All Fired Up - National Fire Prevention Month

The City of Greenwood Fire Department will host an open house from 6 to 8 p.m. Monday October 17 at the main fire station on South Main Street. City Fire Marshal Lee Funderburk said city firefighters will be performing demonstrations using the department’s aerial truck. Funderburk said the fire department also will have a decontamination tent on display to show residents what is involved in the decontamination process. Residents also will have an opportunity to tour the fire station and talk with firefighters.

For the third year, the city fire department has sponsored a youth art contest accompanying the open house to promote fire prevention. The contest is sponsored by Meredith Insurance Associates. The art will be on display during the open house, and winners of the contest will be announced.

Funderburk said the Greenwood Police Department, Greenwood County EMS and the Greenwood County Sheriff’s Office bloodhound unit also have been invited to participate in the open house.

Meanwhile, state Fire Marshal Adolf Zubia is urging residents to do their part in preventing fires this month. Zubia said 65 people in South Carolina died in fires in 2010, with 86 percent of those being in the home. He said 13,000 people are injured in home fires each year.

The S.C. Fire Marshal’s Office presented several tips for protecting a home from fire:

* Stay in the kitchen while frying, grilling or broiling food. If you leave the kitchen for even a short period of time, turn off the stove.

* Keep anything that can burn at least three feet away from heating equipment, like the furnace, fireplace, wood stove or portable space heater.

* Have a three-foot “kid-free zone” around open fires and space heaters.

* Replace or repair damaged or loose electrical cords.

* Smoke cigarettes outside the home, and properly dispose of smoking materials.

* Blow out all candles when you leave the room or go to bed. Avoid the use of candles in the bedroom and other areas where people may fall asleep.

Zubia also noted the importance of planning ahead  for residents to keep themselves and their families safe in the event of a fire. The fire marshal’s office offered the following planning measures:

* Install smoke alarms in each bedroom, outside each sleeping area and on every level of the home.

* Test smoke alarms monthly. Replace all smoke alarms when they are 10 years old or sooner if they do not respond when tested.

* Make sure everyone in the home knows how to respond if the smoke alarm sounds.

* Have a family meeting, and make a plan. Walk through the home, and inspect all possible ways out. Households with children should consider drawing a floor plan of the home, marking two ways out of each room, including windows and doors.

* If building or remodeling a home, consider installing a home fire sprinkler system.