homes with no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms.

In conjunction with making every effort to prevent a fire from ever happening, be prepared by maintaining working smoke alarms throughout the entire home. 

Follow these tips for making sure smoke alarms are in place and working properly:

• 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.
  
• If an alarm “chirps,” warning the battery is low, replace the battery right away.
• Replace all smoke alarms, including alarms that use 10-year batteries and hard- wired alarms, when they’re 10 years old (or sooner) if they do not respond properly when tested. 

• Never remove or disable a smoke alarm.

Pisciotta is encouraging businesses, organizations, and individuals throughout the city to visit the Fire Prevention Bureau web site, which may be found by clicking on “Public Safety” at www.cityofshelton.org. 


This is a press release from Ted Pisciotta, Assistant Chief, Fire Prevention.