NFD offers steps that can save lives in case of a fire

Saturday, March 14, 2009

Nevada, Mo. -- The most important thing for children to know if there is a fire in their home, is to get out of the house.

"Don't try to find family members or toys or anything else, get out of the house," Robert Benn, Nevada fire chief, said.

"If they wake up in the middle of the night, they need to get out of the house," he said.

Benn said that the Fire Department teaches children to get out bed, stay close to the floor, go to the door of their room and feel it to see if it is hot. If it is cool, then leave through the door. If the door is hot, go to a window and open it to get out that way. If they cannot open the window they are taught to take a toy or something and break the glass to get out that way.

"We try to teach them to get out; not to search for people, then call for help," Benn said.

"We push for families to develop and practice a home escape plan," he said.

These plans include how to get out of the house and where to gather after you leave the house.

However, he said that once a plan is developed, the family should practice varying the available escape routes, so people do not panic if a planned way of escape is blocked.

He said that the schools all have fire drills and from time-to-time, an escape route is blocked and they have to get out by an alternate route.

Benn said that one key to surviving a house fire in the middle of the night is to have a working smoke detector.

"When you go to sleep you lose your sense of smell," he said.

"We really need to push the need for everyone to have a working smoke detector on each level of the house," he said.

If you do not have a smoke detector, the Nevada Fire Department has a program to help. They have a supply of smoke detectors and they will come to a Nevada residents home and install smoke detectors on each living level of the house at no charge.

He said that the Red Cross acquired some smoke detectors and provided some to the Nevada Fire Department, as well as, to some of the rural fire departments.

Although the Nevada Fire Department cannot provide smoke detectors to people outside of the city, they can refer people to other agencies that may be able to help them, he said.

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