Flourtown Fire Company

Volunteers Serving Springfield Township

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Prevent Household Electrical Fires

Homes today are brimming with state-of-the art technology, entertainment and computer equipment. However, when too many lights and appliances are attached to the electrical system, it will overload and then overheat.

The heat causes the wire insulation to melt and ignite, resulting in an electrical fire.

Please take a moment to view the attached publication provided by the Fire Department, City of New York (FDNY) to learn how to prevent household electrical fires.

PDF Download Link: 10_electricity_home_safety_english

Swift Water Rescue Training

The frequency of water related rescues and flash flooding has been steadily increasing over the past several years.

Flourtown Fire Company firefighters honed their swift water resuce skills during a training exercise on the evening of Monday, August 4th that simulated the swift-water rescue of two victims who were overcome by such flooding.

As a reminder, Flourtown Fire Company reminds you to “Turn Around Don’t Drown (TADD)“, and to take a moment to review the following statement from the National Weather Service:

“Each year, more deaths occur due to flooding than from any other severe weather related hazard. The Centers for Disease Control report that over half of all flood-related drownings occur when a vehicle is driven into hazardous flood water. The next highest percentage of flood-related deaths is due to walking into or near flood waters.Why? The main reason is people underestimate the force and power of water. Many of the deaths occur in automobiles as they are swept downstream. Of these drownings, many are preventable, but too many people continue to drive around the barriers that warn you the road is flooded”

Photos are courtesy of, R. Wilmot Jr.

 

Flourtown Welcomes The Community for Fire Prevention Open House – Oct. 7

2013_NFPAPlease bring out the family to Flourtown Fire Company’s annual Fire Prevention Open House, Monday, October 7 from 6 – 8 PM. We’ll have food, demonstrations, and equipment tours of all we offer the community.

We also have some fire prevention tips for you, see you Monday night, we look forward to seeing you:

Cooking

  • Two out of every 5 home fires start in the kitchen.
  • Unattended cooking was a factor in 34%o of reported home cooking fires.
  • Two-thirds of home cooking fires started with ignition of food or other cooking materials.
  • Children under the age of 5 face a higher risk of non-fire burns associated with cooking than being burned in a cooking fire.

 

Heating

  • The leading factor contributing to heating fires was failure to clean, creosote from solid fueled heating equipment, primarily chimneys.
  • Portable or fixed space heaters were involved in one-third of home heating fires and four out of five home heating deaths
  • Half of home heating fire deaths resulted from fires caused by heating equipment too close to products that can burn, such as upholstered furniture, clothing, mattresses, or bedding
  • In recent years, heating has become the 2nd leading cause of home fires, fire deaths, and injuries.

 

Smoking Materials

  • During 2007-2011 smoking materials caused an estimated 17,900 home structure fires, resulting in 580 deaths, 1,280 injuries and $509 million in direct property damage
  • Sleep was a factor in one-third of the home smoking material fire deaths
  • Possible alcohol impairment was a factor in one in five of home smoking fire deaths

 

Smoke Alarms

  • Almost two-thirds of reported home fire deaths resulted from fires in homes with no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms
  • Working smoke alarms cut the risk of dying in home fires in half
  • Hardwired alarms operated 92% of the time, while battery powered alarms operated 77% of the time

Info compiled by Flourtown Firefighter Jim Belcher via NFPA