Fire Company

What you can do to prevent a fire in your home

One of the foremost methods to prevent a fire from occurring in your home is to install smoke detectors outside each separate sleeping area and on each floor of your home, including the basement.

• Working smoke detectors can reduce the risk of death in a residential fire by 40 to 50%.
• The best smoke detectors are those with lithium-powered batteries and hush buttons. A lithium powered battery can last up to ten years; hush buttons allow you to quickly stop nuisance alarms that are caused by oven smoke, burnt toast, prolonged cooking, etc.
• If 10 year, long life smoke detectors are not available, install smoke detectors that use regular batteries, preferable alkaline and replace batteries as necessary, at least once a year.

Some helpful tips to prevent a fire from starting in your home

• Use caution when cooking. Never leave food on a stove or in an oven unattended. Avoid wearing clothes with loose fitting sleeves that could easily catch on fire when reaching for a pot on the cook top.
• Have your heating system checked annually. Follow manufacturer’s instructions when using portable heaters. Also, have your chimney checked and cleaned when necessary, especially if you use your fireplace frequently.
• Do not smoke in bed. Smoking in bed is the leading cause of fire deaths and the second most cause of residential fires.
• Never leave burning cigarettes unattended, do not empty smoldering ashes into the trash, and keep ashtrays away from upholstered furniture and window treatments.
• Keep matches and lighters away from children.
• Store flammable substances in a safe place away from heat sources.
• Never leave burning candles unattended.

Smoke detectors and preparation save lives

Residents are reminded of the importance and value of having properly operating smoke detectors in your home. A smoke detector may save your life!

If a fire occurs in your home, your chances of survival are when smoke detectors are present. Smoke detectors should be installed outside each separate sleeping area and on each level of your home, including the basement.
Smoke detectors should be tested every week. The face and grillwork of the detectors should be cleaned to remove dust and grease and dust should be blown out through the grillwork. Batteries should be changed on a regular basis. As a reminder, change your batteries when you change your clocks in the spring and in the fall.

Be prepared! Know at least two (2) ways out of your house. Parents with school age children are urged to consult with your children when planning exit drills in your home. Your children are learning “fire safety skills” in the local schools and you may learn from them. Remember, “A working smoke detector can be your best protection against fire” in your home.
Working smoke detectors can reduce the risk of death in a residential fire by 40 to 50%.

Fire hazards – what are they & what to do about them

The Liberty Fire Company #1 of Penns Grove would like to urge local residents to make their homes fire safe by cleaning up any fire hazards. All the ingredients for fire are common in your home: fuel, ignition sources, air, etc. Every year, fire kills thousands of persons in their homes and damages or destroys half a million homes. You can prevent home fires if you know and follow basic fire safety rules and eliminate fire hazards as you go about doing your daily house cleaning chores.

• Don’t let rubbish pile up, dispose of it regularly.
• Keep newspapers and magazines in neat piles and dispose of them on regular recycling days or bring them to the Transfer Station.
• Keep anything that will burn away from furnaces or stoves.
• Don’t store flammable objects under wooden stairs.
• Have your heating system checked yearly by a professional.
• Check your chimney for loose bricks and cracks.
• The stovepipe on a wood burning stove should be checked regularly.
• Always use a screen in front of your fireplace.
• Don’t store items in front of your furnace or in front of the gas meter. The fire department must have access to it.
• In the late fall, before snow arrives, place a marker at the curb where your gas shut-off is located on your gas feed line.
• Have working smoke detectors in your home.
• Make and practice an escape plan with your family.
• Keep fire hydrants clear of snow, ice or weeds. Keep it visible and available for the fire department. The house we save may be yours.

Know what to do if your carbon monoxide alarm goes off

More and more New Jersey households are installing carbon monoxide (CO) alarms as protection against this invisible hazard. CO is a gas that is undetectable by human senses yet it can cause health problems, brain damage and even death. When concentrations of the gas build up, flu-like symptoms may develop, especially among younger and older individuals who are less tolerant of this poison. If your carbon monoxide alarm activates:

• Gather all family members together in a predetermined meeting place and check to be sure everyone is present.
• Call 9-1-1. Leave the building immediately. Do not reenter until responders say it is safe to do so.

Carbon monoxide is a product of incomplete combustion. Carbon monoxide is invisible. There will be no smoke or haze to betray its presence. Carbon monoxide is odorless. Carbon monoxide is deadly. CO is the symbol for carbon monoxide.