Martin Feinberg, Realtor, notes that Fire Prevention Week runs this year from October 7 to October 13. The Culver City Fire Department is teaming up with the National Fire Protection Association to help get the word out.
According to the safety certification company Underwriters Laboratories, newer homes can burn eight times faster than houses built a generation earlier. The study found that the synthetic materials so often used for construction now release energy faster than natural materials. Decades ago it could take a fire almost 30 minutes to consume an entire room from floor to ceiling. Now, it takes less than four. In a normal home fire, occupants could have as little as one or two minutes after the smoke alarm sounds to get out safely.
Fire Prevention Week is about helping people learn how to use that minute or two wisely. It takes planning and practice; there is no winging it and hoping for the best as that’s how fire tragedies occur.
NFPA statistics show that the number of U.S. home fires has been steadily declining over the past few decades. However, the death rate during home fires is going up. From 1980 to 2016, deaths due to home fires have increased 10%.
“These numbers show that while we’ve made significant progress in teaching people how to prevent fires from happening, there’s still much more work to do in terms of educating the public about how to protect themselves in the event of one,” said Lorraine Carli, NFPA’s vice president of outreach and advocacy.
“This is particularly critical given the increased speed at which today’s home fires grow and spread.”
This year’s campaign highlights three simple steps people can take to help quickly and safely escape a fire:
- Look for places where a fire could start.
- Listen for the sound of the smoke alarm.
- Plot two ways out of every room.
While NFPA and the Culver City Fire Department are focusing on home fires within the Culver City Real Estate area during Fire Prevention Week, these fire-safety messages apply to virtually anywhere.
Situational awareness is a skill people need to use wherever they go. Martin Feinberg, Culver City Realtor, encourages people to always know where the available exits are. Citizens should always be aware of potential hazards and have a plan of action in case an emergency occurs.