Lynnwood Fire Department wraps up Fire Prevention Month this week with Smoke Alarm Saturday on Oct. 31.
Focusing on the importance of smoke alarms, firefighters have selected a mobile home court in Lynnwood that has had five serious fires called in over the past seven years to receive free smoke alarms. Firefighters will also install the devices to ensure proper placement. The court has primarily low income immigrant residents, families and seniors. LFD plans to install 50 free smoke detectors.
“Luckily there has been no loss of life,” said LeRoy McNulty, assistant chief and fire marshall. Fire prevention is key, he said pointing to the fact that low income families living in mobile homes are ten times more likely to have a fire than those in other low income housing.
“It’s important to note that many of the residents are from southern climates where the weather is warm. They are not used to having to heat their home and all the potential dangers that come with that,” explained McNulty. Space heaters igniting curtains or upholstered furniture and not changing furnace filters are key factors leading to preventable fires, he said. Not having smoke detectors further compounds the potential for injury.
After the neighborhood was selected, McNulty, with a Spanish interpreter, met with residents to discuss the program. Lynnwood Bowl &Skate provided the community room and refreshments.
Fire District 1 is also having firefighters install free smoke alarms in selected neighborhoods and mobile home parks on Smoke Alarm Saturday. Last year Mountlake Terrace firefighters installed more than 50 smoke alarms.
Firefighters will also be outside area businesses handing out information reminding people to check their smoke alarm batteries as they adjust clocks from Daylight Savings Time and replace smoke alarms more than 10 years old.
According to the Snohomish County Fire Prevention Association, young children are particularly vulnerable when a fire comes while they are sleeping. Those under five years-old lack the motor skills to quickly escape a burning building. However, children as young as three years-old can follow an escape plan if they have practiced it often.
The association recommends teaching children:
ŸWhat the sound of the smoke alarm is and what to do when they hear it
ŸNot to hide from firefighters
ŸHow to crawl low under smoke to reduce smoke inhalation
ŸHow to touch closed doors to check for heat before opening
ŸTwo ways out of every room
ŸWhere your family meeting place outside your home is
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