CONCORD — Today’s home fires burn faster than ever. In a typical home fire, you may have as little as one to two minutes to escape safely from the time the smoke alarm sounds. Knowing how to use that time wisely takes planning and practice.
The NH State Fire Marshal’s Office and local communities are teaming up with the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) — the official sponsor of Fire Prevention Week™ for more than 90 years — to promote this year’s Fire Prevention Week campaign, “Look. Listen. Learn. Be aware. Fire can happen anywhere™,” which works to educate the public about basic but essential ways to quickly and safely escape a home fire.
NFPA statistics show that the number of U.S. home fires has been steadily declining over the past few decades. However, the death rate per 1,000 home fires that are reported to fire departments was 10 percent higher in 2016 than in 1980.
Fire Marshal Parisi said, “Contributing factors to more deadly fires include changes in the way we now live in our homes and new types of furnishings available, which greatly accelerates the speed of fire growth and spread. The popularity of open floor plans is convenient for entertaining but also supplies more oxygen to fuel fires than we used to see in smaller, more contained rooms. Also, widespread use of modern synthetics to manufacture most home furnishings — everything from carpets to couches to window treatments — have a much quicker burn rate than traditional materials like real wood or natural fabrics. The new synthetics also generate deadly smoke and gases extremely quickly.”
Fire Marshal Parisi says this year’s “Look. Listen. Learn.” campaign highlights three steps people can take to help quickly and safely escape a fire:
Look for places fire could start.
Listen for the sound of the smoke alarm.
Learn two ways out of every room.
For more information about Fire Prevention Week and home escape planning, visitwww.firepreventionweek.org
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