Roanoke Fire-EMS share safety tips to remember during Fire Prevention Week

The message for the 100th anniversary is “Fire won’t wait. Plan your escape.”

Roanoke Fire-EMS is celebrating the 100th anniversary of Fire Prevention Week by reminding the community of key safety tips.

Fire Prevention Week is being celebrated from Oct. 9th to the 15th.

This year’s campaign focuses on “Fire won’t wait. Plan your escape.” This message works to educate everyone about the simple — but important — actions they can take to keep themselves and those around them safe from home fires.

According to Roanoke Fire-EMS, having an escape plan can save a life.

When creating your plan, you should make sure your plan meets the needs of all your family members, including those with sensory or physical disabilities. You should know at least two ways out of every room, if possible and have an outside meeting place a safe distance from your home where everyone should meet.

To keep everyone on the same page, practice your home fire drill at least twice a year with everyone.

Bobby Russell, Captain Deputy Fire Marshall with Roanoke Fire-EMS says, “Our biggest message is prevention. We want to ensure that the fires do not occur. We want to ensure that the emergencies do not occur so people don’t get hurt.”

It is also important to make sure smoke alarms are installed inside every sleeping room, outside each separate sleeping area and on every level of your home. Smoke alarms should be interconnected so that when one sounds, they all sound.

Smoke alarms should be tested at least once a month. You can do this by pressing the test button to be sure the alarm is working. Smoke alarms should be replaced every 10 years.

“We check residents’ smoke alarms regularly throughout the year. We do what is called a canvas. We go into a neighborhood where there has been a fire and knock on the doors, check with the neighbors to see if there is anything they need as far as smoke detectors and batteries,” says Russell.

One of the most common fires occurs in the kitchen. When cooking with grease, always take necessary safety precautions.

If a grease fire occurs, make sure to never try to put it out with water. The safest way to extinguish a grease fire is to cover the flames with a metal lid to deprive the fire of oxygen and use baking soda or flour as an extinguisher.

In support of this year’s Fire Prevention campaign, Roanoke Fire-EMS is launching several initiatives for City of Roanoke residents that will run through the month of October. This includes an Escape Plan Contest and Smoke Alarm Exchange.

The Escape Plan Contest asks residents to make and share their home fire escape plan for a chance to win a ride in a fire truck and a meal at the fire station. The Smoke Alarm Exchange allows residents to trade in expired smoke alarms for new alarms and gift cards.